THE LIBRARY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LOS ANGELES THE HUNTERS' FEAST other Books by MAYNE REID, uniform with this volume. AFLOAT IN THE FOREST BOY HUNTERS BOY TAR BRUIN BUSH BOYS CLIFF CLIMBERS DEATH SHOT FLAG OF DISTRESS FREE LANCES CASPAR THE GAUCHO GIRAFFE HUNTERS HEADLESS HORSEMAN HUNTERS' FEAST MAROON NO QUARTER PLANT HUNTERS RIFLE RANGERS SCALP HUNTERS YOUNG VOYAGEURS WAR TRAIL WHITE CHIEF YOUNG YAGERS SWKI'T MY GUN AROUND ANU ClIASElJ TUKM. Front. The Hunter i Fcast.\ p. 28 THE HUNTERS' FEAST OR CONVERSATIONS AROUND THE CAMP-FIRE BY CAPTAIN MAYNE REID LONDON GEORGE ROUTLEDGE & SONS, Limited NEW YORK: E. P. DUTTON AND CO. PR CONTENTS CHAP. I A HUNTING-PARTY II THE CAMP AND CAMP-FIRE III BESANfON'S ADVENTURES IN THE SWAMPS IV THE PASSENGER PIGEONS V HUNT WITH A HOWITZER VI KILLING A COUGAR VII THE COUGAR VIII OLD IKE'S ADVENTURE IX THE MUSQUASH . X A RAT-HUNT XI MOSQUITOES AND THEIR ANTIDOTE XII THE 'COON AND HIS HABITS XIII A 'COON CHASE . XIV WILD HOGS OF THE WOODS XV TREED BY PECCARIES XVI A DUCK-SHOOTING ADVENTURE XVII HUNTING THE VICUNA . XVIII A CHACU OF VICUNAS XIX SQUIRREL SHOOTING XX TREEING A BEAR . XXI THE BLACK BEAR OF AMERICA XXII THE TRAPPER TRAPPED . XXIII THE AMERICAN DEER XXIV DEER HUNT IN A ' DUG-OUT ' XXV OLD IKE AND THE GRIZZLY XXVI A BATTLE WITH GRIZZLY BEARS PAGE I 12 i8 33 41 50 54 59 69 76 83 89 94 102 108 120 ^ZZ US 156 163 169 174 182 193 210 220 Vlll Contents CHAP. XXVII THE SWANS OF AMERICA . XXVIII HUNTING THE MOOSE XXIX THE PRAIRIE WOLF AND WOLF-KILLER XXX HUNTING THE TAPIR XXXI THE BUFFALOES AT LAST XXXII THE BISON XXXIII TRAILING THE BUFFALO . XXXIV APPROACHING THE BUFFALO XXXV UNEXPECTED GUESTS XXXVI A SUPPER OF WOLF-MUTTON XXXVII HARE HUNTING AND CRICKET DRIVING XXXVIII A GRAND BATTUE XXXIX THE ROUTE HOME rAOB 230 240 256 267 277 288 296 304 309 319 324 329 THE HUNTERS' FEAST CHAPTER I A HUNTING PARTY On the western bank of the Mississippi, twelve miles below the emboucJmre of the Missouri, stands the large town of St. Louis, poetically known as the ' Mound City.' Although there are many other large towns throughout the Mississippi Valley, St. Louis is the metropolis of the ' far west ' — of that semi-civilised, ever-changing belt of territory known as the ' Frontier.' St. Louis is one of those American cities in the his- tory of which there is something of peculiar interest. It is one of the oldest of North-American settlements, having been a French trading port at an early period. Though not so successful as their rivals the English, there was a degree of picturesqueness about French colonisation, that, in the present day, strongly claims the attention of the American poet, novelist, and historian. Their dealings with the Indian aborigines, the facile manner in which they glided into the habits of the latter — meeting them more than halfway between civilisation and savage life — the handsome nomen- clature which they have scattered freely, and which still holds over the trans- Mississipian territories — the introduction of a new race (the half-blood — peculiarly French) — the heroic and adventurous character of their earliest poineers De Salk, Marquette, Father Hennepin, &c. — their romantic explorations and melancholy fate A 2 The Hunters' Feast •■ — all these circumstances have rendered extremely interesting the early history of the French in America. Even the Quixotism of some of their attempts at colonisation cannot fail to interest us, as at Gallipolis on the Ohio, a colony composed of expatriated people of the French court — perruquiers, coach - builders, tailors, modistes, and the like. Here, in the face of hostile Indians, before an acre of ground was cleared, before the slightest provision was made for their future subsistence, the first house erected was a large log structure to serve as the salon du bal ! Besides its French origin, St. Louis possesses many other points of interest. It has long been the entrepot and depot of commerce with the wild tribes of prairie- land. There the trader is supplied with his stock for the Indian market — his red and green blankets — his beads and trinkets — his rifles, and powder, and lead ; and there, in return, he disposes of the spoils of the prairie collected in many a far and perilous wandering. There the emigrant rests on the way to his wilderness home ; and the hunter equips himself before starting forth on some new expedition. To the traveller, St. Louis is a place of peculiar interest. He will hear around him the language of every nation in the civilised world. He will behold faces of every hue and variety of expression. He will meet with men of every possible calling. All this is peculiarly true in the latter part of the summer season. Then the motley population of New Orleans fly from the annual scourge of the yellow fever, and seek safety in the cities that lie further north. Of these, St. Louis is a favourite 'city of refuge,' the Creole element of its population being related to that kindred race in the South, and keeping up with it this annual correspondence. In one of these streams of migration I had found my way to St. Louis, in the autumn of i8 — . The place was at the time filled with loungers, who seemed to have nothing else to do but kill time. Every hotel had its quota, and in every verandah, and at the corners of A Huntirig Party 3 the streets, you might see small knots of well-dressed gentlemen trying to entertain each other, and laugh away the hours. Most of them were the annual birds of passage from New Orleans, who had fled from ' yellow Jack,' and were sojourning here till the cold frosty winds of November should drive the intruder from the ' crescent city ' ; but there were many other flaneurs as well. There were travellers from Europe — men of wealth and rank who had left behind them the luxuries of civilised society to rough it for a season in the wild West — painters in search of the picturesque — naturalists whose love of their favourite study had drawn them from their comfortable closets to search for knowledge under circumstances of extremest difficulty — and sportsmen, who, tired of chasing small game, were on their way to the great plains to take part in the noble sport of hunting the buffalo. I was myself one of the last-named fraternity. There is no country in the world so addicted to the table d'hote as America, and that very custom soon makes idle people acquainted with each other. I was not very long in the place before I was upon terms of intimacy with a large number of these loungers, and I found several, like myself, desirous of making a hunting expedition to the prairies. This chimed in with my plans to a nicety, and I at once set about getting up the expedition. I found five others who were willing to join me. After several conversaziones, with much discussion, we succeeded at length in 'fixing' our plan. Each was to 'equip' according to his own fancy, though it was necessary for each to provide himself with a riding horse or mule. After that, a general fund was to be ' raised,' to be appropriated to the purchase of a waggon and team, with tents, stores, and cooking utensils. A couple of professional hunters were to be engaged ; men who knew the ground to be traversed, and who were to act as guides to the expedition. About a week was consumed in making the necessary preparations, and at the end of that time, under the 4 The Hunters' Feast sunrise of a lovely mornincr, a small cavalcade was seen to issue from the back suburbs of St. Louis, and, climb- ing the undulating slopes in its rear, head for the far- stretching wilderness of the prairies. It was our hunting expedition. The cavalcade consisted of eight mounted men, and a waggon with its full team of six tough mules. These last were under the manege of 'Jake' — a free negro, with a shining black face, a thick, full mop, and a set of the best ' ivories,' which were almost always uncovered in a smile. Peeping from under the tilt of the waggon might be seen another face strongly contrasting with that of Jake. This had been originally of a reddish hue, but sun-tan, and a thick sprinkling of freckles, had changed the red to golden yellow. A shock of fiery hair surmounted this visage, which was partially concealed under a badly- battered hat. Though the face of the black expressed good-humour, it might have been called sad when brought into comparison with that of the little red man, which peeped out beside it. Upon the latter, there was an expression irresistibly comic — the expression of an actor in broad farce. One eye was continually on the wink, while the other looked knowing enough for both„ A short clay-pipe, stuck jauntily between the lips, added to the comical expression of the face, which was that of Mike Lanty from Limerick. No one ever mistook the nationality of Michael. Who were the eight cavaliers that accompanied the waggon ? Six of them were gentlemen by birth and education. At least half that number were scholars. The other two laid no claim either to gentleness or scholarship — they were rude trappers — the hunters and guides of the expedition. A word about each one of the eight, for there was not one of them without his peculiarity. First, there was an Englishman — a genuine type of his countrymen — full six feet high, well-proportioned, with broad chest and shoulders, and massive limbs. Hair of a light brown, complexion florid, moustache and whiskers full and hay- A Hunting Party 5 coloured, but suiting well the complexion and features. The last were regular, and if not handsome, at least good humoured and noble in their expression. The owner was in reality a nobleman — a true nobleman — X ^ one of that class who, while travelling through the ^r ' States,' have the good sense to carry their umbrella along, and leave their title behind them. To us he was known as Mr. Thompson, and, after some time, when we had all become familiar with each other, as plain * Thompson.' It was only long after, and by accident, that I became acquainted with his rank and title ; some of our companions do not know it to this day, but that is of no consequence. I mention the circumstance here to aid me in illustrating the character of our travelling companion, who was 'close' and modest almost to a fault. His costume was characteristic. A ' tweed ' shooting jacket, of course, with eight pockets — a vest of the same material with four — tweed trousers, and a tweed cap. In the waggon was t/ie hat-box, of strong yellow leather, with straps and padlock. This was supposed to contain the dress hat ; and some of the party were merry about it. But no, Mr. Thompson was a more experienced traveller than his companions thought him at first. The contents of the hat-case were sundry brushes — including one for the teeth — combs, razors, and pieces of soap. The hat had been left at St. Louis. But the umbrella had not. It was then under Thomp- son's arm, with its full proportions of whalebone and gingham. Under that umbrella he had hunted tigers in the jungles of India — under that umbrella he had chased the lion upon the plains of Africa — under that umbrella he had pursued the ostrich and the vicuna over the pampas of South America ; and now under that same hemisphere of blue gingham he was about to carry terror and destruction among the wild buffaloes of the prairies. Besides the umbrella — strictly a weapon of defence — Mr. Thompson carried another, a heavy double-barrelled gun, marked ' Bishop, of Bond Street,' no bad weapon 6 The Hunters' Feast with a loading of buck shot, and with this both barrels were habitually loaded. So much for Mr. Thompson, who may pass for No. i of the hunting party. He was mounted on a strong bay cob, with tail cut short, and English saddle, both of which objects — the short tail and the saddle — were curiosities to all of the party except Mr. Thompson and myself. No. 2 was as unlike No. i as two animals of the same species could possibly be. He was a Kentuckian, full six inches taller than Thompson, or indeed than any of the party. His features were marked, prominent and irregular, and this irregularity was increased by a 'cheekful' of half-chewed tobacco. His complexion was dark, almost olive, and the face quite naked, without either moustache or whisker, but long straight hair, black as an Indian's, hung down to his shoulders. In fact, there was a good deal of the Indian look about him, except in his figure. That was somewhat slouched, with arms and limbs of over-length loosely hung about it. Both, however, though not modelled after the Apollo, were evidently full of muscle and tough strength, and looked as though their owner could return the hug of a bear with interest. There was a gravity in his look, but that was not from any gravity of spirits ; it was his swarth complexion that gave him this appearance, aided, no doubt, by several lines of 'ambeer' proceeding from the corners of his mouth in the direction of the chin. So far from being grave, this dark Kentuckian was as gay and buoyant as any of the party. Indeed, a light and boyish spirit is a characteristic of the Kentuckian as well as of all the natives of the Mississippi Valley — at least such has been my observation. Our Kentuckian was costumed just as he would have been upon a cool morning riding about the * woodland ' of his own plantation, for a ' planter ' he was. He wore a ' Jeans ' frock, and over that a long-tailed overcoat of the best green blanket, with side pockets and flaps. His jeans pantaloons were stuck into a pair of heavy, horse-leather pegged boots, sometimes known as A Hunting Party 7 'nigger' boots, but over these were 'wrappers' of green baize, fastened with a string above the knees. His hat was a ' broad-brimmed felt,' costly enough, but somewhat crushed by being sat upon and slept in. He bestrode a tall raw-boned steed that possessed many of the characteristics of the rider; and in the same proportion that the latter overtopped his companions, so did the steed outsize all the other horses of the cavalcade. Over the shoulders of the Kentuckian were suspended, by several straps, pouch, horn, and haver- sack, and resting upon his toe was the butt of a heavy rifle, the muzzle of which reached to a level with his shoulders. He was a rich Kentucky planter, and known in his native state as a great deer-hunter. Some business or pleasure had brought him to St. Louis. It was hinted that Kentucky was becoming too thickly settled for him — deer becoming scarce, and bear hardly to be found — and that his visits to St. Louis had something to do with seeking a new 'location 'where these animals were still to be met with in greater plenty. The idea of buffalo-hunting was just to his liking. The expedition would carry him through the frontier country where he might afterwards choose his 'location' — at all events the sport would repay him, and he was one of the most enthusiastic in regard to it. He that looms up on the retrospect of my memory as No. 3 was as unlike the Kentuckian as the latter was to Thompson. He was a disciple of Esculapius — not thin and pale, as these usually are, but fat, red, and jolly. I think he was originally a ' Yankee,' though his long residence in the Western States had rubbed the Yankee out of him to a great extent. At all events he had few of their characteristics about him. He was neither staid, sober, nor, what is usually alleged as a trait of the true-bred Yankee, ' stingy.' On the contrary, our doctor was full of talk and joviality — generous to a fault. A fault, indeed ; for, although many years in practice in various parts of the United States, and having earned large sums of money, at the date of our 8 The Hunters^ Feast expedition we found him in St. Louis almost without a dollar, and with no great stock of patients. The truth must be told : the doctor was of a restless disposition, and liked his glass too well. He was a singer too, a fine amateur singer, with a voice equal to Mario's. That may partly account for his failure in securing a fortune. He was a favourite with all — ladies included — and so fond of good company, that he preferred the edge of the jovial board to the bed-side of a patient. Not from any fondness for buffalo-hunting, but rather through an attachment to some of the company, had the doctor volunteered. Indeed, he was solicited by all to make one of us — partly on account of his excellent society, and partly that his professional services might be called into requisition before our return. The doctor still preserved his professional costume of black — somewhat russet by long wear — but this was modified by a close-fitting fur cap, and wrappers of brown cloth, which he wore around his short, thick legs. He was not over-well mounted — a very spare little horse was all he had, as his funds would not stretch to a better. It was quite a quiet one, however, and carried the doctor and his 'medical saddle bags' steadily enough, though not without a good deal of spurring and whipping. The doctor's name was ' Jopper ' — Dr. John Jopper. A very elegant youth, with fine features, rolling black eyes, and luxuriant curled hair, was one of us. The hands were well formed and delicate ; the complexion silky, and of nearly an olive tint ; but the purplish-red broke through upon his cheeks, giving the earnest of health, as well as adding to the picturesque beauty of his face. The form was perfect, and full of manly expression, and the pretty sky-blue plaited pantaloons, and close-fitting jacket of the same material, sat grace- fully on his well - turned limbs and arms. These garments were of ' cottonade,' that beautiful and durable fabric peculiar to Louisiana, and so well suited to the southern climate. A costly Panama hat cast its shadow over the wavy curls and pictured cheek of this youth, and a cloak of fine broad cloth, with velyet facings, hung A Hunting Party 9 loosely from his shoulders. A slight moustache and imperial lent a manlier expression to his chiselled features. This young fellow was a Creole of Louisiana — a student of one of the Jesuite Colleges of that State — and although very unlike what would be expected from such a dashing personage, he was an ardent, even passionate, lover of nature. Though still young, he was the most accomplished botanist in his State, and had already published several discoveries in the Flora of the South, Of course the expedition was to him a delightful anticipation. It would afford the finest opportunity for prosecuting his favourite study in a new field ; one as yet almost unvisited by the scientific traveller. The young Creole was known as Jules Besan^on. He was not the only naturalist of the party. Another was with us; one who had already acquired a world- wide fame ; whose name was as familiar to the savans of Europe as to his own countrymen. He was already an old man, almost venerable in his aspect, but his tread was firm, and his arm still strong enough to steady his long, heavy, double-barrelled rifle. An ample coat of dark blue covered his body ; his limbs were enveloped in long-buttoned leggings of drab cloth, and a cap of sable surmounted his high, broad forehead. Under this his bluish -grey eye glanced with a calm but clear intelligence, and a single look from it satisfied you that you were in the presence of a superior mind. Were I to give the name of this person, this would readily be acknowledged. For certain reasons I cannot do this. Suffice it to say, he was one of the most dis- tinguished of modern zoologists, and to his love for the study we were indebted for his companionship upon our hunting expedition. He was known to us as Mr. A , the ' hunter-naturalist.' There was no jealousy between him and the young Besangon. On the contrary, a similarity of tastes soon brought about a mutual friend- ship, and the Creole was observed to treat the other with marked deference and regard. 10 The Hunters' Feast I may set myself down as No. 6 of the party. Let a short description of me suffice. I was then but a young fellow, educated somewhat better than common ; fond of wild sports ; not indifferent to a knowledge of nature; fond almost to folly of a good horse, and possessing one of the very best ; not ill-looking in the face, and of middle stature; costumed in a light hunting-shirt of embroidered buckskin, with fringed cape and skirt ; leggings of scarlet cloth, and cloth forage-cap covering a flock of dark hair. Powder-flask and pouch of tasty patterns ; belt around the waist, with hunting-knife and pistols — revolvers. A light rifle in one hand, and in the other a bridle rein, which guided a steed of coal blackness ; one that would have been celebrated in song by a troubadour of the olden time. A deep Spanish saddle of stamped leather ; holsters with bearskin covers in front ; a scarlet blanket, folded and strapped on the croup ; lazo and haversack hanging from the ' horn ' — voila tout ! There are two characters still undescribed. Characters of no mean importance were they — the 'guides.' They were called respectively, Isaac Bradley and Mark Redwood. A brace of trappers they were, but as different from each other in personal appearance as two men could well be. Redwood was a man of large dimensions, and apparently as strong as a buffalo, while his co?ifrere was a thin, wiry, sinewy mortal, with a tough, weasel-like look and gait. The expression of Redwood's countenance was open and manly, his eyes were grey, his hair light - coloured, and huge brown whiskers covered his cheeks. Bradley, on the other hand, was dark — his eyes small, black, and piercing — his face as hairless as an Indian's, and bronzed almost to the Indian hue, with the black hair of his head closely cropped around it. Both these men were dressed in leather from head to foot, yet they were very differently dressed. Redwood wore the usual buckskin hunting - shirt, leggings, and moccassins, but all of full proportions and well cut, while his large 'coon-skin cap, with the plume-like tail, had an imposing appearance, Bradley's garments, on A Hunting Party il the contrary, were tight -fitting and 'skimped.' His hunting-shirt was without cape, and adhered so closely to his body that it appeared only an outer skin of the man himself. His leggings were pinched and tight. Shirt, leggings, and moccassins were evidently of the oldest kind, and as dirty as a cobbler's apron. A close- fitting otter cap, with a Mackinaw blanket, completed the wardrobe of Isaac Bradley. He was equipped with a pouch of greasy leather hanging by an old black strap, a small buffalo-horn suspended by a thong, and a belt of buffalo-leather, in which was stuck a strong blade with its handle of buckhorn. His rifle was of the ' tallest ' kind — being full six feet in height — in fact, taller than he was, and at least four-fifths of the weapon consisted of barrel. The straight, narrow stock was a piece of manufacture that had proceeded from the hands of the trapper himself Redwood's rifle was also a long one, but of more modern build and fashion, and his equipments — pouch, powder-horn and belt — were of a more tasty design and finish. Such were our guides, Redwood and Bradley. They were no imaginary characters these. Mark Redwood was a celebrated ' mountain-man ' at that time, and Isaac Bradley will be recognised by many when I give him the name and title by which he was then known, viz : * Old Ike, the wolf-killer.' Redwood rode a strong horse of the half-hunter breed, while the 'wolf-killer' was mounted upon one of the scraggiest looking quadrupeds it would be possible to imagine — an old mare ' mustang.' CHAPTER II THE CAMP AND CAMP-FIRE Our route was west by south. The nearest point with which we expected to fall in with the buffalo was two hundred miles distant. We might travel three hundred without seeing one, and even much further at the present day ; but a report had reached St. Louis that the buffalo had been seen that year upon the Osage River, west of the Ozark Hills, and towards that point we steered our course. We expected in about twenty days to fall in with the game. Fancy a cavalcade of hunters making a journey of twenty days to get upon the field ! The reader will, no doubt, say we were in earnest. At the time of which I am writing, a single day's journey from St. Louis carried the traveller clear of civilised life. There were settlements beyond ; but these were sparse and isolated — a few small towns or plantations upon the main watercourses — and the whole country between them was an uninhabited wilderness. We had no hope of being sheltered by a roof until our return to the mound city itself, but we had provided ourselves with a couple of tents, part of the freight of our waggon. There arc but few parts of the American wilderness where the traveller can depend upon wild game for a subsistence. Even the skilled hunter when stationary is sometimes put to his wits' end for ' daily bread.' Upon the 'route' no great opportunity is found of killing game, which always requires time to approach it with caution. Although we passed throughwhat appeared to beexcellent cover for various spieces of wild animals, we reached our first camp without having ruffled either hair or 12 The Camp and Camp-Fire 13 feathers. In fact, neither bird nor quadruped had been seen, although almost every one of the party had been on the look-out for game during most of the journey. This was rather discouraging, and we reasoned that if such was to be our luck until we got into the buffalo range we should have a very dull time of it. We were well provisioned, however, and we regretted the absence of game only on account of the sport. A large bag of biscuit, and one of flour, several pieces of 'hung bacon,' some dry ox-tongues, a stock of green coffee, sugar, and salt, were the principal and necessary stores. There were * luxuries,' too, which each had provided according to his fancy, though not much of these, as everyone of the party had had some time or other in his life a little experience in the way of ' roughing it.' Most of the loading of the waggon consisted of provender for our horses and mules. We made full thirty miles on the first day. Our road was a good one. We passed over easy undulations, most of them covered with ' black-jack.' This is a species of dwarf oak, so called from the very dark colour of its wrinkled bark. It is almost worthless as a timber, being too small for most purposes. It is ornamental, however, forming copse-like groves upon the swells of the prairie, while its dark green foliage contrasts pleasantly with the lighter green of the grasses beneath its shade. The young botanist, Besangon, had least cause to complain. His time had been sufficiently pleasant during the day. New foliage fell under his observation — new flowers opened their corollas to his delighted gaze. He was aided in making his collections by the hunter-naturalist, who of course was tolerably well versed in this kindred science. We encamped by the edge of a small creek of clear water. Our camp was laid out in due form, and every- thing arranged in the order we designed habitually to follow. Every man unsaddled his own horse. There are no servants in prairie-land. Even Lanty's services extended not beyond the cuisine^ and for this department he had 14 The H miters' Feast had his training as the cook of a New Orleans trading ship. Jake had enough to do with his mules ; and to have asked one of our hunter-guides to perform the task of unsaddling your horse, would have been a hazardous experiment. Menial service to a free trapper ! There arc no servants in prairie-land. Our horses and mules were picketed on a piece of open ground, each having his ' trail rope,' which allowed a circuit of several yards. The two tents were pitched side by side, facing the stream, and the waggon drawn up some twenty feet in the rear. In the triangle between the waggon and the tents was kindled a large fire, upon each side of which two stakes, forked at the top, were driven into the ground. A long sapling resting in the forks traversed the blaze from side to side. This was Lanty's * crane ' — the fire was his kitchen. Let me sketch the camp more minutely, for our first camp was a type of all the others in its general features. Sometimes indeed the tents did not front the same way, when these openings were set to ' oblige the wind,' but they were always placed side by side in front of the waggon. They were small tents of the old-fashioned, conical kind, requiring only one pole each. They were of sufficient size for our purpose, as there were only three of us to each — the guides, with Jake and Lanty, finding their lodgment under the tilt of the waggon. With their graceful shape, and snowy -white colour against the dark green foliage of the trees, they formed an agreeable contrast ; and 3. coup d' ceil oiWio. camp would have been no mean picture to the eye of an artist. The human figures may be arranged in the following manner. Supper is getting ready, and Lanty is decidedly at this time the most important personage on the ground. He is stooping over the fire, with a small but long-handled frying-pan, in which he is parching the coffee. It is already browned, and Lanty stirs it about with an iron spoon. The crane carries the large coffee-kettle of sheet iron full of water upon the boil ; and a second frying- pan, larger than the first, is filled with sliced ham, ready to be placed upon the hot cinders. The Camp and Camp-Ftre 1 5 Our English friend Thomson is seated upon a log with the hat-box before him. It is open, and he has drawn out from it his stock of combs and brushes. He has already made his ablutions, and is now giving the finish to his toilet by putting his hair, whiskers, moustache, teeth, and even his nails, in order. Your Englishman is the most comfortable traveller in the world. The Kentuckian is differently engaged. He is upon his feet ; in one hand gleams a knife with ivory handle and long shining blade. It is a ' bowie,' of that kind known as an ' Arkansas toothpick.' In the other hand you see an object about eight inches in length, of the form of a parallelogram, and of a dark brown colour. It is a 'plug' of real 'James's River tobacco.' With his knife the Kentuckian cuts off a piece — a * chunk,' as he terms it — which is immediately transferred to his mouth, and chewed to a pulp. This is his occupation for the moment. The doctor, what of him ? Doctor Jopper may be seen close to the water's edge. In his hand is a pewter flask, of the kind known as a 'pocket pistol.' That pistol is loaded with brandy, and Dr. Jopper is just in the act of drawing part of the charge, which, with a slight admixture of cool creek water, is carried aloft and poured into a very droughty vessel. The effect, however, is instantly apparent in the lively twinkle of the doctor's round and prominent eyes. Besangon is seated near the tent, and the old naturalist beside him. The former is busy with the new plants he has collected. A large portfolio-looking book rests upon his knees, and between its leaves he is deposit- ing his stores in a scientific manner. His companion, who understands the business well, is kindly assisting him. Their conversation is interesting, but every one else is too busy with his affairs to listen to it just now. The guides are lounging about the waggon. Old Ike fixes a new flint in his rifle, and Redwood, of a more mirthful disposition, is occasionally cracking a joke with Mike or the ' darkey.' l6 The Hunters^ Feast Jake is still busy with his mules and I with my favourite steed, whose feet I have washed in the stream and annointed with a little spare grease. I shall not always have the opportunity of being so kind to him, but he will need it the less as his hoofs become more hardened by the journey. Around the camp are strewed our saddles, bridles, blankets, weapons, and utensils. These will all be collected and stowed under cover before we go to rest. Such is a picture of our camp before supper. When that meal is cooked, the scene somewhat changes. The atmosphere, even at that season, was cool enough, and this, with Mike's announcement that coffee was ready, brought all the party — guides as well — around the blazing pile of logs. Each found his own platter, knife, and cup ; and, helping himself from the general stock, set to eating on his own account. Of course there were no fragments, as a strict regard to economy was one of the laws of our camp. Notwithstanding the fatigue, always incidental to a first day's march, we enjoyed this al fresco supper ex- ceedingly. The novelty had much to do with our enjoyment of it, and also the fine appetites which we had acquired since our luncheon at noon halt. When supper was over, smoking followed, for there was not one of the party who was not an inveterate burner of the ' noxious weed.' Some chose cigars, of which we had brought a good stock, but several were pipe-smokers. The zoologist carried a meerschaum ; the guides smoked out of Indian calumets of the celebrated steatite, or red claystone. Mike had his dark-looking 'dudeen,' and Jake his pipe of corn 'cob' and cane- joint shank. Our English friend Thompson had a store of the finest Havannahs, which he smoked with the grace peculiar to the English cigar smoker ; holding his cigar impaled upon the point of his knife-blade. Kentucky also smoked cigars, but his was half-buried within his mouth, slanted obliquely towards the right cheek. The Camp and Camp-Fire \y Besan^on preferred the paper cigarette, which he made extempore, as he required them, out of a stock of loose tobacco. This is Creole fashion — now also the mode de Paris. A song from the doctor enlivened the conversation, and certainly so melodious a human voice had never echoed near the spot. One and all agreed that the grand opera had missed a capital * first tenor ' in not securing the services of our companion. The fatigue of our long ride caused us to creep into our tents at an early hour, and rolling ourselves in our blankets we went to sleep. Of course everything had been carefully gathered in lest rain might fall in the night. The trail ropes of our animals were looked to, we did not fear their being stolen, but horses on their first few days' journey are easily ' stampeded,' and will sometimes stray home again. This would have been a great misfortune, but most of us were old travellers, and every caution was observed in securing against such a result. There was no guard kept, though we knew the time would come when that would be a necessary duty. B CHAPTER III BESANCON'S ADVENTURES IN THE SWAMPS » The prairie traveller never sleeps after daybreak. He is usually astir before that time. He has many ' chores ' to perform, unknown to the ordinary traveller who rests in the roadside inn. He has to pack up his tent and bed, cook his own breakfast, and saddle his horse. All this requires time, therefore an early start is necessary. We were on our feet before the sun had shown his disc above the black-jacks. Lanty had the start of us, and had freshened up his fire. Already the coffee- kettle was bubbling audibly, and the great frying-pan perfumed the camp with an incense more agreeable than the odours of Araby. The raw air of the morning had brought everybody around the fire. Thomson was pruning and cleansing his nails ; the Kentuckian was cutting a fresh ' chunk ' from his plug of 'James's River'; the doctor had just returned from the stream, where he had refreshed himself by a ' nip ' from his pewter flask ; Besantjon was packing up his portfolios ; the zoologist was lighting his long pipe, and the ' Captain ' was looking to his favourite horse, while inhaling the fragrance of a ' Havannah.' The guides stood with their blankets hanging from their shoulders, silent and thoughtful. In half an hour breakfast was over, the tents and utensils were restored to the waggon, the horses were brought in and saddled, the mules ' hitched up,' and the expedition once more on its way. This day we made not quite so good a journey. The roads were heavier, the country more thickly timbered, and the ground more hilly. We had several small i8 Besanqon^s Adventures in the Swamps 19 streams to ford, and this retarded our progress. Twenty miles was the extent of our journey. We encamped again without any of us having killed or seen game. Although we had beaten the bushes on both sides of our course, nothing bigger than the red-bird (scarlet tanager, Tyranga rubra), a screaming jay, or an occasional flight of finches gratified our sight. We reached our camp somewhat disappointed. Even old Ike and Redwood came into camp without game, alleging also that they had not met with the sign of a living quadruped. Our second camp was also on the bank of a small stream. Shortly after our arrival on the ground, Thompson started out afoot, taking with him his gun. He had noticed a tract of marsh at no great distance off. He thought it promised well for snipe. He had not been long gone when two reports echoed back, and then shortly after another and another. He had found something to empty his gun at. Presently we saw him returning with a brace and a half of birds that looked very much like large snipe. So he thought them, but that question was set at rest by the zoologist, who pronounced them at once to be the American ' Curlew ' of Wilson {Numenius longirostris). Curlew or snipe, they were soon divested of the feathery coat, and placed in Lanty's frying-pan. Excellent eating they proved, having only the fault that there was not enough of them. These birds formed the topic of our after-supper conversation, and then it generalised to the different species of wading birds of America, and at length that singular creature, the ' ibis,' became the theme. This came round by Besan^on remarking that a species of ibis was brought by the Indians to the markets of New Orleans, and sold there under the name of ' Spanish Curlew.' This was the white ibis {Tantalus albus),\v\\\c\\ the zoologist stated was found in plenty along the whole southern coast of the United States, There were two other species, he said, natives of the warm parts of North America, the 'wood ibis' {Tantalus loculator), which 20 The Hunters' Feast more nearly resembles the sacred ibis of Egypt, and the beautiful 'sacred ibis' {Tantalus ruber\ \^\{\z\\. last is rarer than the others. Our venerable companion, who had the ornithology of America, if I may use the expression, at his fingers' ends, imparted many curious details of the habits of these rare birds. All listened with interest to his statements — even the hunter-guides, for with all their apparent rudeness of demeanour there was a dash of the naturalist in these fellows. When the zoologist became silent, the young Creole took up the conversation. Talking of the ibis, he said, reminded him of an adventure he had met with while in pursuit of these birds among the swamps of his native state. He would relate it to us. Of course we were rejoiced at the proposal. We were just the audience for an ' adventure,' and after rolling a fresh cigarette the botanist began his narration. 'During one of my college vacations I made a botanical excursion to the south-western part of Louisiana. Before leaving home I had promised a dear friend to bring him the skins of such rare birds as were known to frequent the swampy region I was about to traverse, but he was especially desirous I should obtain for him some specimens of the red ibis, which he intended to have " mounted." I gave my word that no opportunity should be lost of obtaining these birds, and I was very anxious to make good my promise. ' The southern part of the State of Louisiana is one vast labyrinth of swamps, bayous, and lagoons. The bayous are sluggish streams that glide sleepily along, sometimes running one way, and sometimes the very opposite, according to the season of the year. Many of them are outlets of the Mississippi, which begins to shed off its waters more than 300 miles from its mouth. These bayous are deep, sometimes narrow, sometimes wide, with islets in their midst. They and their con- tiguous swamps are the great habitat of the alligator and the fresh-water shark — the gar. Numerous species of water and wading fowl fly over them, and plunge through Besanqon^s Advenhires in the Swamps 21 their dark tide. Here you may see the red flamingo, the egret, the trumpeter-swan, the blue heron, the wild goose, the crane, the snake-bird, the pelican, and the ibis ; you may likewise see the osprey, and the white- headed eagle robbing him of his prey. Both swamps and bayous produce abundantly fish, reptile, and insect, and are, consequently, the favourite resort of hundreds of birds which prey upon these creatures. In some places their waters form a complete net-work over the country, which you may traverse with a small boat in almost any direction ; indeed, this is the means by which many settlements communicate with each other. As you approach southwards towards the Gulf, you get clear of the timber ; and within some fifty miles of the sea, there is not a tree to be seen. ' In the first day or two that I was out, I had succeeded in getting all the specimens I wanted, with the exception of the ibis. This shy creature avoided me ; in fact I had only seen one or two in my excursions, and these at a great distance. I still, however, had hopes of finding them before my return to my friend. ' About the third or fourth day I set out from a small settlement on the edge of one of the larger bayous. I had no other company than my gun. I was even un- attended by a dog, as my favourite spaniel had the day before been bitten by an alligator while swimming across the bayou, and I was compelled to leave him at the settlement. Of course the object of my excursion was a search after new flora, but I had become by this time very desirous of getting the rare ibis, and I was determined half to neglect my botanising for that purpose. I went of course in a boat, a light skiff, such as is commonly used by the inhabitants of these parts. ' Occasionally using the paddles, I allowed myself to float some four or five miles down the main bayou ; but as the birds I was in search of did not appear, I struck into a " branch," and sculled myself up-stream. This carried me through a solitary region, with marshes stretching as far as the eye could see, covered with 22 The Hunters' Feast tall reeds. There was no habitation, nor aught that betokened the presence of man. It was just possible that I was the first human being who had ever found a motive for propelling a boat through the dark waters of this solitary stream. ' As I advanced I fell in with game ; and I succeeded in bagging several, both of the great wood-ibis and the white species. I also shot a fine white-headed eagle {Falco lezicocephalus), which came soaring over my boat, unconscious of danger. But the bird which I most wanted seemed that which could not be obtained. I wanted the scarlet ibis. * I think I had rowed some three miles up-stream, and was about to take in my oars and leave my boat to float back again, when I perceived that, a little farther up, the bayou widened. Curiosity prompted me to continue ; and after pulling a few hundred strokes, I found myself at the end of an oblong lake, a mile or so in length. It was deep, dark, marshy around the shores, and full of alligators. I saw their ugly forms and long serrated backs as they floated about in all parts of it, hungrily hunting for fish and eating one another ; but all this was nothing new, for I had witnessed similar scenes during the whole of my excursion. What drew my attention most was a small islet near the middle of the lake, upon one end of which stood a row of upright forms of a bright scarlet colour. These red creature's were the very objects I was in search of. They might be flamingoes : I could not tell at that distance. So much the better, if I could only succeed in getting a shot at them ; but these creatures are even more wary than the ibis ; and as the islet was low, and altogether without cover, it was not likely they would allow me to come within range : nevertheless I was determined to make the attempt. I rowed up the lake, occasionally turning my head to see if the game had taken the alarm. The sun was hot and dazzling ; and as the bright scarlet was magnified by refraction, I fancied for a long time they were flamingoes. This fancy was dissipated as I drew near. The outlines of the bills, like the blade of Besanqon's Adventures in the Swamps 23 a sabre, convinced me they were the ibis ; besides, I now saw that they were less than three feet in height, while the flamingoes stand five. There were a dozen of them in all. These were balancing themselves, as is their usual habit, on one leg, apparently asleep, or buried in deep thought. They were on the upper extremity of the islet, while I was approaching it from below. It was not above sixty yards across, and could I only reach the point nearest me, I knew my gun would throw shot to kill at that distance. I feared the stroke of the sculls would start them, and I pulled slowly and cautiously. Perhaps the great heat — for it was as hot a day as I can remember — had rendered them torpid or lazy. Whether or not, they sat still until the cut-water of my skiff touched the bank of the islet. I drew my gun up cautiously, took aim, and fired both barrels almost simultaneously. When the smoke cleared out of my eyes, I saw that all the birds had flown off except one, that lay stretched out by the edge of the water. ' Gun in hand, I leaped out of the boat and ran across the islet to bag my game. This occupied but a few minutes ; and I was turning to go back to the skiff, when, to my consternation, I saw it out upon the lake, and rapidly floating downward ! ' In my haste I had left it unfastened, and the bayou current had carried it off. It was still but a hundred yards distant, but it might as well have been a hundred miles, for at that time I could not swim a stroke. ' My first impulse was to rush down to the lake and after the boat. This impulse was checked on arriving at the water's edge, which I saw at a glance was fathoms in depth. Quick reflection told me that the boat was gone — irrecoverably gone ! * I did not at first comprehend the full peril of my situation ; nor will you, gentlemen. I was on an islet, in a lake, only half a mile from its shores — alone, it is true, and without a boat ; but what of that ? Many a man had been so before, with not an idea of danger. ' These were first thoughts, natural enough ; but they rapidly gave place to others of a far different character. 24 The Hunters' Feast When I gazed after my boat, now beyond recovery — when I looked around, and saw that the lake lay in the middle of an interminable swamp, the shores of which, even could I have reached them, did not seem to promise me footing — when I reflected that, being unable to swim, I could not reach them — that upon the islet there was either tree, nor log, nor bush, not a stick out of which I might make a raft — I say, when I reflected upon all these things, there arose in my mind a feeling of well- defined and absolute horror. ' It is true I was only in a lake, a mile or so in width ; but so far as the peril and helplessness of my situation were concerned, I might as v/ell have been upon a rock in the middle of the Atlantic. I knew that there was no settlement within miles — miles of pathless swamp. I knew that no one could either see or hear me — no one was at all likely to come near the lake ; indeed, I felt satisfied that my faithless boat was the first keel that had ever cut its waters. The very tameness of the birds wheeling round my head was evidence of this. I felt satisfied, too, that without some one to help me, I should never go out from that lake ; I must die on the islet, or drown in attempting to leave it ! ' These reflections rolled rapidly over my startled soul. The facts were clear, the hypothesis definite, the sequence certain ; there was no ambiguity, no suppositious hinge upon which I could hang a hope ; no, not one. I could not even expect that I should be missed and sought for ; there was no one to search for me. The simple habitans of the village I had left knew me not — I was a stranger among them : they only knew me as a stranger, and fancied me a strange individual ; one who made lonely excursions, and brought home bunches of weeds, with birds, insects, and reptiles, which they had never before seen, although gathered at their own doors. My absence, besides, would be nothing new to them, even though it lasted for days ; I had often been absent before, a week at a time. There was no hope of my being missed. ' I have said that these reflections came and passed Besanqoiis Adventures in the Swamps 25 quickly. In less than a minute, my affrighted soul was in full possession of them, and almost yielded itself to despair. I shouted, but rather involuntarily than with any hope that I should be heard ; I shouted loudly and fiercely : my answer — the echoes of my own voice, the shriek of the osprey, and the maniac laugh of the white- headed eagle. ' I ceased to shout, threw my gun to the earth and tottered down beside it. I can imagine the feelings of a man shut up in a gloomy prison — they are not pleasant. I have been lost upon the wild prairie — the land-sea — without bush, break, or star to guide me — that was worse. There you look around ; you see nothing ; you hear nothing ; you are alone with God, and you tremble in his presence ; your senses swim ; your brain reels ; you are afraid of yourself ; you are afraid of your own mind. Deserted by everything else, you dread lest it, too, may forsake you. There is horror in this — it is very horrible — it is hard to bear ; but I have borne it all, and would bear it again twenty times over rather than endure once more the first hour I spent on that lonely islet in that lonely lake. Your prison may be dark and silent, but you feel that you are not utterly alone ; beings like yourself are near, though they be your jailers. Lost on the prairie, you are alone ; but you are free. In the islet, I felt that I was alone ; that I was not free ; in the islet I experienced the feelings of the prairie and the prison combined. ' I lay in a state of stupor — almost unconscious ; how long I know not, but many hours I am certain ; I knew this by the sun — it was going down when I awoke, if I may so term the recovery of my stricken senses. I was aroused by a strange circumstance : I was surrounded by dark objects of hideous shape and hue — reptiles they were. They had been before my eyes for some time, but I had not seen them. I had only a sort of dreamy consciousness of their presence ; but I heard them at length: my ear was in better tune, and the strange noises they uttered reached my intellect. It sounded 26 The Hunters Feast like the blowing of j^reat bellows, with now and then a note harsher and louder, like the roaring of a bull. This startled me, and I looked up and bent my eyes upon the objects ; they were forms of the crocodilidce, the giant lizards — they were alligators. 'Huge ones they were, many of them; and many were they in number — a hundred at least were crawling over the islet, before, behind, and on all sides around me. Their long gaunt jaws and channelled snouts projected forward so as almost to touch my body ; and their eyes, usually leaden, seemed now to glare. ' Impelled by this new danger, I sprang to my feet, when, recognising the upright form of man, the reptiles scuttled off, and plunging hurriedly into the lake, hid their hideous bodies under the water. ' The incident in some measure revived me. I saw that I was not alone ; there was company even in the crocodiles. I gradually became more myself; and began to reflect with some degree of coolness on the circumstances that surrounded me. My eyes wandered over the islet ; every inch of it came under my glance ; every object upon it was scrutinised — the moulted feathers of wild-fowl, the pieces of mud, the fresh-water mussels (unios) strewed upon its beach — all were examined. Still the barren answer — no means of escape. ' The islet was but the head of a sand-bar, formed by the eddy, perhaps gathered together within the year. It was bare of herbage, with the exception of a few tufts of grass. There was neither tree nor bush upon it : not a stick. A raft indeed ! There was not wood enough to make a raft that would have floated a frog. The idea of a raft was but briefly entertained ; such a thought had certainly crossed my mind, but a single glance round the islet dispelled it before it had taken shape. ' I paced my prison from end to end ; from side to side, I walked it over, I tried the water's depth ; on all sides I sounded it, wading recklessly in ; everywhere it deepened rapidly as I advanced. Three lengths of BesanqorCs Adventures in the Stvainps 27 myself from the islet's edge, and I was up to the neck. The huge reptiles swam around, snorting and blowing ; they were bolder in this element. I could not have waded safely ashore, even had the water been shallow. To swim it — no, even though I swam like a duck, they would have closed upon and quartered me before I could have made a dozen strokes. Horrified by their demonstrations, I hurried back upon dry ground, and paced the islet with dripping garments. ' I continued walking until night, which gathered around me dark and dismal. With night came new voices — the hideous voices of the nocturnal swamp ; the qua-qua of the night-heron, the screech of the swamp- owl, the cry of the bittern, the el-l-uk of the great water- toad, the tinkling of the bell-frog, and the chirp of the savanna-cricket — all fell upon my ear. Sounds still harsher and more hideous were heard around me — the plashing of the alligator, and the roaring of his voice ; these reminded me that I must not go to sleep. To sleep ! I durst not have slept for a single instant. Even when I lay for a few minutes motionless, the dark reptiles came crawling round me — so close that I could have put forth my hand and touched them. ' At intervals, I sprang to my feet, shouted, swept my gun round, and chased them back to the water, into which they betook themselves with a sullen plunge, but with little semblance of fear. At each fresh demonstra- tion on my part they showed less alarm, until I could no longer drive them either with shouts or threatening gestures. They only retreated a few feet, forming an irregular circle round me. 'Thus hemmed in, I became frightened in turn. I loaded my gun and fired ; I killed none. They are impervious to a bullet, except in the eye, or under the forearm. It was too dark to aim at these parts ; and my shots glanced harmlessly from the pyramidal scales of their bodies. The loud report, however, and the blaze frightened them, and they fled, to return again after a long interval. I was asleep when they returned ; I had gone to sleep in spite of my efforts to keep 28 TJie Hunters' Feast awake. I was startled by the touch of something cold ; and half-stifled by the strong musky odour that filled the air. I threw out my arms ; my fingers rested upon an object slippery and clammy : it was one of these monsters — one of gigantic size. He had crawled close alongside me, and was preparing to make his attack ; as I saw that he was bent in the form of a bow, and I knew that these creatures assume that attitude when about to strike their victim. I was just in time to spring aside, and avoid the stroke of his powerful tail that the next moment swept the ground where I had lain. Again I fired, and he with the rest once more retreated to the lake. * All thoughts of going to sleep were at an end. Not that I felt wakeful ; on the contrary, wearied with my day's exertion — for I had had a long pull under a hot tropical sun — I could have lain down upon the earth, in the mud, anywhere, and slept in an instant. Nothing but the dread certainty of my peril kept me awake. Once again before morning, I was compelled to battle with the hideous reptiles, and chase them away with a shot from my gun. ' Morning came at length, but with it no change in my perilous position. The light only showed me my island prison, but revealed no way of escape from it. Indeed, the change could not be called for the better, for the fervid rays of an almost vertical sun poured down upon me until my skin blistered. I was already speckled by the bites of a thousand swamp -flies and mosquitoes, that all night long had preyed upon me. There was not a cloud in the heavens to shade me; and the sunbeams smote the surface of the dead bayou with a double intensity. ' Towards evening, I began to hunger ; no wonder at that : I had not eaten since leaving the village settle- ment. To assuage thirst, I drank the water of the lake, turbid and slimy as it was. 1 drank it in large quantities, for it was hot, and only moistened my palate without quenching the craving of my appetite. Of water there was enough; I had more to fear from want of food. BesanqorHs Adventures in the Swamps 29 * What could I eat ? The ibis. But how to cook it ? There was nothing wherewith to make a fire — not a stick. No matter for that. Cooking is a modern invention, a luxury for pampered palates. I divested the ibis of its brilliant plumage and ate it raw. I spoiled my specimen, but at the time there was little thought of that : there was not much of the naturahst left in me, I anathematised the hour I had ever promised to procure the bird. I wished my friend up to his neck in a swamp. 'The ibis did not weigh above three pounds, bones and all. It served me for a second meal, a breakfast ; but at this dejeiiner scms fourcJiette I picked the bones. ' What next ? starve ? No — not yet. In the battles I had had with the alligators during the second night, one of them had received a shot that proved mortal. The hideous carcass of the reptile lay dead upon the beach. I need not starve: I could eat that. Such were my reflections. I must hunger, though, before I could bring myself to touch the musky morsel. 'Two more days' fasting conquered my squeamish- ness. I drew out my knife, cut a steak from the alligator's tail, and ate it — not the one I had first killed, but a second ; the other was now putrid, rapidly decomposing under the hot sun : its odour filled the islet. 'The stench had grown intolerable. There was not a breath of air stirring, otherwise I might have shunned it by keeping to windward. The whole atmosphere of the islet, as well as a large circle around it, was impregnated with the fearful effluvium. I could bear it no longer. With the aid of my gun, I pushed the half- decomposed carcass into the lake ; perhaps the current might carry it away. It did : I had the gratification to see it float off. ' This circumstance led me into a train of reflections. Why did the body of the alligator float? It was swollen — inflated with gases. Ha ! 'An idea shot suddenly through my mind — one of those brilliant ideas, the children of necessity. 30 The Hunters^ Feast I thought of the floating alh'gator, of its intestines — what if I inflated them ? Yes, yes ! buoys and bladders, floats and life-preservers ! that was the thought. I would open the alligators, make a buoy of their intestines, and that would bear me from the islet ! ' I did not lose a moment's time ; I was full of energy: hope had given me new life. My gun was loaded — a huge crocodile that swam near the shore received the shot in his eye, I dragged him on the beach; with my knife I laid open his entrails. Few they were, but enough for my purpose. A plume- quill from the wing of the ibis served me for a blow-pipe. I saw the bladder-like skin expand, until I was surrounded by objects like great sausages. These were tied together, and fastened to my body, and then, with a plunge, I entered the waters of the lake, and floated downward. I had tied on my life-preservers in such a way that I sat in the water in an upright position, holding my gun with both hands. This I intended to have used as a club in case I should be attacked by the alligators ; but I had chosen the hot hour of noon, when these creatures lie in a half torpid state, and to my joy I was not molested. ' Half an hour's drifting with the current carried me to the end of the lake, and I found myself at the debouchure of the bayou. Here, to my great delight, I saw my boat in a swamp, where it had been caught and held fast by the sedge. A i^w minutes more, and I had swung myself over the gunwale, and was sculling with eager strokes down the smooth waters of the bayou. ' Of course my adventure was ended, and I reached the settlement in safety, but without the object of my excursion. I was enabled, however, to procure it some days after, and had the gratification of being able to keep my promise to my friend.' Besan^on's adventure had interested all of us ; the old hunter-naturalist seemed delighted with it. No doubt it revived within him the memories of many a perilous incident in his own life. Besafigon's Adventures in the Swamps 31 It was evident that in the circle of the camp-fire there was more than one pair of lips ready to narrate some similiar adventure, but the hour was late, and all agreed it would be better to go to rest. On to- morrow night, some other would take their turn and, in fact, a regular agreement was entered into that each one of the party who had at any period of his life been the hero or participator in any hunting adventure should narrate the same for the entertainment of the others. This would bring out a regular ' round of stories by the camp-fire,' and would enable us to kill the many long evenings we had to pass before coming up with the buffalo. The conditions were, that the stories should exclusively relate to birds or animals — in fact, any hunted game belonging to the fauna of the American Continent : furthermore, that each should contribute his quota of information about whatever animal should chance to be the subject of the narration — about its habits, its geographical range ; in short, its general natural history, as well as the various modes of hunting it, practiced in different places by different people. This, it was alleged, would render our camp conversation instructive as well as entertaining. The idea originated with the old hunter-naturalist, who very wisely reasoned that among so many gentle- men of large hunting experience he might collect new facts for his favourite science — for to just such men, and not to the closet-dreamer, is natural history indebted ■' for its most interesting chapters. Of course every one of us, guides and all, warmly applauded the proposal, for there was no one among us averse to receiving a little knowledge of so entertaining a character. No doubt to the naturalist himself we should be indebted for most part of it ; and his mode of communicating was so pleasant, that even the rude trappers listened to him with wonder and attention. They saw that he was no ' greenhorn ' either in woodcraft or prairie knowledge, and that was a sufficient claim to their consideration. There is no character less esteemed by the regular 32 The Hunters' Feast ' mountain man ' than a ' greenhorn,'— that is, one who is new to the ways of their wilderness life. With the design of an early start, we once more crept into our several quarters and went to sleep. CHAPTER IV THE PASSENGER PIGEONS After an early breakfast we lit our pipes and cigars, and took to the road. The sun was very bright, and in less than two hours after starting we were sweltering under a heat almost tropical. It was one of those autumn days peculiar to America, where even a high latitude seems to be no protection against the sun, and his beams fall upon one with as much fervour as they would under the line itself The first part of our journey was through open woods of black-jack, whose stunted forms afforded no shade, but only shut off the breeze which might otherwise have fanned us. While fording a shallow stream, the doctor's scraggy, ill-tempered horse took a fit of kicking quite frantical. For some time it seemed likely that either the doctor himself, or his saddle-bags, would be deposited in the bottom of the creek, but after a severe spell of whipping and kicking on the part of the rider, the animal moved on again. What bad set it dancing? That was the question. It had the disposition to be ' frisky,' but usually appeared to be lacking in strength. The buzz of a horse-fly sounding in our ears explained all. It was one of those large insects — the ' horse-bug ' — peculiar to the Mississippi country, and usually found near watercourses. They are more terrible to horses than a fierce dog would be. I have known horses gallop away from them as if pursued by a beast of prey. There is a belief among western people that these insects are propagated by the horses themselves ; that is, that the eggs of the female are deposited upon the grass, so that the horses may swallow them ; that 33 c 34 The Hunters Feast incubation goes on within the stomach of the animal, and that the chrysalis is afterwards voided. I have met with others who believed in a still stranger theory ; that the insect itself actually sought, and found, a passage into the stomach of the horse, some said by passing down his throat, others by boring a hole through his abdomen ; and that in such cases the horse usually sickened, and was in danger of dying ! After the doctor's mustang had returned to proper behaviour, these odd theories became the subject of discussion. The Kentuckian believed in them — the Englishman doubted them — the hunter-naturalist could not endorse them — and Besan^on ignored them entirely. Shortly after the incident we entered the bottom lands of a considerable stream. These were heavily timbered, and the shadow of the great forest trees afforded us a pleasant relief from the hot sun. Our guides told us we had several miles of such woods to pass throuf^h, and we were glad of the information. We noticed that most of the trees were beech, and their smooth straight trunks rose like columns around us. The beech (Fagiis sylvatica) is one of the most beautiful of American forest trees. Unlike most of the others, its bark is smooth, without fissures, and often of a silvery hue. Large beech trees standing by the path, or near a cross road, are often seen covered with names, initials, and dates. Even the Indian often takes advantage of the bark of a beech tree to signalise his presence to his friends, or com- memorate some savage exploit. Indeed, the beautiful column-like trunk seems to invite the knife, and many a souvenir is carved upon it by the loitering way-farer. It does not, however, invite the axe of the settler. On the contrary, the bcechen woods often remain un- touched, while others fall around them — partly because these trees are not usually the indices of the richest soil, but more from the fact that clearing a piece of beech forest is no easy matter. The green logs do not burn so readily as those of the oak, the elm, the maple, or The Passenger Pigeons 35 poplar, and hence the necessity of * roHing ' them on the ground to be cleared — a serious thing where labour is scarce and dear. We were riding silently along, when all at once our ears were assailed by a strange noise. It resembled the clapping of a thousand pairs of hands, followed by a whistling sound, as if a strong wind had set suddenly in among the trees. We all knew well enough what it meant, and the simultaneous cry of 'pigeons' was followed by half a dozen simultaneous cracks from the guns of the party, and several bluish birds fell to the ground. We had stumbled upon a feeding-place of the passenger-pigeon {Colinnba migratoi'ia). Our route was immediately abandoned, and in a few minutes we were in the thick of the flock, cracking away at them both with shot-gun and rifle. It was not so easy, however, to bring them down in any considerable numbers. In following them up we soon strayed from each other, until our party was completely scattered, and nearly two hours elapsed before we got back to the road. Our game-bag, however, made a fine show, and about forty brace were deposited in the waggon. With the anticipation of roast pigeon and ' pot pie,' we rode on more cheerily to our night camp. All along the route the pigeons were seen, and occasionally large flocks whirled over our heads under the canopy of the trees. Satiated with the sport, and not caring to waste our ammunition, we did not heed them farther. In order to give Lanty due time for the duties of the amine, we halted a little earlier than usual. Our day's march had been a short one, but the excitement and sport of the pigeon-hunt repaid us for the loss of time. Our dinner-supper — for it was a combination of both — was the dish known in America as ' pot pie,' in which the principal ingredients were the pigeons, some soft flour paste, with a few slices of bacon to give it a flavour. Properly speaking, the 'pot pie' is not a pie, but a stew. Ours was excellent, and as our appetites were in a similar condition, a goodly quantity was used up in appeasing them. 36 The Htmters' Feast Of course the conversation of the evening was the 'wild pigeon of America,' and the following facts regarding its natural history — although many of them are by no means new — may prove interesting to the reader, as they did to those who listened to the relation of them around our camp-fire. The * passenger ' is less in size than the house pigeon. In the air it looks not unlike the kite, wanting the forked or ' swallow' tail. That of the pigeon is cuneiform. Its colour is best described by calling it a nearly uniform slate. In the male the colours are deeper, and the neck- feathers present the same changeable hues of green, gold, and purple-crimson, generally observed in birds of this species. It is only in the woods, and when freshly caught or killed, that these brilliant tints can be seen to perfection. They fade in captivity, and immediately after the bird has been shot. They seem to form part of its life and liberty, and disappear when it is robbed of either. I have often thrust the wild pigeon, freshly killed, into my game-bag, glittering like an opal. I have drawn it forth a few hours after of a dull leaden hue, and altogether unlike the same bird. As with all birds of this tribe, the female is inferior to the male, both in size and plumage. The eye is less vivid. In the male it is of the most brilliant fiery orange, inclosed in a well-defined circle of red. The eye is in truth its finest feature, and never fails to strike the beholder with admiration. The most singular fact in the natural history of the * passenger ' is their countless numbers. Audubon saw a flock that contained ' one billion one hundred and sixteen millions of birds ! ' Wilson counted, or rather computed, another flock of 'two thousand two hundred and thirty millions!' These numbers seem incredible. I have no doubt of their truth. I have no doubt that they are under rather than over the numbers actually seen by both these naturalists, for both made most liberal allowances in their calculations. Where do these immense flocks come from ? The wild pigeons breed in all parts of America. The Passenger Pigeons 37 Their breeding-places are found as far north as the Hudson's Bay, and they have been seen in the southern forests of Louisiana and Texas. The nests are built upon high trees, and resemble immense rookeries. In Kentucky, one of their breeding-places was forty miles in length, by several in breadth ! One hundred nests will often be found upon a single tree, and in each nest there is but one ' squab.' The eggs are pure white, like those of the common kind, and, like them, they breed several times during the year, but principally when food is plentiful. They establish themselves in great 'roosts,' sometimes for years together, to which each night they return from their distant excursions — hundreds of miles, perhaps ; for this is but a short fly for travellers who can pass over a mile in a single minute, and some of whom have even strayed across the Atlantic to England ! They, however, as I myself have observed, remain in the same woods where they have been feed- ing for several days together. I have also noticed that they prefer roosting in the low underwood, even when tall trees are close at hand. If near water, or hanging over a stream, the place is still more to their liking ; and in the morning they may be seen alighting on the bank to drink, before taking to their daily occupation. The great ' roosts ' and breeding-places are favourite resorts for numerous birds of prey. The small vultures {CatJiartes aura Airatus), or, as they are called in the west, ' turkey buzzard,' and ' carrion crow,' do not confine themselves to carrion alone. They are fond of live 'squabs,' which they drag out of their nests at pleasure. Numerous hawks and kites prey upon them ; and even the great white-headed eagle {Falco leuco- cephalus) may be seen soaring above, and occasionally swooping down for a dainty morsel. On the ground beneath move enemies of a different kind, both biped and quadruped. Fowlers with their guns and long poles ; farmers with waggons to carry off the dead birds ; and even droves of hogs to devour them. Trees fall under the axe, and huge branches break down by the weight of the birds themselves, killing numbers in 38 The Hiinters' Feast their descent. Torches are used — for it is usually a night scene, after the return of the birds from feeding, — pots of burning sulphur, and other engines of destruction. A noisy scene it is. The clapping of a million pair of wings, like the roaring of thunder ; the shots ; the shouts ; men hoarsely calling to each other ; women and children screaming their delight ; the barking of dogs ; the neighing of horses ; the crash of breaking branches ; and the 'chuck' of the woodman's axe, all mingled together. When the men — saturated with slaughter, and white with ordure — have retired beyond the borders of the roost to rest themselves for the night, their ground is occupied by the prowling wolf and the fox ; the racoon and the cougar ; the lynx and the great black bear. With so many enemies, one would think that the ' passengers ' would soon be exterminated. Not so. They are too prolific for that. Indeed, were it not for these enemies, they themselves would perish for want of food. Fancy what it takes to feed them ! The flock seen by Wilson would require eighteen million bushels of grain every day ! — and it, most likely, was only one of many such that at the time were traversing the vast continent of America. Upon what do they feed ? it will be asked. Upon the fruits of the great forest — upon the acorns, the nuts of the beech, upon buck-wheat, and Indian corn ; upon many species of berries, such as the huckleberry {whortleberry), the hackberry {Ccltis crassi- folid), and the fruit of the holly. In the northern regions, where these are scarce, the berries of the juniper tree {Juniperus comnmnis) form the principal food. On the other hand, among the southern plantations, they devour greedily the rice, as well as the nuts of the chestnut-tree and several pieces of oaks. But their staple food is the beechnut, or ' mast,' as it is called. Of this the pigeons are fond, and fortunately it exists in great plenty. In the forests of Western America there are vast tracks covered almost entirely with the beech-tree. As already stated, these beechen forests of America remain almost intact, and so long as they shower down their millions of bushels of ' mast,' so long will the The Passenger Pigeons 39 passenger pigeons flutter in countless numbers amidst their branches. Their migration is semi-annual ; but unlike most other migratory birds, it is far from being regular. Their flight is, in fact, not a periodical migration, but a sort of nomadic existence — food being the object which keeps them in motion and directs their course. The scarcity in one part determines their movement to another. When there is more than the usual fall of snow in the northern regions, vast flocks make their appear- ance in the middle States, as in Ohio and Kentucky. This may in some measure account for the overcrowded ' roosts ' which have been occasionally seen, but which are by no means common. You may live in the west for many years without witnessing a scene such as those described by Wilson and Audubon, though once or twice every year you may see pigeons enough to astonish you. It must not be imagined that the wild pigeons of America are so 'tame' as they have been sometimes represented. That is their character only while young at the breeding-places, or at the great roosts when confused by crowding upon each other, and mystified by torchlight. Far different are they when wandering through the open woods in search of food. It is then both difficult to approach and hard to kill them. Odd birds you may easily reach ; you may see them perched upon the branches on all sides of you, and within shot-range ; but the tJiick of the flock, somehow or other, always keeps from one to two hundred yards off. The sportsman cannot bring himself to fire at single birds. No. There is a tree near at hand literally black with pigeons. Its branches creak under the weight. What a fine havoc he will make if he can but get near enough ! But that is the difficulty ; there is no cover, and he must approach as he best can without it. He continues to advance ; the birds sit silent, watching his movements. He treads lightly and with caution ; he inwardly anathematises the dead leaves and twigs that make a loud rustling 40 The Hunters' Feast under his feet. The birds appear restless ; several stretch out their necks as if to spring off. At length he deems himself fairly within range, and raises his gun to take aim ; but this is a signal for the shy game, and before he can draw trigger they are off to another tree ! Some stragglers still remain ; and at them he levels his piece and fires. The shot is a random one ; for our sportsman, having failed to ' cover ' the flock, has become irritated and careless, and in all such cases the pigeons fly off with the loss of a few feathers. The gun is reloaded, and our amateur hunter, seeing the thick flock upon another tree, again endeavours to approach it, but with like success. CHAPTER V HUNT WITH A HOWITZER When the conversation about the haunts and habits of these birds began to flag, some one called for a ' pigeon story.' Who could tell a pigeon story? To our surprise the doctor volunteered one, and all gathered around to listen. ' Yes, gentlemen,' began the doctor, ' I have a pigeon adventure, which occurred to me some years ago. I was then living in Cincinnati, following my respectable calling, when I had the good fortune to set a broken leg for one Colonel P , a wealthy planter, who lived upon the bank of the river some sixty miles from the city. I made a handsome set of it, and won the colonel's friendship for ever. Shortly after, I was invited to his house, to be present at a great pigeon- hunt, which was to come off in the fall. The colonel's plantation stood among beech woods, and he had therefore an annual visitation of the pigeons, and could tell almost to a day when they would appear. The hunt he had arranged for the gratification of his numerous friends. 'As you all know, gentlemen, sixty miles in our western travel is a mere bagatelle ; and tired of pills and prescriptions, I flung myself into a boat, and in a few hours arrived at the colonel's stately home. A word or two about this stately home and its pro- prietor. 'Colonel P was a splendid specimen of the back- woods' gentleman — you will admit there are gentlemen in the backwoods.' (Here the doctor glanced good- humouredly, first at our English friend Thompson, and thgn at the Kentuckian, both of whom answered him 41 42 The Hunters^ Feast with a laugh.) ' His house was the type of a backwoods' mansion ; a wooden structure, both walls and roof. No matter. It has distributed as much hospitality in its time as many a marble palace ; that was one of its backwoods' characteristics. It stood, and I hope still stands, upon the north bank of the Ohio — that beautiful stream — " La belle riviere" as the French colonists, and before their time the Indians, used to call it. It was in the midst of the woods, though around it were a thousand acres of " clearing," where you might distinguish fields of golden wheat, and groves of shining maize plants waving aloft their yellow-flower tassels. You might note, too, the broad green leaf of the Nicotian " weed," or the bursting pod of the snow-white cotton. In the garden you might observe the sweet potato, the common one, the refreshing tomato, the huge water-melon, cantelopes, and musk melons, with many other delicious vegetables. You could see pods of red and green pepper growing upon trailing plants ; and beside them several species of peas and beans — all valuable for the colonel'g cuisine. There was an orchard, too, of several acres in extent. It was filled with fruit-trees, the finest peaches in the world, and the finest apples — the Newton pippins. Besides, there were luscious pears and plums, and upon the espaliers, vines bearing bushels of sweet grapes. If Colonel P lived in the woods, it cannot be said that he was surrounded by a desert. 'There were several substantial log-houses near the main building or mansion. They were the stable — and good horses there were in that stable ; the cow-house, for milk cattle ; the barn, to hold the wheat and maize- corn ; the smoke-house, for curing bacon : a large building for the dry tobacco ; a cotton-gin, with its shed of clap-boards ; bins for the husk fodder, and several smaller structures. In one corner you saw a low-walled erection that reminded you of a kennel, and the rich music that from time to time issued from its apertures would convince you that it was a kennel. If you had peeped into it, you would have seen a dozen of as fine stag-hounds as ever lifted a trail. The colonel wag Hunt with a Howitzer 43 somewhat partial to these pets, for he was a " mighty hunter." You might see a number of young colts in an adjoining lot ; a pet-deer, a buffalo-calf, that had been brought from the far prairies, pea-fowl, guinea-hens, turkeys, geese, ducks, and the usual proportion of common fowls. Rail-fences zigzaged off in all directions towards the edge of the woods. Huge trees, dead and divested of their leaves, stood up in the cleared fields. Turkey buzzards and carrion crows might be seen perched upon their grey naked limbs ; upon their summit you might observe the great rough- legged falcon ; and above all, cutting sharply against the blue sky, the fork-tailed kite sailing gently about,' Here the doctor's auditory interrupted him with a murmur of applause. The doctor was in fine spirits, and in a poetical mood. He continued. ' Such, gentlemen, was the sort of place I had come to visit ; and I saw at a glance that I could spend a few days there pleasantly enough — even without the additional attractions of a pigeon-hunt. * On my arrival I found the party assembled. It consisted of a score and a half of ladies and gentlemen, nearly all young people. The pigeons had not yet made their appearance, but were looked for every hour. The woods had assumed the gorgeous tints of autumn, that loveliest of seasons in the " far west." Already the ripe nuts and berries were scattered profusely over the earth, offering their annual banquet to God's wild creatures. The " mast " of the beech-tree, of which the wild pigeon is so fond, was showering down among the dead leaves. It was the very season at which the birds were accustomed to visit the beechen woods that girdled the colonel's plantation. They would no doubt soon appear. With this expectation everything was made ready ; each of the gentlemen was provided with a fowling-piece, or rifle if he preferred it ; and even some of the ladies insisted on being armed. ' To render the sport more exciting our host had established certain regulations. They were as follows : The gentlemen were divided into parties, of equal 44 The Hunters Feast numbers. These were to go in opposite directions, the ladies upon the first day of the hunt accompanying whichever they chose. Upon all succeeding days, however, the case would be different. The ladies were to accompany that party which upon the day previous had bagged the greatest number of birds. The victorious gentlemen, moreover, were endowed with other privi- leges, which lasted throughout the evening ; such as the choice of partners for the dinner-table and the dance. * I need not tell you, gentlemen, that in these con- ditions existed powerful motives for exertion. The colonel's guests were the elite of western society. Most of the gentlemen were young men or bachelors ; and among the ladies there were belles ; three or four of them rich and beautiful. On my arrival I could per- ceive signs of incipient flirtations. Attachments had already arisen ; and by many it would have been es- teemed anything but pleasant to be separated in the manner prescribed. A strong esprit du corps was thus established ; and, by the time the pigeons arrived, both parties had determined to do their utmost. In fact, I have never known so strong a feeling of rivalry to exist between two parties of amateur sportsmen. 'The pigeons at length arrived. It was a bright sunny morning, and yet the atmosphere was darkened, as the vast flock, a mile in breadth by several in length, passed across the canopy. The sound of their wings resembled a strong wind whistling among tree-tops, or through the rigging of a ship. We saw that they hovered over the woods, and settled among the tall beeches. * The beginning of the hunt was announced, and we set forth, each party taking the direction allotted to it. With each went a number of ladies, and even some of these were armed with light fowling pieces, determined that the party of their choice should be the victorious one. After a short ride, we found ourselves fairly " in the woods," and in the presence of the birds, and then the cracking commenced. Hunt with a Howitzer 45 ' In our party we had eight guns, exclusive of the small fowling-pieces (two of these), with which a brace of our heroines were armed, and which, truth compels me to confess, were less dangerous to the pigeons than to ourselves. Some of our guns were double-barrelled shot-guns, others were rifles. You will wonder at rifles being used in such a sport, and yet it is a fact that the gentlemen who carried rifles managed to do more execution than those who were armed with the other species. This arose from the circumstance that they were contented to aim at single birds, and, being good shot, they were almost sure to bring these down. The woods were filled with straggling pigeons. Odd birds were always within rifle range ; and thus, instead of wasting their time in endeavouring to approach the great flocks, our riflemen did nothing but load and fire. In this way they soon counted their game by dozens. ' Early in the evening, the pigeons, having filled their crops with the mast, disappeared. They flew off to some distant " roost." This of course concluded our sport for the day. We got together and counted our numbers. We had 640 birds. We returned home full of hope ; we felt certain that we had won for that day. Our antagonists had arrived before us. They showed us 726 dead pigeons. We were beaten. ' I really cannot explain the chagrin which this defeat occasioned to most of our party. They felt humiliated in the eyes of the ladies, whose company they were to lose on the morrow. To some there was extreme bitterness in the idea ; for, as I have already stated, attachments had sprung up, and jealous thoughts were naturally their concomitants. It was quite tantalising, as we parted next morning, to see the galaxy of lovely women ride off with our antagonists, while we sought the woods in the opposite direction, dispirited and in silence. ' We went, however, determined to do our best, and win the ladies for the morrow. A council was held, and each imparted his advice and encouragement : and then we all set to work with shot-gun and rifle. 4^ The Hunters^ Feast ' On this day an incident occurred that aided our " count " materially. As you know, gentlemen, the wild pigeons, while feeding, sometimes cover the ground so thickly that they crowd upon each other. They all advance in the same direction, those behind continually rising up and fluttering to the front, so that the surface presents a series of undulations like sea-waves. Frequently the birds alight upon each other's backs, for want of room upon the ground, and a confused mass of winged creatures is seen rolling through the woods. At such times, if the sportsman can only " head " the flock, he is sure of a good shot. Almost every pellet tells, and dozens may be brought down at a single discharge. ' In my progress through the woods, I had got separated from my companions, when I observed an immense flock approaching me after the manner described. I saw from their plumage that they were young birds, and therefore not likely to be easily alarmed. I drew my horse (I was mounted) behind a tree, and awaited their approach. This I did more from curiosity than any other motive, as, unfortunately, I carried a rifle, and could only have killed one or two at the best. The crowd came " swirling " forward, and when they were within some ten or fifteen paces distant, I fired into their midst. To my surprise, the flock did not take flight, but continued to advance as before, until they were almost among the horse's feet. I could stand it no longer. I drove the spurs deeply, and galloped into their midst, striking right and left as they fluttered up round me. Of course they were soon off; but of those that had been trodden upon by my horse, and others I had knocked down, I counted no less than twenty-seven ! Proud of my exploit, I gathered the birds into my bag, and rode in search of my companions. ' Our party on this day numbered over 800 head killed ; but, to our surprise and chagrin, our antagonists had beaten us by more than a hundred! ' The gentlemen of " ours " were wretched. The Hunt with a Hoivitzer 47 belles were monopolised by our antagonists ; we were scouted, and debarred every privilege. ' It was not to be endured ; something must be done. What was to be done? counselled we. If fair means will not answer, we must try the opposite. It was evident that our antagonists were better shots than we. * The colonel, too, was one of them, and he was sure to kill every time he pulled trigger. The odds were against us ; some plan must be devised ; some ruse must be adopted, and the idea of one had been passing through my mind during the whole of that day. It was this : — I had noticed, what has been just remarked, that, although the pigeons will not allow the sportsman to come within range of a fowling-piece, yet at a distance of little over a hundred yards they neither fear man nor beast. At that distance they sit unconcerned, thousands of them upon a single tree. It struck me that a gun large enough to throw shot among them would be certain of killing hundreds at each discharge ; but where was such a gun to be had ? As I reflected thus, " mountain howitzers " came into my mind. I remem- bered the small mountain howitzers I had seen at Covington. One of these loaded with shot would be the very weapon. I knew there was a battery of them at the Barracks. I knew that a friend of mine commanded the battery. By steamer, should one pass, it was but a i^^N hours to Covington. I proposed sending for a " mountain howitzer." ' I need hardly say that my proposal was hailed with a universal welcome on the part of my companions ; and without dropping a hint to the other party, it was at once resolved that the design should be carried into execution. It was carried into execution. An " up- river " boat chanced to pass in the nick of time. A messenger was forthwith despatched to Covington, and before twelve o'clock upon the following day another boat on her down trip brought the howitzer, and we had it secretly landed and conveyed to a place in the woods previously agreed upon. My friend, Captain C , 4S The Hunters' Feast had sent a " live corporal " along with it, and we had no difficulty in its management. ' As I had anticipated, it answered our purpose as though it had been made for it. Every shot brought down a shower of dead birds, and after one discharge alone the number obtained was 123! At night our " game-bag " counted over three thousand birds ! We were sure of the ladies for the morrow. ' Before returning home to our certain triumph, how- ever, there were some considerations. To-morrow we should have the ladies in our company ; some of the fair creatures would be as good as sure to " split" upon the howitzer. What was to be done to prevent this ! ' We eight had sworn to be staunch to each other. We had taken every precaution ; we had only used our " great gun " when far off, so that its report might not reach the ears of our antagonists ; but how about to-morrow ? Could we trust our fair companions with a secret ? Decidedly not. This was the unanimous conclusion. A new idea now came to our aid. We saw that we might dispense with the howitzer, and still manage to out-count our opponents. We would make a depository of birds in a safe place. There was a squatter's house near by : that would do. So we took the squatter into our council, and left some 1500 birds in his charge, the remainder being deemed sufficient for that day. From the 1500 thus left, we might each day take a few hundred to make up our game-bag just enough to out-number the other party. We did not send home the corporal and his howitzer. We might require him again ; so we quartered him upon the squatter. ' On returning home we found that our opponents had also made a " big day's work of it ; " but they were beaten by hundreds. The ladies were ours ! ' And we kept them until the end of the hunt, to the no little mortification of the gentlemen in the "minority:" to their surprise, as well ; for most of them being crack- shots, and several of us not at all so, they could not comprehend why they were every day beaten so Htint with a Howitzer 49 outrageously. We had hundreds to spare, and barrels of the birds were cured for winter use. ' Another thing quite puzzled our opponents, as well as many good people in the neighbourhood. That was the loud reports that had been heard in the woods. Some argued they were thunder, while others declared they must have proceeded from an earthquake. This last seemed the more probable, as the events I am narrating occurred but a few years after the great earthquake in the Mississippi Valley, and people's minds were prepared for such a thing. * I need not tell you how the knowing ones enjoyed the laugh for several days, and it was not until the colonel's rhmion was about to break up, that our secret was let out, to the no small chagrin of our opponents, but to the infinite amusement of our host himself, who, although one of the defeated party, often narrates to his friends the story of the " Hunt with the Howitzer."' CHAPTER VI KILLING A COUGAR Although we had made a five miles' march from the place where we had halted to shoot the pigeons, our night-camp was still within the boundaries of the flock. During the night we could hear them at intervals at no great distance ofif. A branch occasionally cracked, and then a fluttering of wings told of thousands dislodged or frightened by its fall. Sometimes the fluttering com- menced without any apparent cause. No doubt the great-horned owl {Strix virgmiana), the wild cat {Felis rufa), and the raccoon, were busy among them, and the silent attacks of these were causing the repeated alarms. Before going to rest, a torch-hunt was proposed by way of variety, but no material for making good torches could be found, and the idea was abandoned. Torches should be made of dry pine knots, and carried in some shallow vessel. The common fr}'ing-pan, with a long handle, is best for the purpose. Link-torches, unless of the best pitch-pine {Pinus rcsinosd), do not burn with sufficient brightness to stultify the pigeons. They will flutter off before the hunter can get his long pole within reach, whereas with a very brilliant light, he may ap- proach almost near enough to lay his hands upon them. As there were no pitch-pine trees in the neighbourhood, nor any good torch-wood, we were forced to give up the idea of a night hunt. During the night strange noises were heard by several who chanced to be awake. Some said they resembled the howling of dogs, while others compared them to the screaming of angry cats. One party said they were produced by wolves ; another, that the wild cats (lynxes) made them. But there was one that differed from all 50 Killing a Cotigar 51 the rest. It was a sort of prolonged hiss, that all except Ike believed to be the snort of the black bear. Ike, however, declared that it was not the bear, but the ' sniff,' as he termed it, of the ' painter ' (cougar). This was probable enough, considering the nature of the place. The cougar is well known to frequent the great roosts of the passenger-pigeon, and is fond of the flesh of these birds. In the morning our camp was still surrounded by the pigeons, sweeping about among the tree-trunks, and gathering the mast as they went. A few shots were fired, not from any inclination to continue the sport of killing them, but to lay in a fresh stock for the day's dinner. The surplus from yesterday's feast was thrown away, and left by the deserted camp — a banquet for the preying creatures that would soon visit the spot. We moved on, still surrounded by masses upon the wing. A singular incident occurred as we were passing through a sort of avenue in the forest. It was a narrow aisle, on both sides walled in by the thick foliage of the beeches. We were fairly within this hall-like passage, when it suddenly darkened at the opposite end. We saw that a cloud of pigeons had entered it, flying towards us. They were around our heads before they had noticed us. Seeing our party, they suddenly attempted to diverge from their course, but there was no other open to them, except to rise upward in a vertical direction. This they did on the instant — the clatter of their wings producing a noise like the continued roar of thunder. Some had approached so near, that the men on horseback, striking with their guns, knocked several to the ground ; and the Kentuckian, stretching upward his long arm, actually caught one of them on the wing. In an instant they were out of sight ; but at that instant two great birds appeared before us at the opening of the forest, which were at once recognised as a brace of white-headed eagles {Falco leucoceplialus). This ac- counted for the rash flight of the pigeons ; for the eagles had evidently been in pursuit of them, and had driven them to seek shelter under the trees. We were 52 The Hunters' Feast desirous of emptying our guns at the great birds of prey, and there was a simultaneous spurring of horses and cocking of guns : to no purpose, howev^er. The eagles were on the alert. They had already espied us ; and, uttering their maniac screams, they wheeled suddenly, and disappeared over the tree-tops. We had hardly recovered from this pleasant little bit of excitement, when the guide Ike, who rode in the advance, was seen suddenly to jerk up, exclaiming : ' Painter, by G — d ! I knovv'd I heerd a painter.' * Where ? where ? ' was hurriedly uttered by several voices, while all pressed forward to the guide. 'Yander!' replied Ike, pointing to a thicket of young beeches. ' He's tuk to the brush : ride round, fellurs. Mark, boy, round ! quick, d — n you ! ' There was a scramble of horsemen, with excited, anxious looks and gestures. Every one had his gun cocked and ready, and in a {^^^ seconds the small copse of beeches, with their golden-yellow leaves, was inclosed by a ring of hunters. Had the cougar got away, or was he still within the thicket? Several large trees grew out of its midst. Had he taken to one? The eyes of the party were turned upwards. The fierce creature was nowhere visible. It was impossible to see into every part of the jungle from the outside, as we sat in our saddles. The game might be crouching among the grass and brambles. What was to be done? We had no dogs. How was the cougar to be started ? It would be no small peril to penetrate the thicket a-foot. Who was to do it ? The question was answered by Redwood, who was now seen dismounting from his horse. 'Keep your eyes about you,' cried he. 'I'll make the varmint show if he's thur. Look sharp, then ! ' We saw Redwood enter fearlessly, leaving his horse hitched over a branch. We heard him no longer, as he proceeded with that stealthy silence known only to the Indian fighter. We listened, and waited in profound suspense. Not even the crackling of a branch broke the stillness. P^ull five minutes we waited, and then the Killing a Cougar 53 sharp crack of a rifle near the centre of the copsewood relieved us. The next moment was heard Redwood's voice crying aloud : ' Look out thur ! By G — d ! I've missed him.' Before we had time to change our attitudes another rifle cracked, and another voice was heard, crying in answer to Redwood : ' But, by G— d ! I haint.' ' He's hyur,' continued the voice ; * dead as mutton. Come this a way, an' yu'll see the beauty.' Ike's voice was recognised, and we all galloped to the spot where it proceeded from. At his feet lay the body of the panther quite dead. There was a red spot run- ning blood between the ribs, where Ike's bullet had penetrated. In trying to escape from the thicket, the cougar had halted a moment, in a crouching attitude, directly before Ike's face, and that moment v/as enough to give the trapper time to glance through his sights, and send the fatal bullet. Of course the guide received the congratulations of all, and though he pretended not to regard the thing in the light of a feat, he knew well that killing a ' painter' was no everyday adventure. The skin of the animal was stripped off in a trice, and carried to the waggon. Such a trophy is rarely left in the woods. The hunter-naturalist performed some farther opera- tions upon the body for the purpose of examining the contents of the stomach. These consisted entirely of the half- digested remains of passenger pigeons, an enormous quantity of which the beast had devoured during the previous night — having captured them no doubt upon the trees. This adventure formed a pleasant theme for conver- sation during the rest of our journey, and of course the cougar was the subject. His habits and history were fully discussed, and the information elicited is given below. CHAPTER VII THE COUGAR The cougar {Felis concolor) is the only indigenous long- tailed cat in America north of the parallel of 30 degrees. The 'wild cats ' so called are lynxes with short tails; and of these there are three distinct species. But there is only one true representative of the genus Felis, and that is the animal in question. This has received many trivial appellations. Among Anglo-American hunters,it is called the panther — in their patois, ' painter.' In most parts of South America, as well as in Mexico, it receives the grandiloquent title of * lion ' {leoji), and in the Peruvian countries is called the ' puma ' or ' poma.' The absence of stripes, such as those of the tiger — or spots, as upon the leopard — or rosettes, as upon the jaguar, have suggested the name of the naturalists, concolor. Discolor was formerly in use ; but the other has been generally adopted. There are few wild animals so regular in their colour as the cougar : very little variety has been observed among different specimens. Some naturalists speak of spotted cougars — that is, having spots that may be seen in a certain light. Upon young cubs, such markings do appear ; but they are no longer visible on the full-grown animal. The cougar of mature age is of a tawny red colour, almost uniform over the whole body, though somewhat paler about the face and the parts underneath. This colour is not exactly the tawny of the lion ; it is more of a reddish hue — nearer to what is termed calf-colour. The cougar is far from being a well-shaped creature; it appears disproportioned. Its back is long and hollow, and its tail does not taper so gracefully as in some other 54 The Cougar 55 animals of the cat-kind. Its legs are short and stout ; and although far from clumsy in appearance, it does not possess the graceful tournnre of body so characteristic of some of its congeners. Though considered the representative of the Hon in the New World, its resemblance to the royal beast is but slight ; its colour seems to be the only title it has to such an honour. For the rest, it is much more akin to the tigers, jaguars, and true panthers. Cougars are rarely more than six feet in length, including the tail, which is usually about a third of that measurement. The range of the animal is very extensive. It is known from Paraguay to the Great Lakes of North America. In no part of either continent is it to be seen every day, because it is for the most part not only nocturnal in its activity, but one of those fierce creatures that, fortunately, do not exist in large numbers. Like others of the genus, it is solitary in its habits, and at the approach of civilisation betakes itself to the remoter parts of the forest. Hence the cougar, although found in all of the United States, is a rare animal everywhere, and seen only at long intervals in the mountain valleys, or in other difficult places of the forest. The appearance of a cougar is sufficient to throw any neighbourhood into an excitement similar to that which would be produced by the chase of a mad dog. It is a splendid tree-climber. It can mount a tree with the agility of a cat ; and although so large an animal, it climbs by means of its claws — not by hugging, after the manner of the bears and opossums. While climbing a tree, its claws can be heard crackling along the bark as it mounts upward. It sometimes lies ' squatted ' along a horizontal branch, a lower one, for the purpose of springing upon deer, or such other animals as it wishes to prey upon. The ledge of a cliff is also a favourite haunt, and such are known among the hunters as ' panther-ledges.' It selects such a position in the neighbourhood of some watering-place, or, if possible, one of the salt or soda springs (licks) so numerous in America. Here it is more certain that its vigil will not 56 The Hunters Feast be a protracted one. Its pray — elk, deer, antelope, or buffalo — soon appears beneath, unconscious of the dangerous enemy that cowers over them. When fairly within reach, the cougar springs, and pouncing down upon the shoulders of the victim, buries its claws in the flesh. The terrified animal starts forward, leaps from side to side, dashes into the papaw thickets, or breasts the dense cane-brake, in hopes of brushing off" its relentless rider. All in vain ! Closely clasping its neck, the cougar clings on, tearing its victim in the throat, and drinking its blood throughout the wild gallop. Faint and feeble, the ruminant at length totters and falls, and the fierce destroyer squats itself along the body, and finishes its red repast. If the cougar can overcome several animals at a time, it will kill them all, although but the twentieth part may be required to satiate its hunger. Unlike the lion in this, even in repletion it will kill. With it, destruction of life seems to be an instinct. There is a very small animal, and apparently a very helpless one, with which the cougar occasionally quarrels, but often with ill success — this is the Canada porcupine. Whether the cougar ever succeeds in killing one of these creatures is not known, but that it attacks them is beyond question, and its own death is often the result. The quills of the Canada porcupine are slightly barbed at their extremities ; and when stuck into the flesh of a living animal, this arrangement causes them to penetrate mechanically deeper and deeper as the animal moves. That the porcupine can itself discharge them to some distance is not true, but it is true that it can cause them to be easily detached ; and this it does when rashly seized by any of the predatory animals. The result is, that these remarkable spines become fast in the tongue, jaws, and lips of the cougar, or any other creature which may make an attack on that seemingly unprotected little animal. The fisher {Mustela Canadensis) is said to be the only animal that can kill the porcupine with impunity. It fights the latter by first throwing it upon its back, and then springing upon The Cougar , 57 its upturned belly, where the spines are almost entirely wanting. The cougar is called a cowardly animal : some naturalists even assert that it will not venture to attack man. This is, to say the least, a singular declaration, after the numerous well-attested instances in which men have been attacked, and even killed by cougars. There are many such in the history of early settlement in America. To say that cougars are cowardly now when found in the United States — to say they are shy of man, and will not attack him, may be true enough. Strange, if the experience of 200 years' hunting, and by such hunters too, did not bring them to that. We may safely believe, that if the lions of Africa were placed in the same circumstances, a very similar shyness and dread of the upright biped would soon exhibit itself. What all these creatures — bears, cougars, lynxes, wolves, and even alligators — are now, is no criterion of their past. Authentic history proves that their courage, at least so far as regards man, has changed altogether since they first heard the sharp detonation of the deadly rifle. Even contemporaneous history demonstrates this. In many parts of South America, both jaguar and cougar attack man, and numerous are the deadly encounters there. In Peru, on the eastern declivity of the Andes, large settlements and even villages have been abandoned solely on account of the perilous proximity of those fierce animals. In the United States, the cougar is hunted by dog and gun. He will run from the hounds, because he knows they are backed by the unerring rifle of the hunter ; but should one of the yelping pack approach too near, a single blow of the cougar's paw is sufficient to stretch him out, When closely pushed, the cougar takes to a tree, and, halting in one of its forks, humps his back, bristles his hair, looks downward with gleaming eyes, and utters a sound somewhat like the purring of a cat, though far louder. The crack of the hunter's rifle usually puts an end to these demonstrations, and the cougar drops to the ground either dead or wounded. If 58 The Hunters' Feast only the latter a desperate fight ensues between him and the dogs, with several of whom he usually leaves a mark that distinguishes them for the rest of their lives. The scream of the cougar is a common phrase. It is not very certain that the creature is addicted to the habit of screaming, although noises of this kind heard in the nocturnal forest have been attributed to him. Hunters, however, have certainly never heard him, and they believe that the scream talked about proceeds from one of the numerous species of owls that inhabit the deep forests of America. At short intervals, the cougar does make himself heard in a note which somewhat resembles a deep-drawn sigh, or as if one were to utter with an extremely guttural expression the syllables 'Co-oa', or 'Cougar.' Is it from this that he derives his trivial name ? CHAPTER VIII OLD ike's adventure Now, a panther story was the natural winding-up of this day, and it had been already hinted that old Ike had ' rubbed out ' several of these creatures in his time, and no doubt could tell more than one 'painter' story. ' Wal, strengers,' began he, ' it's true thet this hyur ain't the fust painter I've corned acrosst. About fifteen yeern ago I moved to Loozyanny, an' thur I met a painter, an' a queer story it are.' ' Let us have it by all means,' said several of the party, drawing closer up and seating themselves to listen attentively. We all knew that a story from Ike could not be otherwise than ' queer ', and our curiosity was on the qui vive. * Wal, then,' continued he, ' they have floods dowd thur in Loozyanny, sich as, I guess, you've never seen the like o' in England.' Here Ike addressed himself specially to our English comrade. ' England ain't big enough to hev sich floods. One o' 'm 'ud kiver yur hul country, I hev hecrn said. I won't say that ar's true, as I ain't acquainted with yur jography. I know, howsomdever, they're mighty big freshets thur, as I hev sailed a skift more 'n a hundred mile acrosst one o' 'm, whur thur wan't nothin' to be seen but cypress tops peepin' out o' the water. The floods, as yc know, come every year, but them ar big ones only oncest in a while. 'Wal, as I've said, about fifteen yeern ago, I located in the Red River bottom, about fifty mile or tharabout below Nackctosh, whur I built me a shanty. I hed left 59 6o The Hunters' Feast my wife an' two young critters in Massissippi state, in- tendin' to go back for 'em in the spring ; so, ye see, I wur all alone by meself, exceptin' my ole mar, a Collins's axe, an' of coorse my rifle. ' I hed finished the shanty all but the chinkin' an' the buildin' o' a chimbly, when what shed come on but one o' 'm tarnation floods. It wur at night when it begun to make its appearance. I wur asleep on the floor o' the shanty, an' the first warn in' I hed o' it wur the feel o' the water soakin' through my ole blanket. 1 hed been a-dreamin', an' thort it wur rainin', an' then agin I thort that I wur bein' drownded in the Massissippi ; but I vvan't many seconds awake, till I guessed what it wur in raality ; so I jumped to my feet like a started buck, an' groped my way to the door. ' A sight that wur when I got thur. I hed clurred a piece o' ground around the shanty — a kupple o' acres or better — I hed left the stumps a good three feet high : thur wan't a stump to be seen. My clearin', stumps an' all, wur under water ; an' I could see it shinin' among the trees all round the shanty. ' Of coorse, my fust thoughts wur about my rifle ; an I turned back into the shanty, an' laid my claws upon that quick enough. * I next went in search o' my ole mar. She wan't hard to find ; for if ever a critter made a noise, she did. She wur tied to a tree close by the shanty, an' the way she wur a-squealin' wur a caution to cats. I found her up to the belly in water, pitchin' an' flounderin' all round the tree. She hed nothin' on but the rope that she wur hitched by. Both saddle an' bridle hed been washed away : so I made the rope into a sort o' halter, an' mounted her bare-backed. 'Jest then I begun to think whur I wur a-goin'. The hul country appeared to be under water : an' the nearest neighbor I hed lived acrosst the parairy ten miles off. I knew that his shanty sot on high ground, but how wur I to get thur ? It wur night ; I mout lose my way, an' ride chuck into the river. ' When I thort o' this, I concluded it mout be better Old Ikes Adventure 6i to stay by my own shanty till mornin'. I could hitch the mar inside to keep her from bein' floated away ; an' for meself, I could climb on the roof. ' While I wur thinkin' on this, I noticed that the water wur a deepenin', an' it jest kim into my head, that it ud soon be deep enough to drownd my ole mar. For meself I wan't frightened. I mout a clomb a tree, an' stayed thur till the flood fell ; but I shed a lost the mar, an' that critter wiir too valleyble to think o' such a sacryfize ; so I made up my mind to chance crossin' the parairy. Thur wan't no time to be wasted — ne'er a minnit ; so I gin the mar a kick or two in the ribs an' started. ' I found the path out to the edge of the parairy easy enough. I hed blazed it when I fust come to the place ; an', as the night wur not a very dark one, I could see the blazes as I passed atween the trees. My mar knew the track as well as meself, an' swaltered through at a sharp rate, for she knew too thur wan't no time to be wasted. In five minnites we kim out on the edge o' the parairy, an' jest as I expected, the hul thing wur kivered with water, an' lookin' like a big pond. I could see it shinin' clur acrosst to the other side o' the openin'. ' As luck ud hev it, I could jest git a glimp o' the trees on the fur side o' the parairy. Thur wur a big clump o' cypress, that I could sec plain enough ; I knew this wur clost to my neighbor's shanty ; so I gin my critter the switch, an' struck right for it. ' As I left the timmcr, the mar wur up to her hips. Of coorse, I expected a good grist o' heavy wadin' ; but I hed no idee that the water wur a-gwinc to git much higher ; thur's whur I made my mistake. • I hedn't got morc'n a kupple o' miles out when I diskivercd that the thing wur a-risin' rapidly, for I seed the mar wur a-gettin' deeper and deeper. "Twan't no use turnin' back now. 1 'ud lose the mar to a dead sartinty, if I didn't make the high ground ; so I spoke to the critter to do her best, an' kep on. The poor beest didn't need any whippin' — she knew as well's I did meself thur wur danger, an' she wur a-doin' her 62 The Hunters' Feast darndest, an' no mistake. Still the water riz, an' kep a-risin', until it come clur up to her shoulders. ' I begun to git skeart in airnest. We wan't more'n half acrosst, an' I seed if it riz much more we 'ud hev to swim for it. I wan't far astray about that. The minnit arter it seemed to deepen suddintly, as if thur wur a hollow in the parairy : I heerd the mar giv a loud gouf, an' then go down, till I wur up to the waist. She riz agin the next minnit, but I could tell from the smooth ridin' that she wur off o' the bottom. She wur swimmin', an' no mistake. * At fust I thort o' headin' her back to the shanty ; an' I drew her round with that intent ; but turn her which way I would, I found she could no longer touch bottom. ' I guess, strengers, I wur in a quandairy about then. I 'gun to think that both my own an' my mar's time wur come in airnest, for I hed no idee that the critter could iver swim to the other side, 'specially with me on her back, an' purticklarly as at that time these hyur ribs had a sight more griskin upon 'em than they hev now. ' Wal, I wur about reckinin' up. I hed got to thinkin' o' Mary an' the childer, and the old shanty in the Mas- sissippi, an' a heap o' things that I hed left unsettled, an' that now come into my mind to trouble me. The mar wur still plungin' ahead ; but I seed she wur sinkin' deeper an' deeper an' fast loosin' her strength, an' I knew she couldn't hold out much longer. ' I thort at this time that if I got off o' her back, an' tuk hold o' the tail, she mout manage a leetle better. So I slipped backwards over her hips, an' grupped the long hair. It did do some good, for she swum higher ; but we got mighty slow through the water, an' I hed but leetle behopes we should reach land. ' I wur towed in this way about a quarter o' a mile when I spied somethin' floatin' on the water a leetle a-head. It hed growed considerably darker ; but thur wur still light enough to show me that the thing wur a log. 'An idee now entered my brain-pan, that I mout save Old Ike's Adventure 63 meself by takin' to the log. The mar 'ud then have a better chance for herself; an' maybe, when eased o' draggin' my carcass, that wur a-keepin' her back, she mout make footin' somevvhur. So I waited till she got a leetle closter ; an' then, lettin' go o' her tail, I clasped the log, an' crawled on to it, ' The mar swum on, appeerintly 'ithout missiii' me. I seed her disappear through the darkness ; but I didn't as much as say good-bye to her, for I wur afeard that my voice mout bring her back agin', an' she mout strike the log with her hoofs, an' whammel it about. So I lay quiet, an' let her hev her own way. ' I wan't long on the log till I seed it wur a-driftin', for thur wur a current in the water that set tol'uble sharp across the parairy. I hed crawled up at one eend, an' got stridelegs ; but as the log dipped considerable, I wur still over the hams in the water. ' I thort I mout be more comfortable towards the middle, an' wur about to pull the thing more under me, when all at once I seed thur wur somethin' clumped up on t'other eend o' the log. ''Twan't very clur at the time, for It had been a- growin' cloudier ever since I left the shanty, but 'twur clur enough to show me that the thing wur a varmint : what sort, I couldn't tell. It mout be a bar, an' it mout not ; but I had my suspects it wur eyther a bar or a painter. ' I wan't left long in doubt about the thing's gender. The log kep' makin' circles as it drifted, an' when the varmint kim round into a different light, I caught a glimp o' its eyes. I knew them eyes to be no bar's eyes : they wur painter's eyes, an' no mistake. ' I reckin, strengers, I felt very queery jest about then. I didn't try to go any nearer the middle o' the log ; but instead of that, I wriggled back until I wur right plum on the eend of it, an' could git no further. ' Thur I sot for a good long spell 'ithout movin' hand or foot. I dasen't make a motion, as I wur afeard it mout tempt the varmint to attackt me. * I hed no weepun but my knife ; I hed let go o' my 64 The Hunters' Feast rifle when I slid from the mar's back, an' it hed gone to the bottom long since. I wan't in any condition to stand a tussle with the painter nohow ; so I wur detarmined to let him alone as long's he 'ud me. * Wal, we drifted on for a good hour, I guess, 'ithout ayther o' us stirrin'. We sot face to face ; an' now an then the current ud set the log in a sort o' up-an'-down motion, an' then the painter an' I kep bovvin' to each other like a pair o' bob-sawyers. I could see all the while that the varmint's eyes wur fixed upon mine, an' I never tuk mine from hisn ; I know'd 'twur the only way to keep him still. * I wur jest prospectin' what ud be the eendin' o' the business, when I seed we wur a-gettin' closter to the timmer: 'twan't more 'n two miles off, but 'twur all under water 'ceptin' the tops o' the trees. I wur thinkin' that when the log shed float in among the branches, I mout slip off, an' git my claws upon a tree, 'ithout sayin' anythin' to my travelling companion. * Jest at that minnit somethin' appeared dead ahead o' the log. It wur like a island ; but what could hev brought a island thur? Then I recollects that I hed seed a piece o' high ground about that part o' the parairy — a sort o' mound that hed been made by Injuns, I s'pose. This, then, that looked like a island, wur the top o' that mound, sure enough. ' The log wur a-driftin' in sich a way that I seed it must pass within twenty yards o' the mound. I detarmined then, as soon as we shed git alongside, to put out for it, an' leave the painter to continue his voyage 'ithout me. * When I fust sighted the island I seed somethin' that I hed tuk for bushes. But thur wan't no bushes on the mound — that I knowd. * Howsomdevcr, when we get a lectle closter, I diskivered that the bushes wur beests. They wur deer ; for I spied a pair o' buck's horns atween me an' the sky. But thur wur a somethin' still bigger than a deer. It mout be a boss, or it mout be an Opelousa ox, but I thort it wur a boss. Old Ike's Adventure 65 'I wur right about that, for a horse it wur, sure enough, or rayther I shed say, a mar, an' that mar no other than my ole crittur ! ' Arter partin' company, she hed turned with the current ; an', as good-luck ud hev it, hed swum in a bee Hne for the island, an' thur she stood lookin' as slick as if she hed been greased. 'The log hed by this got nigh enough, as I kalklated; an', with as little rumpus as possible, I slipped over the eend an' lot go my hold o' it. I wan't right spread in the water, afore I heerd a plump, an' lookin' round a bit, I seed the painter hed left the log too, an' tuk to the water. * At fust, I thort he wur arter me ; an' I drawed my knife with one hand, while I swum with the other. But the painter didn't mean fight that time. He made but poor swimmin' himself, an' appeared glad enough to get upon dry groun' 'ithout molestin' me ; so we swum on side by side, an' not a word passed atween us. * I didn't want to make a race o' it ; so I let him pass me, rayther than he should fall behind, an' get among my legs. ' Of coorse, he landed fust ; an' I could hear by the stompin' o' hoofs, that his suddint appearance hed kicked up a jolly stampede among the critters upon the island. I could see both deer and mar dancing all over the groun', as if Old Nick himself hed got among 'em. ' None 'o 'em, howsomdever, thort o' takin' to the water. They hed all hed enough o' that, I guess. ' I kep a leetle round, so as not to land near the painter; and then, touchin' bottom, I climbed quietly up on the mound. I hed hardly drawed my drippin' carcass out o' the water, when I heerd a loud squeal, which I knew to be the whigher o' my ole mar ; an' jest at that minnit the critter kim runnin' up, an' rubbed her nose agin my shoulder. I tuk the halter in my hand, an' sidling round a leetle, I jumped upon her back, for I still wur in fear o' the painter ; an' the mar's back appeared to me the safest place about, an' that wan't very safe, cyther. £ 66 The Hunters^ Feast ' I now looked all round to see what new company I hed got into. The day wur jest breakin', an' I could distinguish a leetle better every minnit. The top o' the mound which wur above water wan't over half an acre in size, an' it wur as clur o' timmer as any other part o' the parairy, so that I could see every inch o' it, an' every thin' on it as big as a tumble-bug. ' I reckin, strengers, that you'll hardly believe me when I tell you the concatenation o' varmints that wur then an' thur caucused together. I could hardly believe my own eyes when I seed sich a gatherin', an' I thort I hed got aboard o' Noah's Ark. Thur wur — listen, strengers — fust my ole mar an' meself, an' I wished both o' us anywhur else, I reckin — then thur wur the painter, yur old acquaintance — then thur wur four deer, a buck an' three does. Then kim a catamount ; an' arter him a black bar, a'most as big as a buffalo. Then thur wur a 'coon an' a 'possum, an' a kupple o' gray wolves, an' a swamp rabbit, an', darn the thing ! a stinkin' skunk. Perhaps the last wan't the most dangerous varmint on the groun', but it sartintly wur the most disagreeableest o' the hul lot, for it smelt only as a cussed polecat kin smell. ' I've said, strengers, that I wur mightily tuk by surprise when I fust seed this curious clanjamfrey o' critters ; but I kin tell you I wur still more dumbfounded when I seed thur behaveyur to one another, knowin' thur different naturs as I did. Thur wur the painter lyin' clost up to the deer — its nat'ral prey ; an' thur wur the wolves too, an' thur wur the catamount standin' within three feet o' the 'possum an' the swamp rabbit ; an' thur wur the bar an' the cunnin' old 'coon ; an' thur they all wur, no more mindin' one another then if they hed spent all thur days together in the same penn, ' 'Twur the oddest sight I ever seed, an' it remembered me o' bit o' Scripter my ole mother hed often read from a book called the Bible, or some sfch name — about a lion that wur so tame he used to squat down beside a lamb, 'ithout layin' a claw upon the innocent critter. Old Ike's Adventure 6y * Wal, strengers, as I'm sayin', the hul party behaved in this very way. They all appeared down in the mouth, an' badly skeart about the water ; but for all that, I hed my fears that the painter or the bar — I wan't afeard o' any o' the others — mout git over thur fright afore the flood fell ; an' thurfore I kept as quiet as any one o' them during the hul time I wur in thur company, an' stayin' all the time clost by the mar. But neyther bar nor painter showed any savage sign the hul o' the next day, nor the night that follered it. ' Strengers, it ud tire you wur I to tell you all the movements that tuk place among these critters durin' that long day an' night. Ne'er a one o' 'em laid tooth or claw on the other. I wur hungry enough meself, and ud a liked to hev taken a steak from the buttocks o' one o' the deer, but I dascn't do it. I wur afeard to break the peace, which mout a led to a general shindy. ' When day broke next mornin' arter, I seed that the flood wur a fallin' ; and as soon as it wur shallow enough, I led my mar quietly into the water, an' climbin' upon her back, tuk a silent leave o' my companions. The water still tuk my mar up to the flanks, so that I knew none o' the varmint could follow 'ithout swimmin', an' ne'er a one seemed inclined to try a swim. ' I struck direct for my neighbour's shanty, which I could see about three miles oft, an' in an hour or so, I wur at his door. Thur I didn't stay long, but borrowin' an extra gun which he happened to hev, an' takin' him along with his own rifle, I waded my mar back to the island. ' We found the game not exactly as I hed left it. The fall o' the flood had given the painter, the cat, an' the wolves courage. The swamp rabbit an' the 'possum wur clean gone — all but bits o' thur wool — an' one o' the does wur better 'n half devoured. ' My neighbour tuk one side, an' I the other, an' ridin' clost up, we surrounded the island. • I plugged the painter at the fust shot, an' he did the same for the bar. We next layed out the wolves, an' 68 The Hunters^ Feast arter that cooney, an' then we tuk our time about the deer — these last and the bar bein' the only valley'ble things on the island. The skunk we kilt last, as we didn't want the thing to stink us off the place while we wur a-skinnin' the deer. 'Arter killin' the skunk, we mounted an' left, of coorse loaded with our bar-meat an' venison. ' I got my rifle arter all. When the flood went down, I found it near the middle of the parairy, half-buried in the sludge. * I saw I hed built my shanty in the wrong place ; but I soon looked out a better location, an' put up another. I hed all ready in the spring, when I went back to Massissippi, an' brought out Mary and the two young uns,' The singular adventure of old Ike illustrates a point in natural history that, as soon as the trapper had ended, became the subject of conversation. It was that singular trait in the character of predatory animals, as the cougar, when under circumstances of danger. On such occasions fear seems to influence them so much as to completely subdue their ferocity, and they will not molest other animals sharing the common danger, even when the latter are their natural and habitual prey. Nearly every one of us had observed this at some time or other ; and the old naturalist, as well as the hunter-guides, related many incidents con- firming the strange fact. Humboldt speaks of an instance observed by him on the Orinoco, where the fierce jaguar and some other creatures were seen quietly and peacefully floating together on the same log — all more or less frightened at their situation ! Ike's story had very much interested the doctor, who rewarded him with a ' nip ' from the pewter flask ; and indeed, on this occasion the flask was passed round, as the day had been one of unusual interest. The killing of a cougar is a rare adventure, even in the wildest haunts of the backwoods' country. CHAPTER IX THE MUSQUASH Our next day's march was unenlivened by any parti- cular incident. We had left behind us the heavy timber, and again travelled through the ' oak openings.' Not an animal was started during the whole day, and the only one seen was a muskrat that took to the water of a small creek and escaped. This occurred at the spot where we had halted for our night camp, and after the tents were pitched, several of the party went ' rat hunting.' The burrow of a family of these curious little animals was discovered in the bank, and an attempt was made to dig them out, but without success. The family proved to be 'not at home.' The incident,however,brought the muskrat on the tapis. The 'muskrat' of the States is the musquash of the fur-traders {Fiber zibethiciis). He is called muskrat, from his resemblance to the common rat, combined with the musky odour which he emits from glands situated near the anus. Musquash is said to be an Indian appellative — a strange coincidence, as the word ' musk ' is of Arabic origin, and ' musquash ' would seem a compound of the French musque, as the early Canadian fur-traders were French, or of French descent, and fixed the nomen- clature of most of the fur-bearing animals of that region. Naturalists have used the name of ' Musk Beaver' on account of the many points of resemblance which this animal bears to the true beaver {Castor fiber). Indeed, they seem to be of the same genus, and so Linnaeus classed them ; but later systematists have separated them, for the purpose, I should fancy, not of simplifying science, but of creating the impression that they them- selves were very profound observers. 69 70 The Hunters^ Feast The teeth — those great friends of the closet naturalist, which help him to whole pages of speculation — have enabled him to separate the beaver from the musquash, although the whole history and habits of these creatures prove them to be congeners, as much as a mastiff is the congener of a greyhound — indeed, far more. So like are they in a general sense, that the Indians call them ' cousins,' In form the muskrat differs but little from the beaver. It is a thick, rounded, and flat-looking animal, with blunt nose, short ears almost buried in the fur, stiff whiskers like a cat, short legs and neck, small dark eyes, and sharply-clawed feet. The hinder ones are longest, and are half-webbed. Those of the beaver are full- webbed. There is a curious fact in connection with the tails of these two animals. Both are almost naked of hair, and covered with ' scales,' and both are flat. The tail of the beaver, and the uses it makes of this appendage are things known to every one. Every one has read of its trowel-shape and use, its great breadth, thickness, and weight, and its resemblance to a cricket-bat. The tail of the muskrat is also naked, covered with scales, and compressed or flattened ; but instead of being hori- zontally so, as with the beaver, it is the reverse ; and the thin edges are in a vertical plane. The tail of the former, moreover, is not of the trowel-shape, but tapers like that of the common rat. Indeed, its resemblance to the house-rat is so great as to render it a somewhat disagreeable object to look upon. Tail and all, the muskrat is about twenty inches in length ; and its body is about half as big as that of a beaver. It possesses a strange power of contracting its body, so as to make it appear about half its natural size, and to enable it to pass through a chink that animals of much smaller dimensions could not enter. Its colour is reddish brown above, and light-ash underneath. There are eccentricities, however, in this respect. Specimens have been found quite black, as also mixed and pure white. The fur is a soft, thick The Musquash 71 down, resembling that of the beaver, but not quite so fine. There are long rigid hairs, red-coloured, that overtop the fur ; and these are also sparely scattered over the tail. The habits of the muskrat are singular — perhaps not less so than those of his ' cousin ' the beaver, when you strip the history of the latter of its many exaggerations. Indeed the former animal, in the domesticated state, exhibits much greater intelligence than the latter. Like the beaver, it is a water animal, and is only found where water exists ; never among the dry hills. Its 'range' extends over the whole continent of North America, wherever ' grass grows and water runs.' It is most probable it is an inhabitant of the Southern Con- tinent, but the natural history of that country is still but half told. Unlike the beaver, the race of the muskrat is not likely soon to become extinct. The beaver is now found in America, only in the remotest parts of the un- inhabited wilderness. Although formerly an inhabitant of the Atlantic States, his presence there is now unknown ; or, if occasionally met with, it is no longer in the beaver dam, with its cluster of social domes, but only as a solitary creature, a ' terrier beaver,' ill-featured, shaggy in coat, and stunted in growth. The muskrat, on the contrary, still frequents the settlements. There is hardly a creek, pond or water- course, without one or more families having an abode upon its banks. Part of the year the muskrat is a social animal; at other seasons it is solitary. The male differs but little from the female, though he is somewhat larger, and better furred. In early spring commences the season of his loves. His musky odour is then strongest, and quite perceptible in the neighbourhood of his haunt. He takes a wife, to whom he is for ever after faithful ; and it is believed the connection continues to exist durinor life. After the ' honeymoon ' a burrow is made in the bank of a stream or pond ; usually in some solitary and secure spot by the roots of a tree, and always in such a situation that 72 The Hunters' Feast the rising of the water cannot reach the nest which is constructed within. The entrance to this burrow is frequently under water, so that it is difficult to discover it. The nest within is a bed of moss or soft grasses. In this the female brings forth five or six 'cubs,' which she nourishes with great care, training them to her own habits. The male takes no part in their education ; but during this period absents himself, and wanders about alone. In autumn the cubs are nearly full grown, and able to ' take care of themselves.' The ' old father ' now joins the family party, and all together proceed to the erection of winter quarters. They forsake the ' home of their nativity,' and build a very different sort of a habitation. The favourite site for their new house is a swamp not likely to freeze to the bottom, and if with a stream running through it, all the better. By the side of this stream, or often on a little islet in the midst, they construct a dome-shaped pile, hollow within, and very much like the house of the beaver. The materials used are grass and mud, the latter being obtained at the bottom of the swamp or stream. The entrance to this house is subterranean, and consists of one or more galleries debouching under the water. In situations where there is danger of inundation, the floor of the interior is raised higher, and frequently terraces are made to admit of a dry seat, in case the ground- floor should get flooded. Of course there is free egress and ingress at all times, to permit the animal to go after its food, which consists of plants that grow in the water close at hand. The house being completed, and the cold weather having set in, the whole family, parents and all, enter it, and remain there during the winter, going out only at intervals for necessary purposes. In spring they desert this habitation and never return to it. Of course they are warm enough during winter while thus housed, even in the very coldest weather. The heat of their own bodies would make them so, lying as they do, huddled together, and sometimes on top of one another, but the mud walls of their habitations are a The Musquash 73 foot or more in thickness, and neither frost nor rain can penetrate within. Now, a curious fact has been observed in connection with the houses of these creatures. It shows how nature has adapted them to the circumstances in which they may be placed. By philosophers it is termed ' instinct ; ' but in our opinion it is the same sort of instinct which enables Mr. Hobbs to pick a ' Chubb ' lock. It is this : — In southern climates — in Louisiana, for instance — the swamps and rivers do not freeze over in winter. There the muskrat does not construct such houses as that described, but is contented all the year with his burrow in the banks. He can go forth freely and seek his food at all seasons. In the north it is different. There for months the rivers are frozen over with thick ice. The muskrat could only come out under the ice, or above it. If the latter, the entrance of his burrow would betray him, and men with their traps, and dogs, or other enemies, would easily get at him. Even if he had also a water entrance, by which he might escape upon the invasion of his burrow, he would drown for want of air. Although an amphibious animal, like the beaver and otter, he cannot live altogether under water, and must rise at intervals to take breath. The running stream in winter does not perhaps furnish him with his favourite food — the roots and stems of water-plants. These the swamp affords to his satisfaction ; besides, it gives him security from the attacks of men and preying animals, as the wolverene and fisher. Moreover, his house in the swamp cannot be easily approached by the hunter — man — except when the ice becomes very thick and strong. Then, indeed, is the season of peril for the muskrat, but even then he has loopholes of escape. How cunningly this creature adapts itself to its geo- graphical situation ! In the extreme north — in the hyper- borean regions of the Hudson's Bay Company — lakes, rivers, and even springs freeze up in winter. The shallow marshes become solid ice, congealed to their very bottoms. 74 The Hunters' Feast How is the muskrat to get under water there ? Thus, then, he manages the matter : — Upon deep lakes, as soon as the ice becomes strong enough to bear his weight, he makes a hole in it, and over this he constructs his dome - shaped habitation, bringing the materials up through the hole, from the bottom of the lake. The house thus formed sits pro- minently upon the ice. Its entrance is in the floor — the hole which has already been made — and thus is kept open during the whole season of frost, by the care and watchfulness of the inmates, and by their passing constantly out and in to seek their food — the water- plants of the lake. This peculiar construction of the muskrat's dwelling, with its water-passage, would afford all the means of escape from its ordinary enemies — the beasts of prey — and, perhaps, against these alone nature has instructed it to provide. But with all its cunning it is, of course, outwitted by the superior ingenuity of its enemy — man. The food of the muskrat is varied. It loves the roots of several species of nymplicB, but its favourite is calamus root {calamus or acorus aromaticus). It is known to eat shellfish, and heaps of the shells of fresh-water mussels {ufiios) are often found near its retreat. Some assert that it eats fish, but the same assertion is made with regard to the beaver. This point is by no means clearly made out ; and the closet naturalists deny it, founding their opposing theory, as usual, upon the teeth. For my part, I have but little faith in the ' teeth,' since I have known horses, hogs, and cattle greedily devour both fish, flesh, and fowl. The muskrat is easily tamed, and becomes familiar and docile. It is very intelligent, and will fondly caress the hand of its master. Indians and Canadian settlers often have them in their houses as pets ; but there is so much of the rat in their appearance, and they emit such a disagreeable odour in the spring, as to prevent them from becoming general favourites. They are difficult to cage up, and will eat their way out of a deal box in a The Musquash 75 single night. Their flesh, although somewhat musky, is eaten by the Indians and white hunters, but these gentry eat almost everything that * lives, breathes, and moves.' Many Canadians, however, are fond of the flesh. It is not for its flesh that the muskrat is so eagerly hunted. Its fur is the important consideration. This is almost equal to the fur of the beaver in the manu- facture of hats, and sells for a price that pays the Indians and white trappers for the hardships they undergo in obtaining it. It is, moreover, used in the making of boas and muffs, as it somewhat resembles the fur of the pine marten or American sable {Mtistela martes), and on account of its cheapness is sometimes passed off for the latter. It is one of the regular articles of the Hudson's Bay Company's commerce, and thousands of muskrat skins are annually obtained. Indeed, were it not that the animal is prolific and difficult to capture, its species would soon suffer extermination. The mode of taking it differs from that practised in trapping the beaver. It is often caught in traps set for the latter, but such a ' catch ' is regarded in the light of a misfortune, as until it is taken out the trap is rendered useless for its real object. As an amusement it is some- times hunted by dogs, as the otter is, and dug out of its burrow ; but the labour of laying open its deep cave is ill repaid by the sport. The amateur sportsman fre- quently gets a shot at the muskrat while passing along the bank near its haunts, and almost as frequently misses his aim. The creature is too quick for him, and dives almost without making a bubble. Of course once in the pool it is seen no more. Many tribes of Indians hunt the muskrat both for its flesh and skin. They have peculiar modes of capturing it, of one of which the hunter-naturalist gave an account. A winter which he had spent at a fort in the neighbour- hood of a settlement of Ojibways gave him an opportunity of witnessing this sport in perfection. CHAPTER X A RAT-HUNT 'Chingawa,' began he, 'a Chippeway or Ojibway Indian, better known at the fort as " Old Foxey," was a noted hunter of his tribe. I had grown to be a favourite with him. My well-known passion for the chase was a sort of masonic link between us ; and our friendship was further augmented by the present of an old knife for which I had no farther use. The knife was not worth twopence of sterling money, but it made " Old Foxey " my best friend ; and all his " hunter-craft " — the gatherings of about sixty winters — became mine. ' I had not yet been inducted into the mystery of" rat- catching," but the season for that " noble " sport at length arrived, and the Indian hunter invited me to join him in a muskrat hunt. ' Taking our " traps " on our shoulders, we set out for the place where the game was to be found. This was a chain of small lakes or ponds that ran through a marshy valley, some ten or twelve miles distant from the fort. * The traps, or implements, consisted of an ice-chisel with a handle some five feet in length, a small pick-axe, an iron-pointed spear barbed only on one side, with a long straight shaft, and a light pole about a dozen feet in length, quite straight and supple. ' We had provided ourselves with a small stock of eatables as well as materials for kindling a fire — but no Indian is ever without these. We had also carried our blankets along with us, as we designed to make a night of it by the lakes. ' After trudging for several hours through the silent winter forests and crossing both lakes and rivers upon the ice, we reached the great marsh. Of course, this, as 76 A Rat-Hunt 77 well as the lakes, was frozen over with thick ice ; we could have traversed it with a loaded waggon and horses without danger of breaking through. ' We soon came to some dome-shaped heaps rising above the level of the ice. They were of mud, bound together with grass and flags, and were hardened by the frost. Within each of these rounded heaps. Old Foxey knew there was at least half a dozen muskrats — perhaps three times that number — lying snug and warm and huddled together. ' Since there appeared no hole or entrance, the question was how to get at the animals inside. Simply by digging until the inside should be laid open, thought I. This of itself would be no slight labour. The roof and sides, as my companion informed me, were three feet in thickness; and the tough mud was frozen to the hardness and consistency of a fire-brick. But after getting through this shell, where should we find the inmates ? Why, most likely, we should not find them at all after all this labour. So said my companion, telling me at the same time that there were subterranean, or rather subaqueous, passages, by which the muskrats would be certain to make off under the ice long before he had penetrated near them. ' I was quite puzzled to know how we should proceed. Not so Old Foxey. He well knew what he was about, and pitching his traps down by one of the " houses," commenced operations. ' The one he had selected stood out in the lake, some distance from its edge. It was built entirely upon the ice ; and, as the hunter well knew, there was a hole in its floor by which the animals could get into the water at will. How then was he to prevent them from escaping by the hole, while we removed the covering or roof.? This was what puzzled me, and I watched his movements with interest. ' Instead of digging into the house, he commenced cutting a hole in the ice with his ice-chisel about two feet from the edge of the mud. That being accomplished, he cut another and another, until four holes were pierced, 78 The Hunters^ Feast forming the corners of a square, and embracing the house of the muskrat within. ' Leaving this house, he then proceeded to pierce a similar set of holes around another that also stood out on the open lake. After that he went to a third one, and this and then a fourth were prepared in a similar manner. ' He now returned to the first, this time taking care to tread lightly upon the ice and make as little stir as possible. Having arrived there, he took out from his bag a square net made of twisted deer-thongs, and not much bigger than a blanket. This in a most ingenious manner he passed under the ice, until its four corners appeared opposite the four holes ; where, drawing them through, he made all fast and " taut " by a line stretching from one corner to the other. ' His manner of passing the net under the ice I have pronounced ingenious. It was accomplished by reeving a line from hole to hole by means of the long slender pole already mentioned. The pole, inserted through one of the holes, conducted the line, and was itself conducted by means of two forked sticks that guided it, and pushed it along to the other holes. The line being attached to the corners of the net made it an easy matter to draw the latter into its position. * All the details of this curious operation were per- formed with a noiseless adroitness which showed " Old Foxey " was no novice at " rat-catching." ' The net being now quite taut along the lower surface of the ice, must of course completely cover the hole in the "floor." It followed, therefore, that if the muskrats were " at home," they were now " in the trap." ' My companion assured me that they would be found inside. The reason why he had not used the net on first cutting the holes, was to give any member of the family that had been frightened out, a chance of returning ; and this he knew they would certainly do, as these creatures cannot remain very long under the water. ' He soon satisfied me of the truth of his statement. A Rat-Hunt 79 In a few minutes, by means of the ice-chisel and pick- axe, we had pierced the crust of the dome ; and there, apparently half asleep, — because dazzled and blinded by the sudden influx of light — were no less than eight full-grown musquashes ! ' Almost before I could count them, Old Foxey had transfixed the whole party, one after the other, with his long spear. ' We now proceeded to another of the houses at which the holes had been cut. There my companion went through a similar series of operations ; and was rewarded by a capture of six more "rats." ' In the third of the houses only three were found. ' On opening a fourth, a singular scene met our eyes. There was but one muskrat alive, and that one seemed to be nearly famished to death. Its body was wasted to mere " skin and bone ; " and the animal had evidently been a long time without food. Beside it lay the naked skeletons of several small animals that I at once saw were those of the muskrat. A glance at the bottom of the nest explained all. The hole, which in the other houses had passed through the ice, and which we found quite open, in this one was frozen up. The animals had neglected keeping it open, until the ice had got too thick for them to break through ; and then, impelled by the cravings of hunger, they had preyed upon each other, until only one, the strongest, survived ! * I found upon counting the skeletons that no less than eleven had tenanted this ice-bound prison. ' The Indian assured me that in seasons of very severe frost such an occurrence is not rare. At such times the ice forms so rapidly, that the animals — perhaps not having occasion to go out for some hours — find them- selves frozen in ; and are compelled to perish of hunger, or devour one another ! ' It was now near night — for we had not reached the lake until late in the day — and my companion proposed that we should leave farther operations until the follow- ing morning. Of course I assented to the proposal, and we betook ourselves to some pine-trees that grew on a 8o The Htmters' Feast high bank near the shore, where we had determined to pass the night. ' There we kindled a roaring fire of pine-knots ; but we had grown very hungry, and I soon found that of the provisions I had brought, and upon which I had already dined, there remained but a scanty fragment for supper. This did not trouble my companion, who skinned several of the " rats," gave them a slight warming over the fire, and then ate them up with as much, goiit as if they had been partridges. I was hungry, but not hungry enough for that ; so I sat watching him with some astonishment, and not without a slight feeling of disgust. ' It was a beautiful moonlight night, one of the clearest I ever remember. There was a little snow upon the ground, just enough to cover it ; and up against the white sides of the hills could be traced the pyramidal outlines of the pines, with their regular gradations ot dark needle-clothed branches. They rose on all sides around the lake, looking like ships with furled sails and yards square-set. * I was in a reverie of admiration, when I was suddenly aroused by a confused noise, that resembled the howling and baying of hounds. I turned an inquiring look upon my companion. ' " Wolves ! " he replied, unconcernedly, chawing away at his " roast rat." ' The howling sounded nearer and nearer ; and then there was a rattling among dead trees, and the quickly- repeated " crunch, crunch," as of the hoofs of some animal breaking through frozen snow. The next moment a deer dashed past in full run, and took to the ice. It was a large buck, of the " Caribou " or reindeer species {Ccrvus taratidus), and I could see that he was smoking with heat, and almost run down. ' He had hardly passed the spot when the howl again broke out in a continued strain, and a string of forms appeared from out the bushes. They were about a dozen in all ; and they were going at full speed like a pack of hounds on the view. Their long muzzles, erect ears and huge gaunt bodies, were outlined plainly against A Rat- Hunt 8 1 the snowy ground. I saw that they were wolves. They were white wolves, and of the largest species. ' I had suddenly sprung to my feet, not with the intention of saving the deer, but of assisting in its capture, and for this purpose I seized the spear, and ran out. I heard my companion, as I thought, shouting some caution after me ; but I was too intent upon the chase to pay any attention to what he said. I had at the moment a distinct perception of hunger, and an indistinct idea of roast venison for supper. ' As I got down to the shore, I saw that the wolves had overtaken the deer, and dragged it down upon the ice. The poor creature made but poor running on the slippery track, sprawling at every bound ; while the sharp claws of its pursuers enabled them to gallop over the ice like cats. The deer had, no doubt, mistaken the ice for water, which these creatures very often do, and thus become an easy prey to wolves, dogs, and hunters. 'I ran on, thinking that I would soon scatter the wolves, and rob them of their prey. In a few moments I was in their midst, brandishing my spear ; but to my surprise, as well as terror, I saw that, instead of relinquishing the deer, several of them still held on it, while the rest surrounded me with open jaws, and eyes glancing like coals of fire. ' I shouted and fought desperately, thrusting the spear first at one and then at another ; but the wolves only became more bold and fierce, incensed by the wounds I was inflicting. ' For several minutes I continued this unexpected conflict. I was growing quite exhausted ; and a sense of terrible dread coming over me, had almost paralysed me, when the tall, dark form of the Indian, hurrying over the ice, gave me new courage ; and I plied the spear with all my remaining strength, until several of my assailants lay pierced upon the ice. The others, now seeing the proximity of my companion with his huge ice-chisel, and frighted, moreover, by his wild Indian yells, turned tail and scampered off. ' Three of them, however, had uttered their Jast F 82 The Hunters' Feast howl, and the deer was found close by — already half devoured ! 'There was enough left, however, to make a good supper for both myself and my companion ; who, although he had already picked the bones of three muskrats, made a fresh attack upon the venison, eating of it as though he had not tasted food for a fortnight.' CHAPTER XI MOSQUITOES AND THEIR ANTIDOTE Our next day's journey brought us again into heavy timber — another creek bottom. The soil was rich and loamy, and the road we travelled was moist, and in some places very heavy for our waggon. Several times the latter got stalled in the mud, and then the whole party were obliged to dismount, and put their shoulders to the wheel. Our progress was marked by some noise and confusion, and the constant din made by Jake talking to his team, his loud sonorous * woha ! ' as they were obliged to halt, and the lively 'gee up— gee up/ as they moved on again — frightened any game long before we could come up with it. Of course we were compelled to keep by the waggon until we had made the passage of the miry flat. We were dreadfully annoyed by the mosquitoes, particularly the doctor, of whose blood they seemed to be especially fond ! This is a curious fact in relation to the mosquitoes — of two persons sleeping in the same apartment, one will sometimes be bitten or rather punctured, and half bled to death, while the other remains untouched ! Is it the quality of the blood or the thick- ness of the skin that guides to this preference ? This point was discussed amongst us — the doctor taking the view that it was always a sign of good blood when one was more than usually subject to the attack of mosquitoes. He was himself an apt illustration of the fact. This statement of course produced a general laugh, and some remarks at the doctor's expense, on the part of the opponents of his theory. Strange to say, old Ike was fiercely assailed by the little blood-suckers. This seemed to be an argument against the doctor's 83 84 The Hunters' Feast theory, for in the tough skinny carcass of the old trapper, the blood could neither have been very plenteous nor delicate. Most of us smoked as we rode along, hoping by that means to drive off the ferocious swarm, but although tobacco smoke is disagreeable to the mosquitoes, they cannot be wholly got rid of by a pipe or cigar. Could one keep a constant tiinibus of the smoke around his face it might be effective, but not otherwise. A sufficient quantity of tobacco smoke will kill mosquitoes out- right, as I have more than once proved by a thorough fumigation of my sleeping apartment. These insects are not peculiar, as sometimes supposed, to the inter-tropical regions of America. They are found in great numbers even to the shores of the Arctic Sea, and as fierce and bloodthirsty as anywhere else — of course, only in the summer season, when, as before remarked, the thermometer in these Northern latitudes mounts to a high figure. Their haunts are the banks of rivers, and particularly those of a stagnant and muddy character. There is another singular fact in regard to them. Upon the banks of some of the South American rivers, life is almost unendurable on account of this pest — the ' plaga de inosquitos' as the Spaniards term it — while upon other streams in the very same latitude mosquitoes are unknown. These streams are what are termed ' rios negros] or black-water rivers — a peculiar class of rivers, to which many tributaries of the Amazon and Orinoco belong. Our English comrade, who had travelled all over South America, gave us this information as we rode along. He stated that he had often considered it a great relief, a sort of escape from purgatory, while on his travels he parted from one of the yellow or white water streams, to enter one of the ' rios negros^ Many Indian tribes settled upon the banks of the latter solely to get clear of the ^ plaga de mosquitos.^ The Indians who reside in the mosquito districts habitually paint their bodies, and smear themselves with oil, as a protection Mosquitoes and their Antidote 85 against their bites ; and it is a common thing among the natives, when speaking of any place, to inquire into the ' character ' of the mosquitoes ! On some tributaries of the Amazon the mosquitoes are really a life torment, and the wretched creatures who inhabit such places frequently bury their bodies in the sand in order to get sleep ! Even the pigments with which they anoint themselves are pierced by the poisoned bills of their tormentors. Besangon and the Kentuckian both denied that any species of ointment would serve as a protection against mosquitoes. The doctor joined them in their denial. They asserted that they had tried everything that could be thought of — camphor, ether, hartshorn, spirits of turpentine, etc. Some of us were of a different opinion, and Ike settled the point soon after in favour of the dissentients by a practical illustration. The old trapper, as before stated, was a victim to the fiercest attacks, as was manifested by the slapping which he repeatedly administered to his cheeks, and an almost constant muttering of bitter imprecations. He knew a remedy he said in a ' sartint weed,' if he could only ' lay his claws upon it.' We noticed that from time to time as he rode along his eyes swept the ground in every direction. At length a joyous exclamation told that he had discovered the * weed.' ' Thur's the darned thing at last,' muttered he, as he flung himself to the ground, and commenced gathering the stalks of a small herb that grew plentifully about. It was an annual, with leaves very much of the size and shape of young garden box-wood, but of a much brighter green. Of course wc all knew well enough what it was, for there is not a villaqie ' common ' in the Western United States that is not covered with it. It was the well-known ' penny-royal ' {Hedeoma piilcgioidcs), not the English herb of that name, which is a species of mentha. Redwood also leaped from his horse, and set to pluck- ing the 'weed.' He, too, from experience, knew its virtues. S6 The Hunters^ Feast We all drew bridle, watching the guides. Both operated in a similar manner. Having collected a handful of the tenderest tops., they rubbed them violently between their palms — rough and good for such service — and then passed the latter over the exposed skin of their necks and faces. Ike took two small bunches of the stalks, crushed them under his heel, and then stuck them beneath his cap, so that the ends hung down over his cheeks. This being done, he and his comrade mounted their horses and rode on. Some of us — the hunter-naturalist, the Englishman, and myself — dismounted and imitated Ike — of course under a volley of laughter and ' pooh-poohs ' from Besan^on, the Kentuckian, and the doctor ; but we had not ridden two hundred paces until the joke changed sides. From that moment not a mosquito approached us, while our three friends were bitten as badly as ever. In the end they were convinced, and the torment of the mosquitoes proving stronger than the fear of our ridicule, all three sprang out of their saddles, and made a rush at the next bed of penny-royal that came in sight. Whether it is the highly aromatic odour of the penny- royal that keeps off these insects, or whether the juice when touched by them burns the delicate nerves of their feet I am unable to say. Certain it is they will not alight upon the skin that has been plentifully anointed with it. I have tried the same experiment often since that time with a similar result, and in fact have never since travelled through a mosquito country without a provision of the ' essence of penny-royal.' This is better than the herb itself, and can be obtained from any apothecary. A single drop or two spilled in the palm of the hand is sufficient to rub over all the parts exposed, and will often ensure sleep, where otherwise such a thing would be impossible. I have often lain with my face so smeared, and listened to the sharp hum of the mosquito as it approached, fancying that the next moment I should feel its tiny touch, as it settled down upon my cheek, or brow. As soon, however, as it came within the influence of the penny-royal I could hear it suddenly tack round and Mosquitoes and their Antidote 87 wing its way off again, until its disagreeable * music ' was no longer heard. The only drawback in the use of the penny-royal lies in the burning sensation which the fluid produces upon the skin ; and this in a climate where the thermometer is pointing to 90° is no slight disqualification of the remedy. The use of it is sometimes little better than ' Hobson's choice.' The application of it on the occasion mentioned restored the spirits of our party, which had been some- what kept under by the continuous attacks of the mosquitoes, and a lively little incident that occurred soon after, viz., the hunt and capture of a raccoon, made us all quite merry. Cooney, though a night prowler, is sometimes abroad during the day, but especially in situations where the timber is high, and the woods dark and gloomy. On the march we had come so suddenly upon this one, that he had not time to strike out for his own tree, where he would soon have hidden from us in its deep cavity. He had been too busy with his own affairs — the nest of a wild turkey upon the ground, under some brush and leaves, the broken eggs in which told of the declicious meal he had made. Taken by surprise — for the guides had ridden nearly on top of him — he galloped up the nearest tree, which fortunately contained neither fork nor cavity in which he could shelter himself ; and a well-directed shot from Redwood's rifle brought him with a heavy 'thump' back to the ground again. We were all stirred up a little by this incident ; in fact, the unusual absence of game rendered ever so trifling an occurrence an ' event ' with us. No one, however, was so pleased as the black waggoner Jake, whose eyes fairly danced in his head at the sight of a ' coon.' The ' coon ' to Jake was well-known game — natural and legitimate — and Jake preferred 'roast coon ' to fried bacon at any time. Jake knew that none of us would care to eat of his ' coonship.' He was therefore sure of his supper ; and the ' varmint' was carefully deposited in the corner of the waggon. 88 The Hunters^ Feast Jake did not have it all to himself. The trappers liked fresh meat too, even ' coon-meat ' ; and of course claimed their share. None of the rest of the party had any relish for such a fox-like carcass. After supper, cooney was honoured with a description, and for many of the facts of his history we are indebted to Jake himself. CHAPTER XII THE 'COON, AND HIS HABITS Foremost of all the wild creatures of America in point of being generally known is the raccoon {Procyon lotor). None has a wider geographical distribution, as its ' range ' embraces the entire Continent, from the Polar Sea to Terra del Fuego. Some naturalists have denied that it is found in South America. This denial is founded on the fact, that neither Ulloa nor Molina have spoken of it. But how many other animals have these crude naturalists omitted to describe ? We may safely assert that the raccoon exists in South America, as well in the tropical forests of Guiana as in the colder regions of the Table Land — everywhere that there exists tree-timber. In most parts where the Spanish language is spoken, it is known as the ^ zorro negro* or black fox. Indeed, there are two species in South America, the common one [Procyon lotor'), and the crab-eater {^Procyon cancrivorus). In North America it is one of the most common of wild animals. In all parts you may meet with it. In the hot lowlands of Louisiana — in the tropical ' chaparals' of Mexico — in the snowy regions of Canada — and in the vernal valleys of California. Unlike the deer, the wild cat, and the wolverene, it is never mistaken for any other animal, nor is any animal taken for it. It is as well-known in America as the red fox is in England, and with a somewhat similar reputation. Although there is a variety in colour and size, there is no ambiguity about species or genus. Wherever the English language is spoken it has but one name, the ' raccoon.' In America every man, woman and child knows the ' sly ole 'coon '. 89 90 The Hunters' Feast This animal has been placed by naturalists in the family Ursidcs, genus Procyon. Linnaeus made it a bear, and classed it with Ursus. It has, in our opinion, but little in common with the bear, and far more re- sembles tiie fox. Hence the Spanish name oi ' zorro negro' (black fox). A writer quaintly describes it thus : — ' The limbs of a bear, the body of a badger, the head of a fox, the nose of a dog, the tail of a cat, and sharp claws by which it climbs trees like a monkey.' We cannot admit the similarity of its tail to that of a cat. The tail of the raccoon is full and bushy, which is not true of the cat's tail. There is only a similarity in the annulated or banded appearance noticed in the tails of some cats, which in that of the raccoon is a marked characteristic. The raccoon, to speak in round terms, is about the size of an English fox, but somewhat thicker and ' bunchier ' in the body. Its legs are short in proportion, and as it {^plantigrade in the hind feet, it stands and runs low, and cat-like. The muzzle is extremely pointed and slender, adapted to its habit of prying into every chink and corner, in search of spiders, beetles, and other creatures. The general colour of the raccoon is dark-brown (nearly black) on the upper part of the body, mixed with iron-grey. Underneath it is of a lighter hue. There is, here and there, a little fawn colour intermixed. A broad black band runs across the eyes and unites under the throat. This band is surrounded and sharply defined with a margin of greyish-white, which gives a unique expression to the ' countenance ' of the ' 'coon.' One of the chief beauties of this animal is its tail, which is characteristic in its markings. It exhibits twelve annulations or ring-bands, six black and six greyish-white, in regular alternation. The tip is black, and the tail itself is very full or ' bushy.' When the 'coon skin is made into a cap — which it often is among hunters and frontiersmen — the tail is left to hang as a drooping plume, and such a head-dress is far from ungraceful. In some 'settlements' the 'coon skin cap is quite the fashion among the young ' backwoodsmen.' The 'Coon, and his Habits 9 1 The raccoon is an animal of an extremely amorous disposition ; but there is a fact connected with the sex of this creature which is curious : the female is larger than the male. Not only larger, but in every respect a finer-looking animal. The hair, long on both, is more full and glossy upon the female, its tints deeper and more beautiful. This is contrary to the general order of nature. By those unacquainted with this fact, the female is mistaken for the male, and vice versa, as in the case of hawks and eagles. The fur of the raccoon has long been an article of commerce, as it is used in making beaver hats ; but as these have given place in most countries to the silk article, the 'coon skin now commands but a small price. The raccoon is a tree-climber of the first quality. It climbs with its sharp-curved claws, not by hugging, as is the case with the bear tribe. Its lair, or place of retreat, is in a tree — some hollow, with its entrance high up. Such trees are common in the great primeval forests of America. In this tree-cave it has its nest, where the female brings forth three, four, five, or six * cubs ' at a birth. This takes place in early spring — usually the first week in April. The raccoon is a creature of the woods. On the prairies and in treeless regions it is not known. It prefers heavy 'timber,' where there are huge logs and hollow trees in plenty. It requires the neighbourhood of water, and in connection with this may be mentioned a curious habit it has, that of plunging all its food into the water before devouring it. It will be remembered that the otter has a similar habit. It is from this peculiarity that the raccoon derives its specific name of Lotor (washer). It does not always moisten its morsel thus, but pretty generally. It is fond, moreover, of frequent ablutions, and no animal is more clean and tidy in its habits. The raccoon is almost omnivorous. It eats poultry or wild fowls. It devours frogs, lizards, larvae, and insects without distinction. It is fond of sweets, and is very destructive to the sugar-cane and Indian corn of the 92 The Hunters^ Feast planter. When the ear of the maize is young, or, as it is termed, * in the milk/ it is very sweet. Then the raccoon loves to prey upon it. Whole troops at night visit the corn-fields and commit extensive havoc. These mischievous habits make the creature many enemies, and in fact it has but few friends. It kills hares, rabbits, and squirrels when it can catch them, and will rob a bird's nest in the most ruthless manner. It is particu- larly fond of shell-fish ; and the unios, with which many of the fresh-water lakes and rivers of America abound, form part of its food. These it opens as adroitly with its claws as an oysterman could with his knife. It is partial to the ' soft-shell ' crabs and small tortoises common in the American waters. Jake told us of a trick which the 'coon puts in practice for catching the small turtles of the creek. We were not inclined to give credence to the story, but Jake almost swore to it. It is certainly curious if true, but it smacks very much of Buffon. It may be remarked, however, that the knowledge which the plantation negroes have of the habits of the raccoon surpasses that of any mere naturalist. Jake boldly declares that the 'coon fishes for turtles ! that it squats upon the bank of the stream, allowing its bushy tail to hang over into the water ; that the turtles swimming about in search of food or amusement, spies the hairy appendage and lays hold of it ; and that the 'coon, feeling the nibble, suddenly draws the testaceous swimmer upon dry land, and then ' cleans out de shell ' at his leisure ! The 'coon is often domesticated in America. It is harmless as a dog or cat except when crossed by children, when it will snarl, snap, and bite like the most crabbed cur. It is troublesome, however, where poultry is kept, and this prevents its being much of a favourite. Indeed, it is not one, for it is hunted everywhere, and killed — wherever this can be done — on sight. There is a curious connection between the negro and the raccoon. It is not a tie of sympathy, but a link of antagonism. The 'coon, as already observed, is the negro's legitimate game. 'Coon-hunting is peculiarly a The 'Coon, and his Habits 93 negro sport. The negro is the 'coon's mortal enemy. He kills the 'coon when and wherever he can, and eats it too. He loves its * meat,' which is pork-tasted, and in young 'coons palatable enough, but in old ones rather rank. This, however, our ' darkle ' frienH does not much mind, particularly if his master be a ' stingy old boss,' and keeps him on rice instead of meat rations. The negro, moreover, makes an odd 'bit'(i2| cents) by the skin, which he disposes of to the neighbouring storekeeper.' The 'coon-hunt is a ' nocturnal ' sport, and therefore does not interfere with the negro's regular labour. By right the night belongs to him, and he may then dispose of his time as he pleases, which he often does in this very way. The negro is not allowed to carry fire-arms, and for this reason the squirrel may perch upon a high limb, jerk its tail about and defy him ; the hare may run swiftly away, and the wild turkey may tantalise him with its incessant 'gobbling.' But the 'coon can be killed without fire-arms. The 'coon can be overtaken and ' treed.' The negro is not denied the use of an axe, and no man knows better how to handle it than he. The 'coon therefore, is his natural game, and much sport does he have in its pursuit. Nearly the same may be said of the opossum {Didelphis Virginiana) ; but the ' 'possum ' is more rare, and it is not our intention now to describe that very curious creature. From both 'coon and 'possum does the poor negro derive infinite sport — many a sweet excitement that cheers his long winter nights, and chequers with brighter spots the dull and darksome monotony of his slave-life. I have often thought what a pity it would be if the 'coon and the opossum should be extirpated before slavery itself became extinct. I had often shared in this peculiar sport of the negro, and joined in a real 'coon chase, but the most exciting of all was the first in which I had been engaged, and I proffered my comrades an account of it. CHAPTER XIII A 'COON CHASE * My 'coon chase took place in Tennessee, where I was sojourning for some time upon a plantation. It was the first affair of the kind I had been present at, and I was somewhat curious as to the mode of carrying it on. My companion and inductor was a certain " Uncle Abe," a gentleman very much after the style and " complexion " of our own Jake here. ' I need not tell you, gentlemen, that throughout the Western States every neighbourhood has its noted 'coon hunter. He is usually a wary old " nigger," who knows all the tricks and dodges of the 'coon. He either owns a dog himself, or has trained one of his master's, in that peculiar line. It is of little importance what breed the dog may be. I have known curs that were excellent " 'coon-dogs." All that is wanted is, that he have a good nose, and that he be a good runner, and of sufficient bulk to be able to bully a 'coon when taken. This a very small dog cannot do, as the 'coon frequently makes a desperate fight before yielding. Mastiffs, terriers, and half-bred pointers make the best " 'coon dogs." ' Uncle Abe was the mighty hunter, the Nimrod of the neighbourhood in which I happened to be ; and Uncle Abe's dog — a stout terrier — was esteemed the " smartest 'coon-dog " in a circle of twenty miles. In going out with Uncle Abe, therefore, I had full confidence that I should see sport. ' On one side of the plantation was a heavily-timbered " bottom," through which meandered a small stream, called, of course, a " creek." This bottom was a favourite habitat of the 'coons, as there were large trees growing near the water, many of which were hollow cither in 94 A 'Coon Chase 95 their trunks or some of their huge limbs. Moreover, there were vast trellises of vines extending from tree to tree ; some of them, as the fox and muscadine ( Vitis labnisca), yielding sweet grapes, of which the raccoons are very fond. ' To this bottom, then, we directed our course, Abe acting as guide, and holding his dog, Pompo, in the leash. Abe carried no other weapon than an axe, while I had armed myself with a double-barrel. Pompo knew as well as either of us the errand on which we were bent, as appeared from his flashing eyes and the impatient leaps which he now and then made to get free. ' We had to cross a large cornfield, a full half-mile in breadth, before we reached the woods. Between this and the timber was a zigzag fence — the common "rail" fence of the American farmer. For some distance beyond the fence the timber was small, but further on was the creek " bottom," where the 'coons were more likely to make their dwelling-place. ' We did not, however, proceed direct to the bottom. Abe knew better than that. The young corn was just then " in the milk," and the 'coon-hunter expected to find his game nearer the field. It was settled, therefore, that we should follow the line of the fence, in hopes that the dog would strike a fresh trail, leading either to or from the corn-field. ' It was now night — two hours after sundown. The 'coon-chase, I have already said, is a nocturnal sport. The raccoon does range by day, but rarely, and only in dark and solitary woods. He often basks by day upon high limbs, or the broken tops of trees. I have shot several of his tribe while asleep, or sunning themselves in such situations. Perhaps before they knew their great enemy man, they were less nocturnal in their activity. ' We had a fine moonlight ; but so far as a view of the chase was concerned, that would benefit us but little. During the hunt there is not much to be seen of either dog or 'coon, as it is always a scramble through trees and underwood. The dog trusts altogether to his nose, and the hunter to his ears ; for the latter has no other guide 96 The Hunters' Feast save the yelp or bark of his canine assistant. Never- theless, moonlight, or a clear night, is indispensable ; without one or the other, it would be impossible to follow through the woods. A view of a 'coon-chase is a luxury enjoyed only by the bats and owls, ' Pompo was now let loose in the corn ; while Abe and I walked quietly along the fence, keeping on different sides. Abe remained in the field for the purpose of handing over the dog, as the fence was high — a regular " ten rail, with stalks and riders." A 'coon could easily cross it, but not a dog, without help. ' We had not gone more than a hundred yards, when a quick sharp yelp from Pompo announced that he had come suddenly upon something in the corn-field. ' " A varmint ! " cried Abe ; and the next moment appeared the dog, running up full tilt among the maize plants and up to the fence. I could see some dark object before him, that passed over the rails with a sudden spring, and bounded into the timbers. * " A varmint, massa ! " repeated Abe, as he lifted the dog over, and followed himself. ' I knew that in Abe's vocabulary — for that night at least — a "varmint" meant a 'coon ; and as we dashed through the brushwood, following the dog, I felt all the excitement of a 'coon-chase. * It was not a long one — I should think of about five minutes' duration ; at the end of which time the yelp of the dog which had hitherto guided us, changed into a regular and continuous barking. On hearing this, Abe quietly announced — ' " The varmint am treed." ' Our only thought now was to get to the tree as speedily as possible, but another thought entered our minds as we advanced ; that was, what sort of a tree had the 'coon taken shelter in ? ' This was an important question, and its answer involved the success or failure of our hunt. If a very large tree, we might " whistle " for the 'coon. Abe knew this well, and as we passed on, expressed his doubts about the result. A 'Coon Chase 97 * The bark of Pompo sounded some hundred yards off, in the very heaviest of the bottom timber. It was not likely, therefore, that the 'coon had taken to a small tree, while there were large ones near at hand. Our only hope was that he had climbed one that was not "hollow." In that case we might still have a chance with the double-barrel and buck-shot. Abe had but little hope. ' " He hab reach him own tree, massa ; an' that am sartin to be a big un wi' a hole near um top. Wagh ! 'twar dat ar fence. But for de dratted fence ole Pomp nebber lot um reach um own tree. Wagh ! " ' From this I learned that one point in the character of a good 'coon-dog was speed. The 'coon runs well for a few hundred yards. He rarely strays further from his lair. If he can beat his pursuer for this distance he is safe, as his retreat is always in a hollow tree of great size. There is no way of getting at him there, except by felling the tree, and this the most zealous 'coon- hunter would not think of attempting. The labour of cutting down such a tree would be worth a dozen 'coons. A swift dog, therefore, will overtake the raccoon, and force him to the nearest tree — often a small one, where he is either shaken off or the tree cut down. Some- times the hunter climbs after and forces him to leap out, so as to fall into the very jaws of the watchful dog below. ' In Abe's opinion Pompo would have " treed " his 'coon before reaching the bottom, had not the fence interfered, but now — ' " Told ye so, massa ! " muttered he, interrupting my thoughts. " Look dar ! dar's de tree — trunk thick as a haystack. Wagh ! " ' 1 looked in the direction indicated by my companion. I saw Pompo standing by the root of a very large tree, looking upward, shaking his tail, and barking at intervals. Before I had time to make any further observations Abe's voice again sounded in my ears. '" Gollies ! it am a buttonwood ! Why, Pomp, ole fellur, you hab made a mistake — de varmint ain't dar. G 98 The Hunters' Feast 'Cooney nebber trees upon buttonwood — nebber — you oughter know bettcr'n dat, ole fool ! " ' Abe's speech drew my attention to the tree. I saw that it was the American sycamore {Platanus Occidentalis), famih'arly known by the trivial name, " buttonwood," from the use to which its wood is sometimes put. But why should the 'coon not " tree " upon it, as well as any other? I put the question to my companion. ""Cause, massa, its bark am slickcry. De varmint nebber takes to 'im. He likes de oak, an' de poplum, an' de scaly-bark. Gosh ! but he am dar ! " continued Abe, raising his voice and looking outward — " Look yonder, massa ! He had climbed by de great vine. Dat's right, Pomp! you am right after all, and dis nigga's a fool, tiee — up, ole dog ! hee up! " 'Following the direction in which Abe pointed, my eyes rested on a huge parasite of the lliana kind, that, rising out of the ground at some distance, slanted upward and joined the sycamore near its top. This had no doubt been the ladder by which the 'coon had climbed. ' This discovery, however, did not mend the matter as far as we were concerned. The 'coon had got into the buttonwood, fifty feet from the ground, where the tree had been broken off by the lightning or the wind, and where the mouth of a large cavity was distinctly visible by the light of the moon. The trunk was one of the largest, and it would have been sheer folly (so we concluded) to have attempted felling it. ' We left the spot without farther ado, and took our way back to the corn-field. ' The dog had now been silent for some time, and we were in hopes that another "varmint" might have stolen into the corn. 'Our hopes were not doomed to disappointment. Pompo had scarcely entered the field when a second 'coon was sprung, wliich, like the other, ran directly for the fence and the woods. ' Pomp followed as fast as he could be flung over ; and this 'coon was also " treed " in a few minutes. A ^Coon Chase 99 ' From the direction of the barking, we calculated that it must be near where the other had escaped us ; but our astonishment equalled our chagrin, when upon arriving at the spot, we found that both the " varmints " had taken to the same tree ! * With some rather emphatic ejaculations we returned to the corn-field, and after a short while a third 'coon was raised, which, like the others, made of course for the timber. ' Pomp ran upon his trail with an angry yelping, that soon changed into the well-known signal that he had treed the game. ' We ran after through brush and brake, and soon came up with the dog. If our astonishment was great before, it was now beyond bounds. The identical buttonwood with its great parasite was before us, the dog barking at its foot ! The third 'coon had taken shelter in its capacious cavity. * " Wagh ! massa ! " ejaculated Abe, in a voice of terror, " it's de same varmint. It ain't no 'coon, it's de debil ! For de lub o' God, massa, let's get away from' here!" ' Of course I followed his advice, as to get at the 'coons was out of the question. ' We returned once more to the corn-field, but we found that we had at last cleared it of 'coons. It was still early, however, and I was determined not to give up the hunt until I had assisted in killing a 'coon. By Abe's advice, therefore, we struck into the woods with the intention of making a circuit where the trees were small. Some 'coon might be prowling there in search of birds' nests. So thought Abe, * He was right in his conjecture. A fourth was started, and off went Pompo after him. In a few minutes the quick constant bark echoed back. This time we were sure, from the direction in a new tree. 'It proved to be so, and such a small one that, on coming up, we saw the animal squatted upon the branches, not twenty feet from the ground. * We were now sure of him, as we thought ; and I had 100 The Htuiters' Feast raised my gun to fire ; when all at once, as if guessing my intent, the 'coon sprang into another tree, and then ran down to the ground and off again, with Pompo yelling in his track. ' Of course we expected that the dog would speedily tree him again, which after a few minutes he did, but this time in the heavy timber. ' We hastened forward, guided by the barking. To the extreme of my astonishment, and I fancy to the very extreme of Abe's terror, we again found ourselves at the foot of the buttonwood. ' Abe's wool stood on end. Superstition was the butt- end of his religion ; and he not only protested, but I am satisfied that he believed, that all the four 'coons were one and the same individual, and that individual " de debil." 'Great 'coon-hunter as he was,he would now have gone home, if I had let him. But I had no thoughts of giving up the matter in that easy way. I was roused by the repeated disappointment. A new resolve had entered my mind. I was determined to get the 'coons out of the buttonwood, cost what it might. The tree must come down, if it should take us till morning to fell it. ' With this determination I caught hold of Abe's axe, and struck the first blow. To my surprise and delight the tree sounded hollow. I repeated the stroke. The sharp axe went crashing inwards. The tree was hollow to the ground ; on the side where I had commenced chopping, it was but a shell, ' A few more blows, and I had made a hole large enough to put a head through. Felling such a tree would be no great job after all, and I saw that it would hardly occupy an hour. The tree must come down. ' Abe seeing me so resolute, had somewhat recovered his courage and his senses, and now laid hold of the axe. Abe was a " first hand " at " chopping," and the hole soon gaped wider. '" If de hole run clar up, massa," said he, resting for a moment, " we can smoke out de varmint — wid dc punk A 'Coon Chase loi and de grass here we can smoke out de debil himself. S'pose we try him, massa ? " ' " Good ! " cried I, catching at Abe's suggestion ; and in a few minutes we had made a fire in the hole, and covered it with leaves, grass, and weeds. * The smoke soon did its work. We saw it ooze out above at the entrance to the 'coon hole — at first in a slight filmy stream, and then in thick volumes. We heard a scraping and rattling within the hollow trunk, and a moment after a dark object sprang out upon the lliana, and ran a short way downward. Another followed, and another, and another, until a string of no less than six raccoons squatted along the parasite threatening to run downward ! ' The scene that followed was indescribable. I had seized my gun, and both barrels were emptied in a " squirrel's jump." Two of the 'coons came to the ground, badly wounded. Pompo tackled another, that had run down the lliana, and was attempting to get off; while Abe with his axe clove the skull of a fourth, that had tried to escape in a similar manner. ' The other two ran back into the " funnel," but only to come out again just in time to receive a shot each from the reloaded gun, which brought both of them tumbling from the tree. We succeeded in bagging the whole family ; and thus finished what Abe declared to be the greatest " 'coon chase on de record." ' As it was by this time far in the night, we gathered up our game, and took the " back track to hum." ' CHAPTER XIV WILD HOGS OF THE WOODS Next day while threading our way through a patch of oak forest — the ground covered thickly with fallen leaves — we were startled by a peculiar noise in front of us. It was a kind of bellows-like snort, exactly like that made by the domestic swine when suddenly affrighted. Some of the party cried out ' bear,' and of course this announcement threw us all into a high state of excite- ment. Even the buffalo itself would be but secondary game, when a bear was upon the ground. The 'snuff' of the bear has a very considerable resemblance to that of terrified hogs, and even our guides were deceived. They thought it might be ' bar' we had heard. It proved we were all wrong. No wonder we fancied the noise resembled that made by hogs. The animal that uttered it was nothing else than a wild boar. ' What ! ' you will exclaim, ' a wild boar in the forests of Missouri ? Oh ! a peccary, I suppose.' No, not a peccary ; for these creatures do not range so far north as the latitude of Missouri — not a wild boar, neither, if you restrict the meaning of the phrase to the true indigenous animal of that kind. For all that, it was a wild boar, or rather a boar ruyi wild. Wild enough and savage too it appeared, although we had only a glimpse of its shaggy form as it dashed into the thicket with a loud grunt. Haifa dozen shots followed it. No doubt it was tickled with some of the ' leaden hail ' from the double-barrelled guns, but it contrived to escape, leaving us only the incident as a subject for conversation. I02 Wz/d Hogs of the Woods 1 03 Throughout the backwoods there are large numbers of half-wild hogs, but they are usually the denizens of woods that are inclosed by a rail fence, and therefore private property. One part of the year they are tamer, when a scarcity of food renders it necessary for them to approach the owner's house, and eat the corn placed for them in a well-known spot. At this season they answer to a call somewhat similar to the ' milk oh ! ' of the London dairyman, but loud enough to be heard a mile or more through the woods. A traveller passing through the backwoods' settlements will often hear this singular call sounding afar off in the stillness of the evening. These hogs pick up most of their subsistence in the forest. The ' mast ' of the beech-tree, the nut of the hickory, the fruit of the Chinquapin oak, the acorn, and many other seeds and berries, furnish them with food. Many roots besides, and grasses, contribute to sustain them, and they make an occasional meal off a snake whenever they can get hold of one. Indeed it may be safely asserted, that no other cause has contributed so much to the destruction of these reptiles, as the introduc- tion of the domestic hog into the forests of America. Wherever a tract of woods has been used as the ' run ' of a drove of hogs, serpents of every kind become exceedingly scarce, and you may hunt through such a tract for weeks without seeing one. The hog seems to have the strongest antipathy to the snake tribe ; without the least fear of them. When one of the latter is discovered by a hog, and no crevice in the rocks, or hollow log, offers it a shelter, its destruction is inevitable. The hog rushes to the spot, and, bounding forward, crushes the reptile under his hoofs. Should the first attempt not succeed, and the serpent glide awa)', the hog nimbly follows, and repeats his efforts until the victim lies helpless. The victor then goes to work with his powerful jaws, and quietly devours the prey. The fondness of the hog for this species of food proves that in a state of nature it is partially a carnivorous animal. The peccary, which is the true representative i04 The Ihifiters' Feast of the wild hog in America — has the very same habit, and is well-known to be one of the most fatal enemies of the serpent tribe to be found among American animals. The hog shows no fear of the snake. His thick hide seems to protect him. The ' skin ' of the rattlesnake or the ' hiss ' of the deadly ' moccassin,' are alike unheeded by him. He kills them as easily as he does the innocent * chicken snake ' or the black constrictor. The latter often escapes from its dreaded enemy by taking to a bush or tree ; but the rattlesnake and the moccassin are not tree-climbers, and either hide themselves in the herbage and dead leaves, or retreat to their holes. It is not true that the hog eats the body of the snake he has killed, leaving the head untouched, and thus avoiding the poisoned fangs. He devours the whole of the creature, head and all. The venom of the snake, like the ' curari ' poison of the South- American Indians, is only effective when coming in contact with the blood. Taken internally its effects are innoxious — indeed there are those who believe it to be beneficial, and the curari is often swallowed as a medicine. Most of this information about the half-wild hogs of the backwoods was given by our Kentucky comrade, who himself was the proprietor of many hundreds of them. An annual hog-hunt was part of the routine of his life. It was undertaken not merely for the sport of the thing — though that was by no means to be despised — and the season of the hog-hunting is looked forward to with pleasant anticipation by the domestics of the plantation, as well as a few select friends or neighbours who are invited to participate in it. When the time arrives, the proprietor, with his pack of hounds, and accompanied by a party mounted and armed with rifles, enters the large tract of woodland — perhaps miles in extent, and in many places covered with canebrakes, and almost impenetrable thickets of undergrowth. To such places the hogs fly for shelter, but the dogs can penetrate wherever hogs can go ; and Wt/d Hogs of the Woods 105 of course the latter are soon driven out, and forced into the more open ground, where the mounted men are waiting to receive them with a volley of bullets. Sometimes a keen pursuit follows, and the dogs in full cry are carried across the country, over huge logs, and through thickets and ravines, followed by the horsemen — ^just as if an old fox was the game pursued. A large waggon with drivers and attendants follows the chase, and in this the killed are deposited, to be ' hauled ' home when the hunt is over. This, however, often continues for several days, until all, or at least all the larger hogs, are collected and brought home, and then the sport terminates. The produce of the hunt sometimes amounts to hundreds — according to the wealth of the proprietor. Of course a scene of slaughtering and bacon-curing follows. A part of the bacon furnishes the ' smoke-house ' for home consumption during the winter ; while the larger part finds its way to the great pork-market of Cincinnati. The Kentuckian related to us a curious incident illustrating the instinct of the swinish quadruped ; but which to his mind, as well as to ours, seemed more like a proof of a rational principle possessed by the animal. The incident he had himself been witness to, and in his own woodlands. He related it thus : — ' I had strayed into the woods in search of a wild turkey with nothing but my shot gun, and having tramped about a good bit, I sat down upon a log to rest myself. I had not been seated five minutes when I heard a rustling among the dead leaves in front of me. I thought it might be deer, and raised my gun ; but I was greatly disappointed on seeing some half dozen of my own hogs make their appearance, rooting as they went along. ' I paid no more heed to them at the time ; but a few minutes after, my attention was again drawn to them, by seeing them make a sudden rush across a piece of open ground, as if they were in pursuit of something. 'Sure enough they were. Just before their snouts, I io6 TJie Hit^iters^ Feast espied the long shining body of a black snake doing its best to get out of their way. In this it succeeded, for the next moment I saw it twisting itself up a pawpaw sapling, until it had reached the top branches, where it remained looking down at its pursuers. * The snake may have fancied itself secure at the moment, and so thought I, at least so far as the hogs were concerned. I had made up my mind to be its destroyer myself, and was just about to sprinkle it with shot, when a movement on the part of one of the hogs caused me to hold back and remain quiet. I need not tell you I was considerably astonished to see the foremost of these animals seize the sapling in its jaws and jerk it about in a determined manner, as if with the intention of shaking off the snake ! Of course it did not succeed in this, for the latter was wound around the branches, and it would have been as easy to have shaken off the bark. * As you all know, gentlemen, the pawpaw — not the pawpaw {Carica papaya)^ but a small tree of the anonas or custard apple tribe, common in the woods of Western America — is one of the softest and most brittle of our trees, and the hog seemed to have discovered this, for he suddenly changed his tactics, and instead of shaking at the sapling, commenced grinding it between his powerful jaws. The others assisted him, and the tree fell in a k^ seconds. As soon as the top branches touched the ground, the whole drove dashed forward at the snake ; and in less than the time I take in telling it, the creature was crushed and devoured.' After hearing the singular tale, our conversation now returned to the hog we had just 'jumped.' All agreed that it must be some stray from the plantations that had wandered thus far from the haunts of men, for there was no settlement within twenty miles of where we then were. Our trapper guides stated that wild hogs are fre- quently found in remote parts, and that many of them are not ' strays,' but have been ' littered ' and brought up Wz7d Hogs of the Woods 107 in the forest. These are as shy and difficult to approach as deer, or any other hunted animals. They are generally of a small breed, and it is supposed that they are identical with the species found throughout Mexico, and introduced by the Spaniards. CHAPTER XV TREED BY PECCARIES Talking of these Spanish hogs naturally led us to the subject of the peccary — for this creature is an inhabi- tant only of those parts of North America which have been hitherto in possession of the Spanish race. Of the peccary {dicoiyles), there are two distinct species known — the 'collared,' and the * white-lipped.' In form and habits they are very similar to each other. In size and colour they differ. The ' white-lipped ' is the larger. Its colour is dark brown, nearly black, while that of the 'collared' peccary is a uniform iron-grey, with the exception of the band or collar upon its shoulders. The distinctive markings are, on the former species a greyish-white patch along the jaws, and on the other a yellowish-white belt embracing the neck and shoulders, as a collar does a horse. These markings have given to each its specific name. They are farther distinguished, by the forehead of the white-lipped peccary being more hollowed or concave than that of its congener. In most other respects these creatures are alike. Both feed upon roots, fruits, frogs, toads, lizards, and snakes. Both make their lair in hollow logs, or in caves among the rocks, and both are gregarious in their habits. In this last habit, however, they exhibit some difference. The white-lipped species associate in troops to the number of hundreds, and even as many as a thousand have been seen together ; whereas the others do not live in such large droves, but are oftener met with in pairs. Yet this difference of habit may arise from the fact that in the places where both have been observed, the latter have not been so plentiful as the white-lipped species. As many as a hundred of the collared peccary 1 08 Treed by Peccaries 109 have been observed in one 'gang/ and no doubt had there been more of them in the neighbourhood, the flock would have been still larger. The white-lipped species does not extend to the northern half of the American Continent. Its habitat is in the great tropical forests of Guyana and Brazil, and it is found much farther south, being common in Paraguay. It is there known as the ' vaquira,' whence our word ' peccary.' The other species is also found in South America, and is distinguished as the ' vaquira de collar' (collared peccary). Of course, they both have trivial Indian names, differing in different parts of the country. The former is called in Paraguay ' Tagnicati,' while the latter is the ' Taytetou.' Neither species is so numerous as they were in former times. They have been thinned off by hunting — not for the value either of their flesh or their skins, nor for the mere sport either, but on account of their destructive habits. In the neighbourhood of settlements they make frequent forays into the maize and mandioc fields, and they will lay waste a plantation of sugar-cane in a single night. For this reason it is that a war of extermination has long been waged against them by the planters and their dependents. As already stated, it is believed that the white-lipped species is not found in North America. Probably it does exist in the forests of Southern Mexico. The natural history of these countries is yet to be thoroughly investigated. The Mexicans have unfortunately em- ployed all their time in making revolutions. But a new period has arrived. The Panama railroad, the Nicaragua canal, and the route of Tehuantepec, will soon be open, when among the foremost who traverse these hitherto unfrequented regions will be found troops of naturalists, of the Audubon school, who will explore every nook and corner of Central America. Indecd,alteady some progress has been made in this respect. The two species of peccaries, although so much alike, never associate together, and do not seem to have any knowledge of a relationship existing between them. no The Hunters' Feast Indeed, what is very singular, they are never found in the same tract of woods. A district frequented by the one is always without the other. The Collared Peccary is the species found in North America, and of it we more particularly speak. It is met with when you approach the more southern latitudes westward of the Mississippi River. In that great wing of the continent, to the eastward of this river, and now occupied by the United States, no such animal exists, nor is there any proof that it was ever known to exist there in its wild state. In the territory of Texas, it is a common animal, and its range extends westward to the Pacific, and south throughout the remainder of the Continent. As you proceed westwards, the line of its range rises considerably ; and in New Mexico it is met with as high as the 33rd parallel. This is just following the isother- mal line, and proves that the peccary cannot endure the rigours of a severe winter climate. It is a production of the tropics and the countries adjacent. Some naturalists assert that it is a forest-dwelling animal, and is never seen in open countries. Others, as Buffon, state that it makes its habitat in the mountains, never the low countries and plains ; while still others have declared that it is never found in the mountains ! None of these ' theories ' appear to be the correct one. It is well known to frequent the forest-covered plains of Texas, and Emory (one of the most talented of modern observers), reports having met with a large drove of peccaries in the almost treeless mountains of New Mexico. The fact is, the peccary is a wide ' ranger,' and frequents either plains or mountains wherever he can find the roots or fruits which constitute his natural food. The haunts he likes best appear to be the dry hilly woods, where he finds several species of nuts to his taste — such as the chinquapin {Castanea puinila\ the pecan (Jjiglans olivcpforinis ), and the acorns of several species of oak, with which the half-prairie country of western Texas abounds. Farther than to eat their fruit, the forest trees are of no Treed by Peccaries ill use to the peccary. He is not a climber, as he is a hoofed animal. But in the absence of rocks, or crevices in the cliffs, he makes his lair in the bottoms of hollow trees, or in the great cavities so common in half-decayed logs. He prefers, however, a habitation among rocks, as experience has no doubt taught him that it is a safer retreat both from hunters and fire. The peccary is easily distinguished from the other forest animals by his rounded, hog-like form, and long, sharp snout. Although pig-shaped, he is extremely active and light in his movements. The absence of a tail — for that member is represented only by a very small protuberance or 'knob' — imparts a character of lightness to his body. His jaws are those of the hog, and a single pair of tusks, protruding near the angles of the mouth, gives him a fierce and dangerous aspect These tusks are seen in the old males or ' boars.' The ears are short, and almost buried in the long harsh hairs or bristles that cover the whole body, but which are much longer on the back. These, when erected or thrown forward — as is the case when the peccary is incensed — have the appearance of a stiff mane rising all along the neck, shoulders, and spine. At such times, indeed, the rigid, bristling coat over the whole body gives somewhat of a porcupine appearance to the animal. The peccary, as already stated, is gregarious. They wander in droves of twenty, or sometimes more. This, however, is only in the winter. In the season of love, and during the period of gestation, they are met with only in pairs — a male and female. They are very true to each other, and keep close together. The female produce two young at a litter. These are of a reddish-brown colour, and at first not larger than young puppies ; but they are soon able to follow the mother through the woods ; and then the ' family party ' usually consists of four. Later in the season, several of these families unite and remain together, partly perhaps from having met by accident, and partly for mutual protection ; for whenever one of their number is attacked, all the drove takes part 112 The Hiuiters' Feast against the assailant, whether he be hunter, cougar, or lynx. As they use both their teeth, tusks, and sharp fore- hoofs with rapidity and effect, they become a formidable and dangerous enemy. The cougar is often killed and torn to pieces by a drove of peccaries, that he has been imprudent enough to attack. Indeed, this fierce creature will not often meddle with the peccaries when he sees them in large numbers. He attacks only single ones ; but their 'grunting,' which can be heard to the distance of nearly a mile, summons the rest, and he is surrounded before he is aware of it, and seized by as many as can get around him. The Texan hunter, if afoot, will not dare to disturb a drove of peccaries. Even when mounted, unless the woods be open, he will pass them by without rousing their resentment. But, for all this, the animal is hunted by the settlers, and hundreds are killed annually. Their ravages committed upon the corn-fields make them many enemies, who go after them with a desire for wholesale slaughter. Hounds are employed to track the peccary and bring it to bay, when the hunters ride up and finish the chase by their unerring rifles. A flock of peccaries, when pursued, will sometimes take shelter in a cave or cleft of the rocks, one of their number standing ready at the mouth. When this one is shot by the hunter, another will immediately rush out and take its place. This too being destroyed, will be replaced by a third, and so on until the whole drove has fallen. Should the hounds attack the peccary while by them- selves, and without the aid and encouragement of the hunter, they are sure to be ' routed,' and some of their number destroyed. Indeed, this little creature, of not more than two feet in length, is a match for the stoutest bull-dog ! I have myself seen a peccary (a caged one, too) that had killed no less than six dogs of bull and mastiff breed — all of them considered fighting dogs of first-rate reputation. Treed by Peccaries 113 The Kentuckian had a peccary adventure which had occurred to him while on an excursion to the new settle- ments of Texas. ' It was my first introduction to these animals,' began he, ' and I am not likely soon to forget it. It gave me, among the frontier settlers of Texas, the reputation of a " mighty hunter," though how far I deserved that name you may judge for yourselves. ' I was for some weeks the guest of a farmer or " plan- ter," who lived upon the Trinity Bottom. We had been out in the " timber " several times, and had killed both bear, deer, and turkeys, but had not yet had the luck to fall in with the peccary, although we never went abroad without seeing their tracks, or some other indications of what my friend termed " peccary sign." The truth is, that these animals possess the sense of smell in the keenest degree ; and they are usually hidden long before the hunter can see them or come near them. As we had gone without dogs, of course we were not likely to discover which of the nine hundred and ninety- nine hollow logs passed in a day, was the precise one in which the peccaries had taken shelter. ' I had grown very curious about these creatures. Bear I had often hunted — deer I had driven; and turkeys I had both trapped and shot. But I had never yet killed a peccary ; in fact, had never seen one. I was therefore very desirous of adding the tusk of one of these wild boars to my trophies of the chase. ' My desire was gratified sooner than I expected, and to an extent I had never dreamt of ; for in one morn- ing — before tasting my breakfast — I caused no less than nineteen of these animals to utter their last squeak! But I shall give the details of this " feat " as they happened. ' It was in the autumn season — the most beautiful season of the forest — when the frondage obtains its tints of gold, orange, and purple. I was a-bed in the house of my friend, but was awakened out of my sleep by the " gobbling " of wild turkeys that sounded close to the place. * Although there was not a window in my room, the H 1 1 4 The Hunters^ Feast yellow beams streaming in through the chinks of the log wall told me that it was after " sun-up." ' I arose, drew on my garments and hunting habili- ments, took my rifle, and stole out. I said nothing to any one, as there was no one — neither " nigger " nor white man — to be seen stirring about the place. I wanted to steal a march upon my friend, and show him how smart I was by bagging a fat young " gobbler " for breakfast. ' As soon as I had got round the house, I saw the turkeys — a large " gang " of them. They were out in an old corn-field, feeding upon such of the seeds as had been dropped in the corn-gathering. They were to far off for my gun to reach them, and I entered among the corn-stalks to get near them. * I soon perceived that they were feeding towards the woods, and that they were likely to enter them at a cer- tain point. Could I only reach that point before them, reflected I, I should be sure of a fair shot. I had only to go back to the house and keep around the edge of the field, where there happened to be some " cover." In this way I should be sure to " head " them — that is, could I but reach the woods in time. ' I lost not a moment in setting out ; and, running most of the way, I reached the desired point. ' I was now about a mile from my friend's house — for the corn-field was a very large one — such as you may only see in the great plantations of the far western world. I saw that I had " headed " the turkeys, with some time to spare ; and choosing a convenient log, I sat down to await their coming. I placed myself in such a situation that I was completely hidden by the broad green leaves of some bushy trees that grew over the log. ' I had not been in that position over a minute I should think, when a slight rustling among the leaves attracted my attention. I looked, and saw issuing from under the rubbish the long body of a snake. As yet, I could not see its tail, which was hidden by the grass ; but the form of the head and the peculiar chevron-like Treed by Peccaries 115 markings of the body, convinced me it was the " Banded Rattlesnake," It was slowly gliding out into some open ground, with the intention of crossing to a thicket upon the other side. I had disturbed it from the log, where it had no doubt been sunning itself; and it was now making away from me. ' My first thought was to follow the hideous reptile, and kill it ; but reflecting that if I did so I should expose myself to the view of the turkeys, I concluded to remain where I was, and let it escape. ' I watched it slowly drawing itself along — for this species makes but slow progress — until it was near the middle of the glade, when I again turned my attention to the birds that had now advanced almost within range of my gun. 'I was just getting ready to fire, when a strange noise, like the grunt of a small pig, sounded in my ears from the glade, and again caused me to look in that direction. As I did so, my eyes fell upon a curious little animal just emerging from the bushes. Its long, sharp snout — its pig-like form — the absence of a tail — the high rump, and whitish band along the shoulders, were all marks of description which I remembered. The animal could be no other than a peccary. ' As I gazed upon it with curious eyes, another emerged from the bushes, and then another, and another until a good-sized drove of them were in sight. 'The rattle-snake, on seeing the first one, had laid his head flat upon the ground ; and evidently terrified, was endeavouring to conceal himself in the grass. But it was a smooth piece of turf, and he did not succeed. The peccary had already espied him ; and upon the instant his hinder parts were raised to their full height, his mane became rigid, and the hair over his whole body stood erect, radiating on all sides outwards. The appearance of the creature was changed in an instant, and I could perceive that the air was becoming impregnated with a disagreeable odour, which the incensed animal emitted from its dorsal gland. Without stopping longer than a moment, he rushed forward. II 6 The Hmiters' Feast until he stood within three feet of the body of the snake. * The latter, seeing he could no longer conceal himself, threw himself into a coil, and stood upon his defence. His eyes glared with a fiery lustre : the skir-r-r of his rattles could be heard almost incessantly ; while with his upraised head he struck repeatedly in the direction of his enemy. ' These demonstrations brought the whole drove of peccaries to the spot, and in a moment a circle of them had formed around the reptile, that did not know which to strike at, but kept launching out its head recklessly in all directions. The peccaries stood with their backs highly arched and their feet drawn up together, like so many angry cats, threatening and uttering shrill grunts. Then one of them, I think the first that had appeared, rose suddenly into the air, and with his four hoofs held close together, came pounce down upon the coiled body of the snake. Another followed in a similar manner, and another, and another, until 1 could see the long carcase of the reptile unfolded, and writhing over the ground. 'After a short while it lay still, crushed beneath their feet. The whole squad then seized it in their teeth, and tearing it to pieces, devoured it almost instantaneously. 'From the moment the peccaries had appeared in sight, I had given up all thoughts about the turkeys. I had resolved to send my leaden messenger in quite a different direction. Turkeys I could have at almost any time ; but it was not every day that peccaries appeared. So I "slewed" myself round upon the log, raised my rifle cautiously, "marked," the biggest " boar" I could see in the drove, and fired. ' I heard the boar squeak (so did all of them), and saw him fall over, cither killed or badly wounded. But I had little time to tell which, for the smoke had hardly cleared out of my eyes, when I perceived the whole gang of peccaries, instead of running away, as I had expected, coming full tilt towards me. Treed by Peccaries ii7 ' In a moment I was surrounded by a^dark mass of little creatures leaping wildly at my legs, uttering shrill grunts, and making their teeth crack like castanets. ' I ran for the highest part of the log, but this proved no security. The peccaries leaped upon it, and fol- lowed. I struck with the butt of my clubbed gun, and knocked them off; but again they surrounded me, leaping upward and snapping at my legs, until hardly a shred remained of my trousers. * I saw that I was in extreme peril, and put forth all my energies. I swept my gun wildly around me ; but where one of the fierce brutes was knocked over, another leaped into his place, as determined as he. Still I had no help for it, and I shouted at the top of my voice, all the while battling with desperation. ' I still kept upon the highest point of the log, as there they could not all come around me at once ; and I saw that I could thus better defend myself. But even with this advantage, the assaults of the animals were so incessant, and my exertions in keeping them off so continuous, that I was in danger of falling into their jaws from very exhaustion. ' I was growing weak and wearied — I was beginning to despair for my life — when on winding my gun over my head in order to give force to my blows, I felt it strike against something behind me. It was the branch of a tree, that stretched over the spot where I was standing. ' A new thought came suddenly into my mind. Could I climb the tree ? I knew that they could not, and in the tree I should be safe. ' I looked upward ; the branch was within reach. I seized upon it and brought it nearer. I drew a long breath, and with all the strength that remained in my body sprang upward. ' I succeeded in getting upon the limb, and the next moment I had crawled along it, and sat close in by the trunk. I breathed freely — I was safe. ' It was sometime before I thought of anything else than resting myself. 1 remained a full half-hour before ii8 The Hunters' Feast I moved in my perch. Occasionally I looked down at my late tormentors. I saw that instead of going off they were still there. They ran around the root of the tree, leaping up against its trunk, and tearing the bark with their teeth. They kept constantly uttering their shrill, disagreeable grunts ; and the odour, resembling the smell of musk and garlic, which they emitted from their dorsal glands, almost stifled me. I saw that they showed no disposition to retire, but, on the contrary, were determined to make me stand siege. ' Now and then they passed out to where their dead comrade lay upon the grass, but this seemed only to bind their resolution the faster, for they always returned again, grunting as fiercely as ever. _ ' I had hopes that my friend would be up by this time, and would come to my rescue ; but it was not likely neither, as he would not " miss " me until I had remained long enough to make my absence seem strange. As it was, that would not be until after night, or perhaps far in the next day. It was no unusual thing for me to wander off with my gun, and be gone for a period of at least twenty hours. • I sat for hours on my painful perch — now looking down at the spiteful creatures beneath — now bending my eyes across the great corn-field, in hopes of seeing someone. At times the idea crossed my mind, that even upon the morrow I might not be missed ! * I might perish with hunger, with thirst — I was suffering from both at the moment — or even if I kept alive, I might become so weak as not to be able to hold on to the tree. My seat was far from being an easy one. The tree was small — the branch was slender. It was already cutting into my thighs. I might, in my feebleness, be compelled to let it go, and then — ' These reflections were terrible ; and as they came across my mind, I shouted to the highest pitch of my voice, hoping I should be heard. ' Up to this time I had not thought of using my gun, although clinging to it instinctively. I had brought it with me into the tree. It now occurred to me to fire Treed by Peccaries 119 it in hopes that my friend or someone might hear the report, ' I balanced myself on the branch as well as I could, and loaded it with powder. I was about to fire it off in the air, when it appeared to me that I might just as well reduce the number of my enemies. I therefore rammed down a ball, took aim at the forehead of one, and knocked him over. 'Another idea now arose in my mind, and that was, that I might serve the whole gang as I had done this one. His fall had not frightened them in the least ; they only came nearer, throwing up their snouts and uttering their shrill notes — thus giving me a better chance of hitting them. ' I repeated the loading and firing. Another enemy the less. ' Hope began to return. I counted my bullets, and held my horn up to the sun. There were over twenty bullets, and powder sufficient. I counted the peccaries. Sixteen still lived, with three that I had done for. ' I again loaded and fired — loaded and fired — loaded and fired. I aimed so carefully each time, that out of all I missed only one shot. ' When the firing ceased, I dropped down from my perch in the midst of a scene that resembled a great slaughter-yard. Nineteen of the creatures lay dead around the tree, and the ground was saturated with their blood ! ' The voice of my friend at this moment sounded in my ears, and turning, I beheld him standing, with hands uplifted and eyes as large as saucers. ' The " feat " was soon reported through the settle- ment, and I was looked upon for the time as the greatest hunter in the " Trinity Bottom." ' CHAPTER XVI A DUCK-SHOOTING ADVENTURE During our next day's journey we again fell in with flocks of the wild pigeon, and our stock was renewed. We were very glad of this, as we were getting tired of the dry salt bacon, and another 'pot-pie' from Lanty's cuisine was quite welcome. The subject of the pigeons was exhausted, and we talked no more about them. Ducks were upon the table in a double sense, for during the march we had fallen in with a brood of the beautiful little summer ducks {Anas sponsd), and had succeeded in shooting several of them. These little creatures, however, did not occupy our attention, but the far more celebrated species known as the 'canvas-back' {Anas vallisneria). Of the two dozen species of American wild-ducks, none has a wider celebrity than that known as the canvas-back ; even the eider-duck is less thought of, as the Americans care little for beds of down. But the juicy, fine-flavoured flesh of the canvas-back is esteemed by all classes of people ; and epicures prize it above that of all other winged creatures, with the exception, perhaps, of the reed-bird or rice-bunting, and the prairie-hen. These last enjoy a celebrity almost if not altogether equal. The prairie-hen, however, is the bon morceau of western epicures ; while the canvas-back is only to be found in the great cities of the Atlantic. The reed-bird — in the West Indies called 'ortolan' — is also found in the same markets with the canvas-back. The flesh of all three of these birds — although the birds themselves are of widcly-diflercnt families — is really of the most delicious kind ; it would be hard to say which of them is the greatest favourite. 120 A Duck-Sliootinsi: Adventure 121 'cS The canvas-back is not a large duck, rarely exceeding three pounds in weight. Its colour is very similar to the pochard of Europe : its head is a uniform deep chestnut, its breast black ; while the back and upper parts of the wings present a surface of bluish-grey, so lined and mottled as to resemble — though very slightly — the texture of canvas: hence the trivial name of the bird. Like most of the water-birds of America, the canvas- back is migratory. It proceeds in spring to the cold countries of the Hudson's Bay territory, and returns southward in October, appearing in immense flocks along the Atlantic shores. It does not spread over the fresh-water lakes of the United States, but confines itself to three or four well-known haunts, the principal of which is the great Chesapeake Bay. This preference for the Chesapeake Bay is easily accounted for, as here its favourite food is found in the greatest abundance. Round the mouths of the rivers that run into this bay, there are extensive shoals of brackish water ; these favour the growth of a certain plant of the genius vallisneria — a grass-like plant, standing several feet out of the water, with deep green leaves and stems, and having a white and tender root. On this root, which is of such a character as to have given the plant the trivial name of * wild celery,' the canvas-back feeds exclusively ; for wherever it is not to be found, neither does the bird make its appearance. Diving for it, and bringing it up in its bill, the canvas-back readily breaks off the long lanceolate leaves, which float off, either to be eaten by another species — the pochard — or to form immense banks of wrack, that are thrown up against the adjacent shores. It is to the roots of the wild celery that the flesh of the canvas-back owes its esteemed flavour, causing it to be in such demand that very often a pair of these ducks will bring three dollars in the markets of New York and Philadelphia. When the finest turkey can be had for less than a third of that sum, some idea may be formed of the superior estimation in which the web-footed favourites are held. 122 The Hunters' Feast Of course, shooting the canvas-back duck is ex- tensively practised, not only as an amusement, but as a professional occupation. Various means are employed to slaughter these birds : decoys by means of dogs, duck-boats armed with guns that resemble infernal- machines, and disguises of every possible kind. The birds themselves are extremely shy ; and a shot at them is only obtained by great ingenuity, and after considerable dodging. They are excellent divers ; and when only wounded, almost always make good their escape. Their shyness is overcome by their curiosity. A dog placed upon the shore, near where they happen to be, and trained to run backwards and forwards, will almost always seduce them within shot. Should the dog himself not succeed, a red rag wrapped around his body, or tied to his tail, will generally bring about the desired result. There arc times, however, when the ducks have been much shot at, that even this decoy fails of success. On account of the high price the canvas-backs bring in the market, they are pursued by the hunters with great assiduity, and are looked upon as a source of much profit. So important has this been considered, that in the international treaties between the States bordering upon the Chesapeake, there are several clauses or articles relating to them that limit the right of shooting to certain parties. An infringement of this right, some three or four years ago, led to serious collisions between the gunners of Philadelphia and Baltimore. So far was the dispute carried, that schooners armed, and filled with armed men, cruised for some time on the waters of the Chesapeake, and all the initiatory steps of a little war were taken by both parties. The interference of the general govern- ment prevented what would have proved, had it been left to itself, a very sanguinary affair. It so chanced that I had met with a rather singular adventure while duck-shooting on the Chesapeake Bay, and the story was related thus : ' I was staying for some days at the house of a friend — a planter — who lived A Duck-Shooting Adventure 123 near the mouth of a small river that runs into the Chesapeake, I felt inclined to have a shot at the far- famed canvas-backs. I had often eaten of these birds, but had never shot one, or even seen them in their natural habitat. I was, therefore, anxious to try my hand upon them, and I accordin_^ly set out one morning for that purpose. ' My friend lived upon the bank of the river, some distance above tide-water. As the wild celery grows only in brackish water — that is, neither in the salt sea itself nor yet in the fresh-water rivers — I had to pass down the little stream a mile or more before I came to the proper place for finding the ducks. I went in a small skiff, with no other companion than an ill-favoured cur-dog, with which I had been furnished, and which was represented to me as one of the best "duck-dogs" in the country. 'My friend having business elsewhere, unfortunately could not upon that day give me his company ; but I knew something of the place, and being aufait in most of the dodges of duck-hunting, I fancied I was quite able to take care of myself. 'Floating and rowing by turns, I soon came in sight of the bay and the wild-celery fields, and also of flocks of water-fowl of different species, among which I could recognise the pochards, the canvas - backs, and the common American widgeon. ' Seeking a convenient place near the mouth of the stream, I landed ; and, tying the skiff to some weeds, proceeded in search of a cover. This was soon found — some bushes favoured me ; and having taken my posi- tion, I set the dog to his work. The brute, however, took but little notice of my words and gestures of encouragement. I fancied that he had a wild and frightened look, but I attributed this to my being partially a stranger to him ; and was in hopes that, as soon as we became better acquainted, he would work in a different manner. ' I was disappointed, however, as, do what I might he would not go near the water, nor would he perform the 124 ^-^^^ Hunters' Feast trick of running to and fro which I had been assured by my friend he woud be certain to do. On the con- trary, he cowered among the bushes, near where I had stationed myself, and seemed unwilling to move out of them. Two or three times, when I dragged him forward, and motioned him toward the water, he rushed back again, and ran under the brushwood. ' I was exceedingly provoked with this conduct of the dog, the more so that a flock of canvas-backs, consisting of several thousands, was seated upon the water not more than half a mile from the shore. Had my dog done his duty, I have no doubt they might have been brought within range ; and calculating upon this, I had made sure of a noble shot. My expectations, however, were defeated by the waywardness of the dog, and I saw there was no hope of doing anything with him. ' Having arrived at this conclusion, after some hours spent to no purpose, I rose from my cover, and marched back to the skiff. I did not even motion the wretched cur to follow me ; and I should have rowed off without him, risking the chances of my friend's displeasure, but it pleased the animal himself to trot after me without invitation, and, on arriving at the boat, to leap voluntarily into it. ' I was really so provoked with the brute, that I felt much inclined to pitch him out again. My vexation, however, gradually left me ; and I stood up in the skiff, turning over in my mind what course I should pursue next. ' I looked toward the flock of canvas-backs. It was a tantalising sight. They sat upon the water as light as corks, and as close together as sportsman could desire for a shot. A well-aimed discharge could not have failed to kill a score of them at least. ' Was there no way of approaching them ? This question I had put to myself for the twentieth time without being able to answer it to my satisfaction. ' An idea at length flitted across my brain. I had often approached common mallards by concealing my A Duck-Shooting Adventure 125 boat under branches or furze, and then floating down upon them, impelled either by the wind or the current of a stream. Might not this also succeed with the canvas-backs ? ' I resolved upon making the experiment. The flock was in a position to enable me to do so. They were to the leeward of a sedge of the vallisneria. The wind would carry my skiff through this ; and the green bushes with which I intended to disguise it would not be distinguished from the sedge, which was also green. ' The thing was feasible. I deemed it so. I set about cutting some leafy branches that grew near, and trying them along the gunwhales of my little craft. In less than half an hour, I pushed her from the shore ; and no one at a distance would have taken her for aught else than a floating raft of brushwood. ' I now pulled quietly out until I had got exactly to windward of the ducks, at about half a mile's distance from the edge of the flock. I then took in the paddles, and permitted the skiff to glide before the wind. I took the precaution to place myself in such a manner that I was completely hidden, while through the branches I commanded a view of the surface on any side I might wish to look. 'The bushes acted as a sail, and I was soon drifted down among the plants of the wild celery. I feared that this might stay my progress, as the breeze was light, and might not carry me through. But the sward, contrary to what is usual, was thin at the place where the skiff had entered, and I felt, to my satisfaction, that I was moving, though slowly, in the right direction. ' I remembered that the heat annoyed me at the time. It was the month of November ; but it was that peculiar season known as " Indian summer," and the heat was excessive — not under 90 degrees, I am certain. The shrubbery that encircled me prevented a breath of air from reaching my body ; and the rays of the noonday sun fell almost vertically in that southern latitude, scorching me as I lay along the bottom of the boat. 126 The Hunters' Feast Under other circumstances, I should not have liked to undergo such a roasting ; but with the prospect of a splendid shot before me, I endured it as best I could. ' The skiff was nearly an hour in pushing its way through the field of vallisneria, and once or twice it remained for a considerable time motionless. A stronger breeze, however, would spring up, and then the sound of the reeds rubbing the sides of the boat would gratefully admonish me that I was moving ahead. ' I saw, at length, to my great gratification, that I was approaching the selvage of the sedge, and, moreover, that the flock itself was moving, as it were, to meet me ! Many of the birds were diving and feeding in the direction of the skiff. ' I lay watching them with interest. I saw that the canvas-backs were accompanied by another species of a very different colour from themselves : this was the American widgeon. It was a curious sight to witness the constant warfare that was carried on between these two species of birds. The widgeon is but a poor diver, while the canvas-back is one of the very best. The widgeon, however, is equally fond of the roots of the wild celery with his congener ; but he has no means of obtaining them except by robbing the latter. Being a smaller and less powerful bird, he is not able to do this openly ; and it was curious to observe the means by which he effected his purpose. It was as follows : When the canvas-back descends, he must perforce remain some moments underwater. It requires time to seize hold of the plant, and pluck it up by the roots. In consequence of this, he usually reaches the surface in a state of half- blindness, holding the luscious morsel in his bill. The widgeon has observed him going down ; and, calculating to a nicety the spot where he will reappear, seats himself in readiness. The moment the other emerges, and before he can fully recover his sight or his senses, the active spoliator makes a dash, seizes the celery in his horny mandibles, and makes off with it as fast as his A Duck-Shooting Adventure 127 webbed feet can propel him. The canvas-back, although chagrined at being plundered in this impudent manner, knows that pursuit would be idle, and, setting the root down as lost, draws a fresh breath, and dives for another. I noticed in the flock a continual recurrence of such scenes. ' A third species of birds drew my attention. These were the pochards, or, as they are termed by the gunners of the Chesapeake, " red-heads." These creatures bear a very great resemblance to the canvas- backs, and can hardly be distinguished except by their bills : those of the former being concave along the upper surface, while the bills of the canvas-backs exhibit a nearly straight line. ' I saw that the pochards did not interfere with either of the other species, contenting themselves with feeding upon what neither of the others cared for — the green leaves of the vallisncria, which, after being stripped of their roots, were floating in quantities on the surface of the water. Yet these pochards are almost as much prized for the table as their cousins the canvas-backs ; and, indeed, I have since learnt that they are often put off for the latter by the poulterers of New York and Philadelphia. Those who would buy a real canvas-back should know something of natural history. The form and colour of the bill would serve as a criterion to prevent their being deceived. In the pochard, the bill is of a bluish colour ; that of the canvas-back is dark green ; moreover, the eye of the pochard is yellow, while that of its congener is fiery red. ' I was gratified in perceiving that I had at last drifted within range of a thick clump of the ducks. Nothing now remained but to poke my gun noiselessly through the bushes, set the cocks of both barrels, take aim, and fire. ' It was my intention to follow the usual plan — that is, fire one barrel at the birds while sitting, and give them the second as they rose upon the wing. This intention was carried out the moment after ; and I had the gratification of seeing some fifteen or twenty ducks 128 The Hunters' Feast strewed over the water at my service. The rest of the flock rose into the heavens, and the clapping of their winf^s filled the air with a noise that resembled thunder. ' I sa}' that there appeared to have been fifteen or twent}' killed ; iiow many I never knew : I never laid my hands upon a single bird of them. I became differently occupied, and with a matter that soon drove canvas- backs, and widgeons, and pochards as clean out of my head as if no such creatures had ever existed. 'While drifting through the sedge, my attention had several times been attracted by what appeared to be strange conduct on the part of my canine companion. He lay cowering in the bottom of the boat near the bow, and half covered by the bushes ; but every now and then he would start to his feet, look wildly around, utter a strange whimpering, and then resume his crouching attitude. I noticed, moreover, that at inter- vals he trembled as if he was about to shake out his teeth. All this had caused me wonder — nothing more. I was too much occupied in watching the game to speculate upon causes ; 1 believed, if I formed any belief on the subject, that these manojuvres were caused by fear ; that the cur had never been to sea, and that he was now either sea-sick or sea-scared. ' This explanation had hitherto satisfied me, and I had thought no more upon the matter. I had scarcely de- livered my second barrel, however, when my attention was anew attracted to the dog ; and this time was so arrested, that in one half-second I thought of nothing else. The animal had arisen, and stood within three feet of me, whining hideously. His eyes glared upon me with a wild and unnatural expression, his tongue lolled out, and saliva fell copiously from his lips. The dog was mad! ' I saw that the dog was mad, as certainly as I saw the dog. I had seen mad dogs before, and knew the symptoms well. It was hydrophobia of the most dangerous character. ' Fear, quick and sudden, came over me. Fear is a tame word ; horror, I should call it ; and the phrase A Duck- Shooting Adventure 129 "i) would not be too strong to express my sensations at that moment. I knew myself to be in a situation of extreme peril, and I saw not the way out of it. Death — death painful and horrid — appeared to be nigh, ap- peared to confront me, glaring from out the eyes of the hideous brute. ' Instinct had caused me to put myself in an attitude of defence. My first instinct was a false one. I raised my gun, at the same moment manipulating the lock, with the design of cocking her. In the confusion of terror, I had even forgotten that both barrels were empty, that I had just scattered their contents in the sea. ' I thought of re-loading ; but a movement of the dog towards me showed that that would be a dangerous experiment ; and a third thought or instinct directed me to turn the piece in my hand, and defend myself, if necessary, with the butt. This instinct was instantly obeyed, and in a second's time I held the piece clubbed and ready to strike. ' I had retreated backward until I stood in the stern of the skiff. The dog had hitherto lain close up to the bow, but after the shots, he had sprung up and taken a position nearer the centre of the boat. In fact, he had been within biting distance of me before I had noticed his madness. The position into which I had thus half involuntarily thrown myself, offered me but a trifling security. * Any one who has ever rowed an American skiff will remember that these little vessels are " crank " to an extreme degree. Although boat-shaped above, they are without keels, and a rude step will turn them bottom upward in an instant. Even to stand upright in them, requires careful balancing ; but to fight a mad dog in one without being bitten, would require the skill and adroitness of an acrobat. With all my caution, as I half stood, half crouched in the stern, the skiff rocked from side to side, and I was in danger of being pitched out. Should the dog spring at me, I knew that any violent exertion to fend him off would either cause me to be I 130 The Hunters' Feast precipitated into the water, or would upset the boat — a still more dreadful alternative, ' These thoughts did not occupy half the time I have taken to describe them. Short, however, as that time was in actual duration, to me it seemed long enough for the dog still held a threatening attitude, his forepaws resting upon one of the seats, while his eyes continued to glare upon me with a wild and uncertain expression. ' I remained for some moments in fearful suspense. I was half paralysed with terror, and uncertain what action it would be best to take. I feared that any movement would attract the fierce animal, and be the signal for him to spring upon me. I thought of jumping out of the skiff into the water. I could not wade in it. It was shallow enough — not over five feet in depth, but the bottom appeared to be of soft mud. I might sink another foot in the mud. No ; I could not have waded. The idea was dismissed. ' To swim to the shore ? I glanced sideways in that direction : it was nearly half a mile distant. I could never reach it, cumbered with my clothes. To have stripped these off, would have tempted the attack. Even could I have done so, might not the dug follow and seize me in the water ? A horrible thought ! ' I abandoned all hope of escape, at least that might arise from any active measures on my part. I could do nothing to save myself; my only hope lay in passively awaiting the result. ' Impressed with this idea, I remained motionless as a statue ; I moved neither hand nor foot from the attitude I had first assumed ; I scarcely permitted myself to breathe, so much did I dread attracting the farther attention of my terrible companion, and interrupting the neutrality that existed. * For some minutes — they seemed hours — this state of affairs continued. The dog still stood up, with his forepaws raised upon the bench ; the oars were among his feet. In this position he remained, gazing wildly, though it did not appear to me steadily, in my face. Several times I thought he was about to spring on me ; A Duck-Shooting Adventure 131 and, although I carefully avoided making any movement, I instinctively grasped my gun with a firmer hold. To add to my embarrassment, I saw that I was fast drifting seaward ! The wind was from the shore ; it was impelling the boat with considerable velocity, in consequence of the mass of bushes acting as sails. Already it had cleared the sedge, and was floating out in open water. To my dismay, at less than a mile's distance, I descried a line of breakers ! 'A side-glance was sufficient to convince me, that unless the skiff was checked, she would drift upon these in the space of ten minutes. 'A fearful alternative now presented itself: I must either drive the dog from the oars, or allow the skiff to be swamped among the breakers. The latter would be certain death, the former offered a chance for life, and, nerving myself with the palpable necessity for action, I instantly resolved to make the attack. ' Whether the dog had read my intention in my eyes, or observed my fingers taking a firmer clutch of my gun, I know not, but at this moment he seemed to evince sudden fear, and, dropping down from the seat, he ran backward to the bow, and cowered there as before. ' My first impulse was to get hold of the oars, for the roar of the breakers already filled my ears. A better idea suggested itself immediately after, and that was to load my gun. This was a delicate business, but I set about it with all the caution I could command. ' I kept my eyes fixed upon the animal, and felt the powder, the wadding, and the shot, into the muzzle. I succeeded in loading one barrel, and fixing the cap. ' As I had now something upon which I could rely, I proceeded with more confidence, and loaded the second barrel with greater care, the dog eyeing me all the while. Had madness not obscured his intelligence, he would no doubt have interrupted my manipulations ; as it was, he remained still until both barrels were loaded, capped, and cocked. ' I had no time to spare ; the breakers were nigh ; their hoarse " sough " warned me of their perilous 132 The Hunters^ Feast proximity ; a minute more, and the little skiff would be dancing among them like a shell, or sunk for ever. ' Not a moment was to be lost, and yet I had to proceed with caution. I dared not raise the gun to my shoulder — I dared not glance along the barrels : the manceuvre might rouse the dangerous brute. ' I held the piece low, slanting along my thighs. I guided the barrels with my mind, and, feeling the direction to be true, I fired. ' I scarcely heard the report, on account of the roaring of the sea ; but I saw the dog roll over, kicking violently. I saw a livid patch over his ribs, where the shot had entered in a clump. This would no doubt have proved sufficient ; but to make sure, I raised the gun to my shoulder, took aim, and sent the contents of the second barrel through the ribs of the miserable brute. His kicking ended almost instantly, and he lay dead in the bottom of the boat. ' I dropped my gun and flew to the oars ; it was a close " shave " ; the skiff was already in white water, and dancing like a feather; but with a few strokes I succeeded in backing her out, and then heading her away from the breakers, I pulled in a direct line for the shore. ' I thought not of my canvas-backs — they had floated by this time, I neither knew nor cared whither : the sharks might have them for me. My only care was to get away from the scene as quickly as possible, deter- mined never again to go duck-shooting with a cur for my companion.' CHAPTER XVII HUNTING THE VICUNA During our next day's march the only incident that befel us was the breaking of our waggon-tongue, which delayed our journey. There was plenty of good hickory- wood near the place, and Jake, with a little help from Redwood and Ike and Lanty, soon spliced it again, making it stronger than ever. Of course it shortened our journey for the day, and we encamped at the end of a ten miles' march. Strange to say, on the whole ten miles we did not meet with a single animal to give us a little sport, or to form the subject of our camp talk. We were not without a subject, however, as our English friend proposed giving us an account of the mode of hunting the vicuna, and the details of a week's hunting he had enjoyed upon the high table-lands of the Peruvian Andes. He also imparted to our camp- fire circle much information about the different species of that celebrated animal the llama or ' camel-sheep ' of Peru, which proved extremely interesting, not only to the old hunter-naturalist, but to the * mountain-men', to whom this species of game, as well as the mode of hunting it, was something new. Thompson began his narrative as follows : ' When Pizarro and his Spaniards first climbed the Peruvian Andes, they were astonished at seeing a new and singular species of quadrupeds, the camel-sheep, so called from their resemblance to these two kinds of animals. They saw the " llama " domesticated and trained to carrying burdens, and the " alpaca," a smaller species, reared on account of its valuable fleece. * But there were still two other species of these odd ^33 134 T]ie H winters' Feast animals only observed in a wild state, and in the more desolate and uninhabited parts of the Cordilleras. These were the " guanaco " and " vicuna." * Up to a very late period the guanaco was believed to be the llama in its wild state, and by some the llama run wild. This, however, is not the case. The four species, llama, alpaca, guanaco, and vicuna are quite distinct from each other, and although the guanaco can be tamed and taught to carry burdens, its labour is not of sufficient value to render this worth while. The alpaca is never used as a beast of burden. Its fleece is the consideration for which it is domesticated and reared, and its wool is much finer and more valuable than that of the llama. * The guanaco is, perhaps, the least prized of the four, as its fleece is of indifferent quality, and its flesh is not esteemed. The vicuna, on the contrary, yields a wool which is eagerly sought after, and which in the Andes towns will sell for at least five times its weight in alpaca wool. Ponchos woven out of it arc deemed the finest made, and command the fabulous price of 20/. or 30/. sterling. A rich proprietor in the Cordilleras is often seen with such a poncho, and the quality of the garment, the length of time it will turn rain, &c., are favourite subjects of conversation with the wearers of them. Of course everybody in those parts possesses one, as everybody in England or the United States must have a great coat ; but the ponchos of the poorer classes of Peruvians — the Indian labourers, shepherds, and miners — are usually manufactured out of the coarse wool of the llama. Only the "ricos" can afford the beautiful fabric of the vicuna's fleece. ' The wool of the vicuna being so much in demand, it will be easily conceived that hunting the animal is a profitable pursuit ; and so it is. In many parts of the Andes there are regular vicuna hunters, while, in other places, whole tribes of Peruvian Indians spend a part of every year in the chase of this animal and the guanaco, When we go farther south, in the direction of Patagonia we find other tribes who subsist principally upon the Hunting the Vicuna 135 guanaco, the vicuna, and the rhea or South-American ostrich. ' Hunting the vicuna is by no means an easy calling. The hunter must betake himself to the highest and coldest regions of the Andes — far from civilised life, and far from its comforts. He has to encamp in the open air, and sleep in a cave, or a rude hut, built by his own hands. He has to endure a climate as severe as a Lapland winter, often in places where not a stick of wood can be procured, and where he is compelled to cook his meals with the dry ordure of wild cattle. * If not successful in the chase he is brought to the verge of starvation, and must have recourse to roots and berries — a few species of which, such as the tuberous root " maca," are found growing in these elevated regions. lie is exposed, moreover, to the perils of the precipice, the creaking "soga" bridge, the slippery path, and the hoarse rushing torrent — and these among the rugged Cordilleras of the Andes are no mean dangers. A life of toil, exposure, and peril is that of the vicuna hunter. ' During my travels in Peru I had resolved to enjoy the sport of hunting the vicuna. For this purpose I set out from one of the towns of the Lower Sierra, and climbed up the high region known as the " Puna," or sometimes as the "Despoblado" (the uninhabited region). ' I reached at length the edge of a plain to which I had mounted by many a weary path — up many a dark ravine. I was twelve or fourteen thousand feet above sea level, and although I had just parted from the land of the palm-tree and the orange, I was now in a region cold and sterile. Mountains were before and around me — some bleak and dark, others shining under a robe of snow, and still others of that greyish hue as if snow had freshly fallen upon them, but not enough to cover their stony surface. The plain before me was several miles in circumference. It was only part of a system of similar levels separated from each other by spurs of the mountains. By crossing a ridge another comes in view, a deep cleft leads you into a third, and so on. 136 TJie Hunters' Feast ' These table plains are too cold for the agriculturist. Only the cereal barley will grow there, and some of those hardy roots — the natives of an arctic zone. But they are covered with a sward of grass — the " ycha " grass, the favourite food of the llamas — and this renders them serviceable to man. Herds of half-wild cattle may be seen, tended by their wilder-looking shepherds. Flocks of alpacas, female llamas with their young, and long- tailed Peruvian sheep, stray over them, and to some extent relieve their cheerless aspect. The giant vulture — the condor, wheels above all, or perches on the jutting rock. Here and there, in some sheltered nook, may be seen the dark mud hut of the " vaquero " (cattle herd), or the man himself, with his troop of savage curs following at his heels, and this is all the sign of habitation or inhabitant to be met with for hundreds of miles. This bleak land, up among the mountain tops of the Andes, as I have already said, is called the " Puna." ' The Puna is the favourite haunt of the vicuiia, and, of course, the home of the vicuna hunter. I had directions to find one of these hunters, and an introduction to him when found, and after spending the night at a shepherd's hut, I proceeded next morning in search of him — some ten miles farther into the mountains. ' I arrived at the house, or rather hovel, at an early hour. Notwithstanding, my host had been abroad, and was just returned with full hands, having a large bundle of dead animals in each. They were chinchillas and viscachas, which he had taken out of his snares set over- night. He said that most of them had been freshly caught, as their favourite time of coming out of their dens to feed is just before daybreak. * These two kinds of animals, which in many respects resemble our rabbits, also resemble each other in habits. They make their nests in crevices of the rocks, to which they retreat, when pursued, as rabbits to their burrows. Of course, they are snared in a very similar manner — by setting the snares upon their tracks, and at the entrances to their holes. One difference I noted. The Peruvian hunter used snares made of twisted horse-hair, Hunting the Vicufia 137 instead of the spring wire employed by our gamekeepers and poachers. The chinchilla is a much more beautiful creature than the viscacha, and is a better known animal, its soft and beautifully-marbled fur being an article of fashionable wear in the cities of Europe. ' As I approached his hut, the hunter had just arrived with the night's produce of his snares, and was hanging them up to the side of the building, skinning them one by one. Not less than half a score of small, foxy- looking dogs were around him — true native dogs of the country. ' Of the disposition of these creatures I was soon made aware. No sooner had they espied me, than with angry yelps the whole pack ran forward to meet me, and came barking and grinning close around the feet of my horse. Several of them sprang upward at my legs, and would, no doubt, have bitten them, had I not suddenly raised my feet up to the withers, and for some time held them in that position. I have no hesitation in saying that had I been afoot, I should have been badly torn by the curs ; nor do I hesitate to say, that of all the dogs in the known world, these Peruvian mountain dogs are the most vicious and spiteful. They will bite even the friends of their own masters, and very often their masters themselves have to use the stick to keep them in subjection. I believe the dogs found among many tribes of your North-American Indians have a very similar disposition, though by no means to compare in fierceness and savage nature with their cousins of the cold Puna. ' The masters of these dogs are generally Indians, and it is a strange fact, that they are much more spiteful towards the whites than Indians. It is difficult for a white man to get on friendly terms with them. ' After a good deal of kicking and cuffing, my host succeeded in making his kennel understand that I had not come there to be eaten up. I then alighted from my horse, and walked (I should say crawled) inside the hut. ' This was, as I have already stated, a mere hovel. A 138 The Hunters' Feast circular wall of mud and stone, about five feet high, supported a set of poles that served as rafters. These poles were the flower stalks of the great American aloe, or maguey-plant — the only thing resembling wood that grew near. Over these was laid a thick layer of Puna grass, which was tied with strong ropes of the same material, to keep it from flying off when the wind blew violently, which it there often does. A few blocks of stone in the middle of the floor constituted the fire-place, and the smoke got out the best way it could through a hole in the roof 'The owner of this mansion was a true Indian, belonging to one of those tribes of the mountains that could not be said ever to have been conquered by the Spaniards. Living in remote districts, many of these people never submitted to the repartimientos, yet a sort of religious conquest was made of some of them by the missionaries, thus bringing them under the title of " Indies mansos" (tame Indians), in contradistinction to the " Indies bravos," or savage tribes, who remain unconquered and independent to this day. * As already stated, I had come by appointment to share the day's hunt. 1 was invited to partake of breakfast. My host, being a bachelor, was his own cook, and some parched maize and " macas," with a roasted chinchilla, furnished the repast. 'Fortunately I carried with me a flask of Catalan brandy ; and this, with a cup of water from the icy mountain spring, rendered our meal more palatable. I was not without some dry tobacco, and a husk to roll it in, so that we enjoyed our cigar ; but what our hunter enjoyed still more was a "coceada," for he was a regular chewer of "coca." He carried his pouch of chinchilla skin filled with the dried leaves of the coca plant, and around his neck was suspended the gourd bottle, filled with burnt lime and ashes of the root of the " moll6 " tree. ' All things arranged, we started forth. It was to be a "still " hunt, and we went afoot, leaving our horses tied by the hut. The Indian took with him only one of his Hunting the Vicuna 139 dogs — a faithful and trusty one, on which he could rely. ' We skirted the plain, and struck into a defile in the mountains. It led upwards, among rocky boulders. A cold stream gurgled in its bottom, now and then leaping over low falls, and churned into foam. At times the path was a giddy one, leading along narrow ledges, rendered more perilous by the frozen snow, that lay to the depth of several inches. Our object was to reach the level of a plain still higher, where my companion assured me we should be likely to happen upon a herd of vicunas. 'As we climbed among the rocks, my eye was attracted by a moving object, higher up. On looking more attentively, several animals were seen, of large size, and reddish-brown colour. I took them at first for deer, as I was thinking of that animal. I saw my mistake in a moment. They were not deer, but creatures quite as nimble. They were bounding from rock to rock, and running along the narrow ledges with the agility of the chamois. These must be the vicunas, thought I. '"No," said my companion; "guanacos — nothing more." ' I was anxious to have a shot at them. * " Better leave them now," suggested the hunter ; "the report would frighten the vicunas, if they be in the plain — it is near. I know these guanacos. I know where they will retreat to — a defile close by — we can have a chance at them on our return." ' I forbore firing, though I certainly deemed the guanacos within shot, but the hunter was thinking of the more precious skin of the vicunas, and we passed on. I saw the guanacos run for a dark-looking cleft between two mountain spurs. * " We shall find them in there," muttered my com- panion, " that is their haunt." ' Noble game are these guanacos — large fine animals — noble game as the red deer himself. They differ much from the vicunas. They herd only in small 140 The Hunters' Feast numbers, from six to ten or a dozen ; while as many as four times this number of vicunas may be seen together. There are essential points of difference in the habits of the two species. The guanacos are dwellers among the rocks, and are most at home when bounding from cliff to cliff, and ledge to ledge. They make but a poor run upon the level grassy plain, and their singular contorted hoofs seem to be adapted for their favourite haunts. The vicunas, on the contrary, prefer the smooth turf of the table plains, over which they dart with the swift- ness of the deer. Both are of the same family of quadrupeds, but with this very essential difference — the one is a dweller of the level plain, the other of the rocky declivity ; and nature has adapted each to its respective habitat! Here the narrator was interrupted by the hunter- naturalist, who stated that he had observed this curious fact in relation to other animals of a very different genus, and belonging to the fauna of North America. 'The animals I speak of,' said he, 'are indigenous to the region of the Rocky Mountains, and well known to our trapper friends here. They are the big horn {Ovis inontana) and the prong-horned antelope {A. furcifcr). The big horn is usually denominated a sheep, though it possesses far more of the characteristics of the deer and antelope families. Like the chamois, it is a dweller among the rocky cliffs and declivities, and only there does it feel at home, and in the full enjoyment of its faculties for security. Place it upon a level plain, and you deprive it of confidence, and render its capture comparatively easy. At the base of these very cliffs on which the Ovis inontana disports itself, roams the prong- horn, not ver}' dissimilar either in form, colour, or habits; and yet this creature, trusting to its heels for safety, feels at home and secure only on the wide open plain where it can see the horizon around it ! Such is the difference in the mode of life of two species of animals almost cogeneric, and I am not surprised to hear }'0u state that a somewhat like difference exists between the guanaco and vicuna.' Hunting the VicuHa 141 The hunter-naturalist was again silent, and the narrator continued. ' A few more strides up the mountain pass brought us to the edge of the plain, where we expected to see the vicunas. We were not disappointed. A herd was feeding upon it, though at a good distance off. A beautiful sight they were, quite equalling in grace and stateliness the lordly deer. In fact, they might have passed for the latter to an unpractised eye, particularly at that season when deer are "in the red." Indeed the vicuna is more deer-like than any other animal except the antelope — much more so than its congeners the llama, alpaca, or guanaco. Its form is slender, and its gait light and agile, while the long tapering neck and head add to the resemblance. The colour, however, is peculiarly its own, and any one accustomed to seeing the vicuna can distinguish the orange-red of its silky coat at a glance, and at a great distance. So peculiar is it, that in Peru, the " Colour de vicufia" (vicuna colour) has become a specific name. ' My companion at once pronounced the animals before us a herd of vicuiias. There was about twenty in all, and all except one were quietly feeding on the grassy plain. This one stood apart, his long neck raised high in air, and his head occasionally turning from side to side, as though he was keeping watch for the rest. Such was in fact the duty he was performing ; he was the leader of the herd — the patriarch, husband and father of the flock. All the others were ewes or young ones. So affirmed my companion. ' The vicuna is polygamous — fights for his harem with desperate fierceness, watches over its number while they feed or sleep, chooses the ground for browsing and rest — defends them against enemies — heads them in the advance, and covers their retreat with his own " person " — such is the domestic economy of the vicuna. ' " Now, senor," said the hunter, eyeing the herd, " if I could only kill him (he pointed to the leader), I would have no trouble with the rest. I should get every one of them." 142 The Hunters' Feast * " How ? " I inquired. ' " Oh ! — they would ! — ha ! The very thing 1 wished for ! " ' " What ? " '"They are heading towards }'onder rocks." He pointed to a clump of rocky boulders that lay isolated near one side of the plain — " let us get there, comrade — vamos I " ' We stole cautiously round the edge of the mountain until the rocks lay between us and the game ; and then crouched forward and took our position among them. We lay behind a jagged boulder, whose seamed outline looked as if it had been designed for loop-hole firing. It was just the cover we wanted. ' We peeped cautiously through the cracks of the rock. Already the vicunas were near, almost within range of our pieces. I held in my hands a double-barrel, loaded in both barrels with large-sized buck-shot ; my com- panion's weapon was a long Spanish rifle. ' I received his instructions in a whisper. I was not to shoot until he had fired. Both were to aim at the leader. About this he was particular, and I promised obedience. ' The unconscious herd drew near. The leader, with the long white silky hair hanging from his breast, was in the advance, and upon him the eyes of both of us were fixed. I could observe his glistening orbs, and his attitude of pride, as he turned at intervals to beckon his followers on. ' " I hope he has got the worms," muttered my com- panion ; " if he has, he'll come to rub his hide upon the rocks." ' Some such intention was no doubt guiding the vicuna, for at that moment it stretched forth its neck, and trotted a ic^w paces towards us. It suddenly halted. The wind was in our favour, else we should have been scented long ago. But we were suspected. The creature halted, threw up its head, struck the ground with its hoof, and uttered a strange cry, somewhat resembling the whistling of a deer. The echo of that cry was the Hunting the Vienna 143 ring of my companion's rifle, and I saw the vicuna leap up and fall dead upon the plain. ' I expected the others to break off in flight, and was about to fire at them though they were still at long range. My companion prevented me. ' " Hold ! " he whispered, " you'll have a better chance — see there ! — now, if you like, sefior ! " 'To my surprise, the herd, instead of attempting to escape, came trotting up to where the leader lay, and commenced running around at intervals, stooping over the body, and uttering plaintive cries. ' It was a touching sight, but the hunter is without pity for what he deems his lawful game. In an instant I had pulled both triggers, and both barrels had sent forth their united and deadly showers. ' Deadly indeed — when the smoke blew aside, nearly half of the herd were seen lying quiet or kicking on the plain. ' The rest remained as before ! another ring of the long rifle, and another fell — another double detonation of the heavy deer gun, and several came to the ground ; and so continued the alternate fire of bullets and shot, until the whole herd were strewn dead and dying upon the ground ! ' Our work was done — a great day's work for my companion, who would realise nearly a hundred dollars for the produce of his day's sport. * This, however, he assured me, was a very unusual piece of good luck. Often for days and even weeks, he would range the mountains without killing a single head — either vicuna or guanaco, and only twice before had he succeeded in thus making a battue of a whole herd. Once he had approached a flock of vicunas disguised in the skin of a guanaco, and killed most of them before they thought of retreating. ' It was necessary for us to return to the hut for our horses in order to carry home the game, and this required several journeys to be made. To keep off the wolves and condors my companion made use of a very simple expedient, which I believe is often used in the North — 144 The Hunters' Feast among your prairie trappers here. Several bladders were taken from the vicunas and inflated. They were then tied upon poles of maguey, and set upright over the carcasses, so as to dangle and dance about in the wind. Cunning as is the Andes wolf this "scare" is sufficient to keep him off, as well as his ravenous associate, the condor. * It was quite night when we reached the Indian hut with our last load. Both of us were wearied and hungry, but a fresh vicuna cutlet, washed down by the Catalan, and followed by a cigarette, made us forget our fatigues. My host was more than satisfied with his day's work, and promised me a guanaco hunt for the morrow.' CHAPTER XVIII A CHACU OF VICUNAS 'Well, upon the morrow,' continued the Englishman, ' we had our guanaco hunt, and killed several of the herd we had seen on the previous day. There was nothing particular in regard to our mode of hunting — farther than to use all our cunning in getting within shot, and then letting fly at them, ' It is not so easy getting near the guanaco. He is among the shyest game I have ever hunted, and his position is usually so far above that of the hunter, that he commands at all times a view of the movements of the latter. The over-hanging rocks, however, help one a little, and by diligent creeping he is sometimes ap- proached. It requires a dead shot to bring him down, for, if only wounded, he will scale the cliffs, and make off — perhaps to die in some inaccessable haunt. ' While sojourning with my hunter-friend, I heard of a singular method practised by the Indians, of capturing the vicuna in large numbers. This was called the " chacu." ' Of course I became very desirous of witnessing a " chacu," and the hunter promised to gratify me. It was now the season of the year for such expeditions, and one was to come off in a few days. It was the annual hunt got up by the tribe to which my host belonged ; and, of course, he, as a practised and professional hunter, was to bear a distinguished part in the ceremony. 'The day before the expedition was to set out, we repaired to the village of the tribe — a collection of rude huts, straggling along the bottom of one of the deep clefts or valleys of the Cordilleras. This village lay several thousand feet below the level of the Puna plains, and was 145 K 146 The Hunters' Feast therefore in a much warmer climate. In fact the sugar- cane and yucca plant {Jatropha viainhot) were both seen growing in the gardens of the villagers, and Indian corn flourished in the fields. 'The inhabitants were "Indies mansos" (civilised Indians). They attended part of the year to agriculture, although the greater part of it was spent in idleness, amusements, or hunting. They had been converted — that is nominally — to Christianity ; and a Church with its cross was a prominent feature of the village. ' The cur6, or priest, was the only white man resident in the place, and he was white only by comparison. Though of pure Spanish blood, he would have passed for a " coloured old gentleman " in any part of Europe or the States. ' My companion introduced me to the padre, and I was at once received upon terms of intimacy. To mysurprise I learnt that he was to accompany the chacu — in fact to take a leading part in it. He seemed to be as much in- terested in the success of the hunt as any of them — more so, perhaps, and with good reason too. I afterwards learnt why. The produce of the annual hunt was part of the padre's income. By an established law, the skins of the vicunas were the property of the church, and these, being worth on the spot at least a dollar a-piece, formed no despicable tithe. After hearing this I was at no loss to understand the padre's enthusiasm about the chacu. All the day before he had been bustling about among his parishioners, aiding them with his counsel, and assisting them in their preparations. I shared the padre's dwelling, the best in the village ; his supper too — a stewed fowl, killed for the occasion, and rendered fiery hot with " aji," or capsicum. This was washed down with " chica," and afterwards the padre and I indulged in a cigarette and a chat. ' He was a genuine specimen of the South-American missionary priest ; rather more scrupulous about getting his dues than about the moral welfare of his flock ; fat, somewhat greasy, fond of a good dinner, a glass of " Yea " brandy, and a cigarette. Nevertheless, his rule was A Chacu of Vicuiias 147 patriarchal in a high degree, and he was a favourite with the simple people among whom he dwelt. * Morning came, and the expedition set forth ; not, however, until a grand mass had been celebrated in the church, and prayers offered up for the success of the hunt. The cavalcade then got under weigh, and commenced winding up the rugged path that led toward the "Altos," or Puna heights. We travelled in a different direction from that in which my companion and I had come. ' The expedition itself was a picturesque affair. There were horses, mules, and llamas, men, women, children, and dogs ; in fact, almost every living thing in the village had turned out. A chacu is no common occasion — no one day affair. It was to be an affair of weeks. There were rude tents carried along; blankets and cooking utensils ; and the presence of the women was as necessary as any part of the expedition. Their office would be to do the cooking, and keep the camp in order as well as to assist in the hunt. 'Strung out in admirable confusion, we climbed up the mountain — a picturesque train — the men swinging along in their coloured ponchos of llama wool, and the women dressed in bright mantas of " bayeta " (a coarse cloth, of native manufacture). I noticed several mules and llamas packed with loads of a curious character. Some carried large bundles of rags — others were loaded with coils of rope — while several were " freighted " with short poles, tied in bunches. I had observed these cargoes being prepared before leaving the village, and could not divine the use of them. That would no doubt be explained when we had reached the scene of the chacu, and I forbore to trouble my companions with any interrogatories, as I had enough to do to guide my horse along the slippery path we were travelling. * About a mile from the village there was a sudden halt. I inquired the cause. ' " The Jiuarol^ was the reply. ' I knew the huaro to be the name of a peculiar kind of bridge, and I learnt that one was here to be crossed. 148 The Hunters' Feast I rode forward, and found myself in front of the huaro. A singular structure it was. I could scarcely believe in the practicability of our getting over it. The padre, however, assured me it was a good one, and we should all be on the other side in a couple of hours I ' I at first felt inclined to treat this piece of information as a joke ; but it proved that the priest was in earnest. It was full two hours before we were all crossed with our bag and baggage. 'The huaro was nothing more than a thick rope stretched across the chasm, and made fast at both ends. On this rope was a strong piece of wood, bent into the shape of the letter U, and fastened to a roller which rested upon the rope, and moved along it when pulled by a cord from either side. There were two cords, or ropes, attached to the roller, one leading to each side of the chasm, and their object was to drag the passenger across : of course, only one of us could be carried over at a time. No wonder we were so long in making the crossing, when there were over one hundred in all, with numerous articles of baggage. ' I shall never forget the sensations I experienced in making the passage of the huaro. I had felt giddy enough in going over the " soga " bridges and "barbacoas" common throughout Peru, but the passage of the huaro is really a gymnastic feat of no easy accomplishment. I was first tied, back down- wards, with my back resting in the cavity of the bent wood ; my legs were then crossed over the main rope — the bridge itself — with nothing to hold them there farther than my own muscular exertion. With my hands I clutched the vertical side of the wooden yoke, and was told to keep my head in as upright a position as possible. Without farther ado I felt myself jerked out until I hung in empty air over a chasm that opened at least two hundred feet beneath, and through the bottom of which a white torrent was foaming over black rocks ! My ankles slipped along the rope, but the sensation was so strange, that I felt several times on the point of letting them drop off. In that case my A Chacii of VicuHas 149 situation would have been still more painful, as I should have depended mainly on my arms for support. Indeed, I held on tightly with both hands, as I fancied that the cord with which I had been tied to the yoke would every minute give way. ' After a good deal of jerking and hauling, I found myself on the opposite side, and once more on my feet ! ' I was almost repaid for the fright I had gone through, by seeing the great fat padre pulled over. It was cer- tainly a ludicrous sight, and I laughed the more, as I fancied the old fellow had taken occasion to laugh at me. He took it all in good part, however, telling me that it caused him no fear, as he had long been accustomed to those kind of bridges. ' This slow and laborious method of crossing streams is not uncommon in many parts of the Andes. It occurs in retired and thinly-populated districts, where there is no means for building bridges of regular construction. Of course, the traveller himself only can be got over by the huaro. His horse, mule, or llamas must swim the stream, and in many instances these are carried off by the rapid current, or dashed against the rocks and killed. ' The whole cavallada of the expedition got safely over, and in a short while we were all en route, once more climbing up towards the "altos," I asked my com- panion why we could not have got over the stream at some other point, and thus have saved the time and labour. The answer was, that it would have cost us a twenty miles' journey to have reached a point no nearer our destination than the other end of the huaro rope ! No wonder such pains had been taken to ferry the party across. ' We reached the heights late in the evening. The hunt would not begin until the next day. ' That evening was spent in putting up tents, and getting everything in order about the camp. The tent of the padre was conspicuous — it was the largest, and I was invited to share it with him. The horses and other 150 The Hunters' Feast animals were picketted or hoppled upon the plain, which was covered with a short brown grass. ' The air was chill — cold, in fact — we were nearly three miles above ocean level. The women and youths em- ployed themselves in collecting taquia to make fires. There was plenty of this, for the plain where we had halted was a pasture of large flocks of llamas and horned cattle. It was not there wc expected to fall in with the vicunas. A string of "altos," still further on, were their favourite haunts. Our first camp was sufficiently con- venient to begin the hunt. It would be moved farther on when the plains in its neighbourhood had been hunted, and the game should grow scarce. ' Morning arrived, but before daybreak, a large party had set off, taking with them the ropes, poles, and bundles of rags I have already noticed. The women and boys accompanied this party. Their destination was a large table plain, contiguous to that on which we had encamped. ' An hour afterwards the rest of the party set forth — most of them mounted one way or other. These were the real hunters, or "drivers." Along with them went the dogs — the whole canine population of the village. I should have preferred riding with this party, but the padre took me along with himself, promising to guide me to a spot where I should get the best view of the chacu. He and I rode forward alone. 'In half an hour we reached the plain where the first party had gone. They were all at work as we came up — scattered over the plain — and I now saw the use that was to be made of the ropes and rags. With them a pound, or "corral," was in process of construction. Part of it was already finished, and I perceived that it was to be of a circular shape. The poles, or stakes, were driven into the ground in a curving line at the distance of about a rod from each other. When thus driven, each stake stood four feet high, and from the top of one to the other, ropes were ranged and tied, thus making the enclosure complete. Along these ropes were knotted the rags and strips A Chacii of Vicunas 151 of cotton, so as to hang nearly to the ground, or flutter in the wind ; and this slight semblance of a fence was continued over the plain in a circumference of nearly three miles in length. One side, for a distance of several hundred yards, was left unfinished, and this was the entrance to the corral. Of course, this was in the direction from which the drove was to come. *As soon as the enclosure was ready, those engaged upon it withdrew in two parties to the opposite flanks, and then deployed off in diverging lines, so as to form a sort of funnel, at least two miles in width. In this position they remained to await the result of the drive, most of them squatting down to rest themselves. ' Meanwhile the drive was proceeding, although the hunters engaged in it were at a great distance — scarcely seen from our position. They, too, had gone out in two parties, taking opposite directions, and skirting the hills that surrounded the plain. Their circuit could not have been less than a dozen miles ; and, as soon as fairly round, they deployed themselves into a long arc, with its concavity towards the rope corral. Then, facing inward, the forward movement commenced. Whatever animals chanced to be feeding between them and the enclosure were almost certain of being driven into it. ' The padre had led me to an elevated position among the rocks. It commanded a view of the rope circle ; but we were a long while waiting before the drivers came in sight. At length we descried the line of mounted men far off upon the plain, and, on closely scrutinising the ground between them and us, we could distinguish several reddish forms gliding about : these were the vicunas. There appeared to be several bands of them, as we saw some at different points. They were crossing and rccrossing the line of the drive, evidently startled, and not knowing in what direction to run. Every now and then a herd, led by its old male, could be seen shooting in a straight line — then suddenly making a halt — and the next minute sweeping off in a contrary direction. Their beautiful orange-red flanks, glistening in the sun, enabled us to mark them at a great distance. 152 TJie Htmters' Feast ' The drivers came nearer and nearer, until we could distinguish the forms of the horsemen as they rose over the swells of the plain. We could now hear their shouts — the winding of their ox-horns, and even the yelping of their dogs. But what most gratified my companion was to see that several herds of vicunas were bounding backwards and forwards in front of the advancing line. ' " Mira ! " he cried exultingly, " viira ! sefior, one, two, three, four — four herds and large ones — ah ! Carranibo ! Jesus!" continued he, suddenly changing tone, "mr- rambo ! esos malditos guanacos I " (those cursed guanacos). I looked as he was pointing. I noticed a small band of guanacos springing over the plain. I could easily distinguish them from the vicunas by their being larger and less graceful in their motions, but more particularly by the duller hue of brownish-red. But what was there in their presence to draw down the maledictions of the padre, which he continued to lavish upon them most unsparingly ? I put the question. ' " Ah ! sefior," he answered with a sigh, " these guanacos will spoil all — they will ruin the hunt. Caspita ! " *" How ? in what manner, mio padre ? " I asked in my innocence, thinking that a fine herd of guanacos would be inclosed along with their cousins, and that " all were fish," &c. ' " Ah ! " exclaimed the padre, " these guanacos arc hereticos — reckless brutes, they pay no regard to the ropes — they will break through and let the others escape — santissivia virgoi ! what is to be done ? " ' Nothing could be done except leave things to take their course, for in a few minutes the horsemen were seen advancing, until their line closed upon the funnel formed by the others. The vicunas, in several troops, now rushed wildly from side to side, turning sharply as they approached the figures of the men and women, and running in the opposite direction. There were some fifty or sixty in all, and at length they got together in a single but confused clump. The guanacos, eight or ten in number, became mixed up with them, and after A CJmai of Vicufias I53 several quarterings, the whole flock, led by one that thought it had discovered the way of escape, struck off into a gallop, and dashed into the inclosure. * The hunters, who were a-foot with the women, now rushed to the entrance, and in a short while new stakes were driven in, ropes tied upon them, rags attached, and the circle of thechacu was complete. ' The mounted hunters at the same time had galloped around the outside, and flinging themselves from their horses, took their stations at intervals from each other. Each now prepared his " bolas," ready to advance and commence the work of death, as soon as the corral should be fairly surrounded by the women and boys who acted as assistants. ' The hunters now advanced towards the centre, swinging their bolas, and shouting to one another to direct the attack. The frightened vicunas rushed from side to side, everywhere headed by an Indian. Now they broke into confused masses and ran in different directions — now they united again and swept in graceful curves over the plain. Everywhere the bolas whizzed through the air, and soon the turf was strewed with forms sprawling and kicking. A strange picture was presented. Here a hunter stood with the leaden balls whirling around his head — there another rushed forward upon a vicuna hoppled and falling — a third bent over one that was already down, anon he brandished a bleeding knife, and then, releasing the thong from the limbs of his victim, again swung his bolas in the air, and rushed forward in the chase. ' An incident occurred near the beginning of the melee, which was very gratifying to my companion the padre, and at once restored the equanimity of his temper. The herd of guanacos succeeded in making their escape, and without compromising the success of the hunt. This, however, was brought about by a skilful manoeuvre on the part of my old friend the Puna hunter. These animals had somehow or other got separated from the vicunas, and dashed off to a distant part of the inclosure. Seeing this, the hunter sprang to his horse, and calling 154 The Hunters' Feast his pack of curs after him, leaped over the rope fence and dashed forward after the guanacos. He soon got directly in their rear, and signalling those who sto od n front to separate and let the guanacos pass, he drove them out of the inclosure. They went head foremost against the ropes, breaking them free from the stakes ; but the hunter, galloping up, guarded the opening until the ropes and rags were freshly adjusted. * The poor vicunas, nearly fifty in number, were all killed or captured. When pursued up to the " sham-fence " they neither attempted to rush against it or leap over, but would wheel suddenly round, and run directly in the faces of their pursuers ! ' The sport became even more interesting when all but a few were hors de combat. Then the odd ones that remained were each attacked by several hunters at once, and the rushing and doubling of the animals — the many headings and turnings — the shouts of the spectators — the whizzing of the bolas — sometimes two or three of these missiles hurled at a single victim — all combined to furnish a spectacle to me novel and exciting. ' About twenty minutes after the animals had entered the rope inclosure the last of them was seen to " bite the dust,"and the chacu of that day was over. Then came the mutual congratulations of the hunters, and the joyous mingling of voices. The slain vicunas were collected in a heap — the skins stripped off, and the flesh divided among the different families who took part in the chacu. ' The skins, as we have said, fell to the share of the "church," that is, to the church's representative — the padre, and this was certainly the lion's share of the day's product. ' The ropes were now unfastened and coiled — the rags once more bundled, and the stakes pulled up and collected — all to be used on the morrow in some other part of the Puna. The meat was packed on the horses and mules, and the hunting party, in a long string, proceeded to camp. Then followed a scene of feasting and merriment — such as did not fall to the lot of these poor people every day in the year. A Chacu of Vicunas 155 * This chacu lasted ten days, during which time I remained in the company of my half-savage friends. The whole game killed amounted to five hundred and odd vicunas, with a score or two guanacos, several tarush, or deer of the Andes {Cervus antisensis) and half a dozen black bears ( Ursits ornatus). Of course only the vicunas were taken in the chacu. The other animals were started incidentally, and killed by the hunters either with their bolas, or guns, with which a few of them were armed.' The 'chacu' of the Andes Indians corresponds to the ' surround ' of the Indian hunters on the great plains of North America. In the latter case, however, buffaloes are usually the objects of pursuit, and no fence is attempted — the hunters trusting to their horses to keep the wild oxen inclosed. The ' pound ' is another mode of capturing wild animals practised by several tribes of Indians in the Hudson's Bay territory. In this case the game is the caribou or reindeer, but no rope fence would serve to impound these. A good substantial inclosure of branches and trees is necessary, and the construction of a ' pound ' is the work of time and labour. I know of no animal, except the vicuna itself, that can be captured after the manner practised in the ' chacu.' CHAPTER XIX SQUIRREL SHOOTING We were now travelling among the spurs of the ' Ozark hills,' and our road was a more difficult one. The ravines were deeper, and as our course obliged us to cross the direction in which most of them ran, we were constantly climbing or descending the sides of steep ridges. There was no road except a faint Indian trail, used by the Kansas in their occasional excursions to the borders of the settlements. At times we were compelled to cut away the underwood, and ply the axe lustily upon some huge trunk that had fallen across the path and obstructed the passage of our waggon. This rendered our progress but slow. During such halt most of the party strayed off into the woods in search of game. Squirrels were the only four-footed creatures found, and enough of these were shot to make a good-sized ' pot-pie ' ; and it may be here remarked, that no sort of flesh is better for this purpose than that of the squirrel. The species found in these woods was the large ' cat- squirrel ' {Sciuj'us ciiiereiis), one of the noblest of its kind. Of course, at that season, amid the plentitude of seeds, nuts, and berries, they were as plump as partridges. This species is usually in good condition, and its flesh the best flavoured of all. In the markets of New York they bring three times the price of the common grey squirrel. As we rode along, the naturalist stated many facts in relation to the squirrel tribe, that were new to most of us. He said that in North America there were not less than twenty species of true squirrels, all of them dwellers in the trees, and by including the ' ground ' and * flying ' 156 Squirrel Shooting 157 squirrels {tamtas and pteromys), the number of species might be more than forty. Of course there are still new species yet undescribed, inhabiting the half-explored regions of the western territory. The best known of the squirrels is the common 'grey squirrel,' as it is in most parts of the United States the most plentiful. Indeed it is asserted that some of the other species, as the black 'squirrel' {Sciurus niger), disappear from districts where the grey squirrels become numerous — as the native rat gives place to the fierce ' Norway.' The true fox squirrel {S. vidpinus) differs essentially from the ' cat,' which is also known in many States by the name of fox squirrel. The former is larger, and altogether a more active animal, dashing up to the top of a pine-tree in a single run. The cat squirrel, on the contrary, is slow and timid among the branches, and rarely mounts above the first fork, unless when forced higher by the near approach of its enemy. It prefers concealing itself behind the trunk, dodging round the tree as the hunter advances upon it. It has one peculiarity, however, in its mode of escape that often saves it, and disappoints its pursuer. Unless very hotly pursued by a dog, or other swift enemy, it will not be treed until it has reached the tree that contains its nest, and, of course, it drops securely into its hole, bidding defiance to whatever enemy — unless, indeed, that enemy chance to be the pine-martin, which is capable of following it even to the bottom of its dark tree- cave. Now most of the other squirrels make a temporary retreat to the nearest large tree that offers. This is often without a hole where they can conceal themselves, and they are therefore exposed to the small shot or rifle bullet from below. It does not always follow, however, that they are brought down from their perch. In very heavy bottom timber the squirrel often escapes among the high twigs, even where there are no leaves to conceal it, nor any hole in the tree. Twenty shots, and from good marksmen 158 The Hunters' Feast too, have been fired at a single squirrel in such situa- tions, without bringing it to the ground or seriously wounding it ! A party of hunters have often retired without getting such game, and }'et the squirrel has been constantly changing place, and offering itself to be sighted in new positions and attitudes ! The craft of the squirrel on these occasions is remark- able. It stretches its body along the upper part of a branch, elongating it in such a manner, that the branch, not thicker than the body itself, forms almost a com- plete shield against the shot. The head, too, is laid close, and the tail no longer erect, but flattened along the branch, so as not to betray the whereabouts of the animal. Squirrel-shooting is by no means poor sport. It is the most common kind practised in the United States, because the squirrel is the most common game. In that country it takes the place that snipe or partridge-shooting holds in England, In my opinion it is a sport superior to either of these last, and the game, when killed, is not much less in value. Good fat squirrel can be cooked in a variety of ways, and many people prefer it to feathered game of any kind. It is true the squirrel has a rat-like physiognomy, but that is only in the eyes of strangers to him. A residence in the backwoods, and a short practice in the eating of squirrel pot-pie, soon removes any impression of that kind. A hare, as brought upon the table-cloth in England, is far more likely to produce degoftt — from its very striking likeness to ' puss,' that is purring upon the hearth-rug. In almost all parts of the United States, a day's squirrel-shooting may be had without the necessity of making a very long journey. There are still tracts of woodland left untouched, where these animals find a home. In the Western States a squirrel-hunt may be had simply by walking a couple of hundred yards from your house, and in some places you may shoot the creatures out of the very door. To make a successful squirrel-hunt two persons at least are necessary. If only one goes out, the squirrel Squirrel Shooting 159 can avoid him simply by Modging' round the trunk, or any large limb of the tree. When there are two, one remains stationary, while the other makes a circuit, and drives the game from the opposite side. It is still better when three or four persons make up the party, as then the squirrel is assailed on all sides, and can find no resting-place, without seeing a black tube levelled upon him, and ready to send forth its deadly missile. Some hunt the squirrel with shot guns. These are chiefly young hands. The old hunter prefers the rifle ; and in the hands of practised marksmen this is the better weapon. The rifle-bullet, be it ever so small, kills the game at once ; whereas a squirrel severely peppered with shot will often escape to the tree where its hole is, and drop in, often to die of its wounds. No creature can be more tenacious of life — not even a cat. When badly wounded it will cling to the twigs to its last breath, and even after death its claws sometimes retain their hold, and its dead body hangs suspended to the branch ! The height from which a squirrel will leap to the ground without sustaining injury, is one of those marvels witnessed by every squirrel-hunter. When a tree in which it has taken refuge is found not to afford sufficient shelter, and a neighbouring tree is not near enough for it to leap to, it then perceives the necessity of returning to the ground, to get to some other part of the woods. Some species, as the cat squirrel, fearing to take the dreadful leap (often nearly a hundred feet), rush down by the trunk. Not so the more active squirrels, as the common grey kind. These run to the extremity of a branch, and spring boldly down in a diagonal direction. The hunter — if a stranger to the feat, would expect to see the creature crushed or crippled by the fall. No danger of that. Even the watchful dog that is waiting for such an event, and standing close to the spot, has not time to spring upon it, until it is off again like a flying bird, and, almost as quick as sight can follow, is seen ascending some other tree. There is an explanation required about this precipitous leap. The squirrel is endowed with the capability of i6o The Hunters' Feast spreading out its body to a great extent, and this in the downward rush it takes care to do — thus breaking its fall by the resistance of the air. This alone accounts for its not killing itself. Nearly all squirrels possess this power, but in different degrees. In the flying squirrels it is so strongly developed as to enable them to make a flight resembling that of the birds themselves. The squirrel-hunter is often accompanied by a dog — not that the dog ever by any chance catches one of these creatures. Of him the squirrel has but little fear, well knowing that he cannot climb a tree. The office of the dog is of a different kind. It is to ' tree ' the squirrel, and, by remaining at the root, point out the particular tree to his master. The advantage of the dog is obvious. In fact, he is almost as necessary as the pointer to the sportsman. First, by ranging widely, he beats a greater breadth of the forest. Secondly, when a squirrel is seen by him, his swiftness enables him to hurry it up some tree not its oivn. This second advantage is of the greatest importance. When the game has time enough allowed it, it either makes to its own tree (with a hole in it of course), or selects one of the tallest near the spot. In the former case it is impossible, and in the latter difficult, to have a fair shot at it. If there be no dog, and the hunter trusts to his own eyes, he is often unable to find the exact tree which the squirrel has climbed, and of course loses it. A good squirrel-dog is a useful animal. The breed is not important. The best are usually half-bred pointers. They should have good sight as well as scent ; should range widely, and run fast. When well trained they will not take after rabbits, or any other game. They will bark only when a squirrel is treed, and remain staunchly by the root of the tree. The barking is necessary, otherwise the hunter, often separated from them by the underwood, would not know when they had succeeded in * treeing.' The squirrel seems to have little fear of the dog, and Squirrel Shooting l6l rarely ascends to a great height. It is often seen only a few feet above him, jerking its tail about, and apparently mocking its savage enemy below. The coming up of the hunter changes the scene. The squirrel then takes the alarm, and, shooting up, conceals itself among the higher branches. Taking it all in all, we know none of the smaller class of field sports that requires greater skill, and yields more real amusement, than hunting the squirrel. Our Kentuckian comrade gave us an account of a grand squirrel-hunt got up by himself and some neigh- bours, which is not an uncommon sort of thing in the Western States. The hunters divided themselves into two parties of equal numbers, each taking its own direction through the woods. A large wager was laid upon the result, to be won by that party that could bring in the greatest number of squirrels. There were six guns on each side, and the numbers obtained at the end of the week — for the hunt lasted so long — were respectively 5,000 and 4,780 ! Of course the sport came off in a tract of country where squirrels were but little hunted, and were both tame and plenty. Such hunts upon a grand scale are, as already stated, not uncommon in some parts of the United States. They have another object besides the sport — that of thinning off the squirrels for the protection of the planter's corn-field. So destructive are these little animals to the corn and other grains, that in some States there has been at times a bounty granted for killing them. In early times such a law existed in Pennsylvania, and there is a registry that in one year the sum of 8,000/. was paid out of the treasury of this bounty- money, which at threepence a head — the premium — would make 640,000, the number of the squirrels killed in that year ! The ' migration of the squirrels' is still an unexplained fact. It is among the grey squirrels it takes place ; hence the name given to that species, Sciurus migratorius. There is no regularity about these migrations, and their motive is not known. Immense bands of the squirrels h 1 62 The Hunters' Feast are observed in a particular neighbourhood, proceeding through the woods or across tracts of open ground, all in one direction. Nothing stays their course. Narrow streams and broad rivers are crossed by them by swimming, and many are drowned in the attempt. Under ordinary circumstances, these little creatures are as much afraid of water as cats, yet when moving along their track of migration they plunge boldly into a river, without calculating whether they will ever reach the other side. When found upon the opposite bank, they are often so tired with the effort, that one may overtake them with a stick, and thousands are killed in this way when a migration has been discovered. It is stated that they roll pieces of dry wood, or bark, into the water, and, seating themselves on these, are wafted across, their tails supplying them with a sail : of course this account must be held as apocryphal. But the question is, what motive impels them to undertake these long and perilous wanderings, from which it is thought they never return to their original place of abode? It cannot be the search of food, nor the desire to change from a colder to a warmer climate. The direction of the wanderings forbids us to receive either of these as the correct reason. No light has been yet thrown upon this curious habit. It would seem as if some strange instinct propelled them, but for what purpose, and to what end, no one can tell. CHAPTER XX TREEING A BEAR The doctor was the only one not taking part in the conversation. Even the rude guides listened. All that related to game interested them, even the scientific details given by the hunter-naturalist. The doctor had ridden on in front of us. Some one remarked that he v^^anted water to mix with the contents of his flask, and was therefore searching for a stream. Be this as it may, he was seen suddenly to jerk his spare horse about, and spur back to us, his countenance exhibiting symptoms of surprise and alarm. ' What is it, doctor? ' inquired one. * He has seen Indians,' remarked another. ' A bear — a bear ! ' cried the doctor, panting for breath ; ' a grizzly bear ! a terrible-looking creature, I assure you.' ' A bar ! d'you say ? ' demanded Ike, shooting forward on his old mare. ' A bar ! ' cried Redwood, breaking through the bushes in pursuit. ' A bear ! ' shouted the others, all putting spurs to their horses, and galloping forward in a body. * Where, doctor ? Where ? ' cried several. 'Yonder,' replied the doctor, 'just by that green tree. I saw him go in there — a grizzly, I'm sure.' It was this idea that had put the doctor in such affright, and caused him to ride back so suddenly. ' Nonsense, doctor,' said the naturalist, * we are yet far to the east of the range of the grizzly bear. It was a black bear you saw.' ' As I live,' replied the doctor, ' it was not black, 163 164 The Hunters^ Feast anything but that. I should know the black bear. It was a light brown colour — almost yellowish.' ' Oh ! that's no criterion. The black bear is found with many varieties of colour. I have seen them of the colour you describe. It must be one of them. The grizzly is not found so far to the eastward, although it is possible we may see them soon ; but not in woods like these.' There was no time for farther explanation. We had come up to the spot where the bear had been seen ; and although an unpractised eye could have detected no traces of the animal's presence, old Ike, Redwood, and the hunter-naturalist could follow its trail over the bed of fallen leaves, almost as fast as they could walk. Both the guides had dismounted, and with their bodies slightly bent, and leading their horses after them, commenced tracking the bear. From Ike's manner one would have fancied that he was guided by scent rather than by sight. The trail led us from our path, and we had followed it some hundred yards into the woods. Most of us were of the opinion that the creature had never halted after seeing the doctor, but had run off to a great distance. If left to ourselves we should have given over the chase. The trappers, however, knew what they were about. They asserted that the bear had gone away slowly — that it had made frequent halts — that they discovered ' sign ' to lead them to the conclusion that the animal's haunt was in the neighbourhood — that its ' nest ' was near. We were, therefore, encouraged to proceed. All of us rode after the trackers. Jake and Lanty had been left with the waggon, with directions to keep on their route. After awhile we heard the waggon moving along directly in front of us. The road had angled as well as the bear's trail, and the two were again con- verging. Just at that moment a loud shouting came from the direction of the waggon. It was Lanty's voice, and Jake's too. Treeing a Bear 165 * Och ! be the Vargin mother ! luck there ! Awch, mother o'Moses, Jake, such a baste ! ' ' Golly, Massa Lanty, it am a bar ! ' We all heard this at once. Of course we thought of the trail no longer, but made a rush in the direction of the voices, causing the branches to fly on every side. ' Whar's the bar ? ' cried Redwood, who was first up to the waggon, * whar did ye see't ? ' * Yander he goes ! ' cried Lanty, pointing to a piece of heavy timber, beset with an undergrowth of cane, but standing almost isolated from the rest of the forest on account of the thin open woods that were around it. We were too late to catch a glimpse of him, but perhaps he would halt in the undergrowth. If so we had a chance. * Surround, boys, surround ! ' cried the Kentuckian, who understood bear-hunting as well as any of the party. 'Quick, round and head him;' and, at the same time, the speaker urged his great horse into a gallop. Several others rode off on the opposite side, and in a few seconds we had surrounded the cane brake. * Is he in it ? ' cried one. 'Do you track 'im thur, Mark?' cried Ike to his comrade from the opposite side. ' No,' was the reply, ' he haint gone out this away.' ' Nor hyur,' responded Ike. ' Nor here,' said the Kentuckian. ' Nor by here,' added the hunter-naturalist. ' Belike, then, he's still in the timmer,' said Redwood. ' Now look out all of yees. Keep your eyes skinned. I'll hustle him out o' than' 'Hold on, Mark, boy,' cried Ike, 'hold on thur. D n the varmint ! hyur's his track, paddled like a sheep pen. Wagh, his den's hyur — let me rout im. ' Very wal, then,' replied the other, ' go ahead, old fellow — I'll look to my side — thu'll no bar pass me 'ithout getting a pill in his guts. Out wi' 'im I ' We all sat in our saddles silent and watchful. Ike had entered the cane, but not a rustle was heard. A 1 66 The Hunters^ Feast snake could not have passed through it with less noise than did the old trapper. It was full ten minutes before the slightest sound warned of what he was about. Then his voice reached us. ' This way, all of you ! The bar's treed.' The announcement filled all of us with pleasant anticipations. The sport of killing a bear is no every- day amusement, and now that the animal was ' treed ' we were sure of him. Some dismounted and hitched their horses to the branches ; others boldly dashed into the cane, hurrying to the spot, with the hope of having first shot. Why was Ike's rifle not heard if he saw the bear treed ? This puzzled some. It was explained when we got up. Ike's words were figurative. The bear had not taken shelter in a tree, but a hollow log, and, of course, Ike had not yet set eyes on him. But there was the log, a huge one, some ten or more feet in thickness, and there was the hole, with the well-beaten track leading into it. It was his den. He was there to a certainty. How to get him out ? That was the next question. Several took their stations, guns in hand, commanding the entrance to the hollow. One went back upon the log, and pounded it with the butt of his gun. To no purpose. Bruin was not such a fool as to walk out and be peppered by bullets. A long pole was next thrust up the hollow. Nothing could be felt. The den was beyond reach. Smoking was next tried, but with like success. The bear gave no sign of being annoyed with it. The axes were now brought from the waggon. It would be a tough job — for the log (a sycamore) was sound enough except near the heart. There was no help for it, and Jake and Lanty went to work as if for a day's rail- splitting. Redwood and the Kentuckian, both good axemen, relieved them, and a deep notch soon began to make its appearance on each side of the log. The rest of us kept Treeing a Bear 167 watch near the entrance, hoping the sound of the axe might drive out the game. We were disappointed in that hope, and for full two hours the chopping continued, until the patience and the arms of those that plied the axe were nearly tired out. It is no trifling matter to lay open a tree ten feet in diameter. They had chosen the place for their work guided by the long pole. It could not be beyond the den, and if upon the near side of it, the pole would then be long enough to reach the bear, and either destroy him with a knife blade attached to it, or force him out. This was our plan, and therefore we were encouraged to proceed. At length the axes broke through the wood and the dark interior lay open. They had cut in the right place, for the den of the bear was found directly under, but no bear ! Poles were inserted at both openings, but no bear could be felt either way. The hollow ran up no farther, so after all there was no bear in the log. There were some disappointed faces about — and some rather rough ejaculations were heard. I might say that Ike ' cussed a few,' and that would be no more than the truth. The old trapper seemed to be ashamed of being so taken in, particularly as he had somewhat exultingly announced that the ' bar was treed.' ' He must have got off before we surrounded,' said one. ' Are you sure he came into the timber ? ' asked another — 'that fool, Lanty, was so scared, he could hardly tell where the animal went' ' Be me soul ! gintlemen, I saw him go in wid my own eyes, Oil swear — ' ' Cussed queer ! ' spitefully remarked Redwood. ' D n the bar ! ' ejaculated Ike, ' whur kid the varmint a gone? ' Where was A ? All eyes were turned to look for the hunter-naturalist, as if he could clear up the mystery. He was nowhere to be seen. He had not been seen for some time ! At that moment, the clear sharp ring of a rifle echoed 1 68 Tlie Hunters' Feast in our ears. There was a moment's silence, and the next moment a loud * thump ' was heard, as of a heavy body falh'ng from a great height to the ground. The noise startled even our tired horses, and some of them broke their ties and scampered off. ' This way, gentlemen ! ' said a quiet voice, ' here's the bear ! ' The voice was A 's ; and we all, without thinking of the horses, hurried up to the spot. Sure enough, there lay the great brute, a red stream oozing out of a bullet-hole in his ribs. A pointed to a tree — a huge oak that spread out above our heads. * There he was, in yonder fork,' said he. * We might have saved ourselves a good deal of trouble had we been more thoughtful. I suspected he was not in the log when the smoke failed to move him. The brute was too sagacious to hide there. It is not the first time I have known the hunter foiled by such a trick.' The eyes of Redwood were turned admiringly on the speaker, and even old Ike could not help acknowledging his superior hunter-craft. 'Mister,' he muttered, 'I guess you'd make a darned fust-rate mountain-man. He's a gone Injun when you look through sights.' All of us were examining the huge carcass of the bear — one of the largest size. ' You're sure it's no grizzly ? ' inquired the doctor. ' No, doctor,' replied the naturalist, ' the grizzly never climbs a tree.' CHAPTER XXI THE BLACK BEAR OF AMERICA After some time spent in recovering the horses, we lifted the bear into Jake's waggon, and proceeded on our journey. It was near evening, however, and we soon after halted and formed camp. The bear was skinned in a trice — Ike and Redwood performing this operation with the dexterity of a pair of butchers ; of course * bear-meat ' was the principal dish for supper ; and although some may think this rather a savage feast, I envy those who are in the way of a bear-ham now. Of course for that evening nothing was talked of but Bruin, and a good many anecdotes were related about the beast. With the exception of the doctor, Jake and Lanty, all of us had something to say upon that subject, for all the rest had more or less practice in bear-hunting. The black or 'American bear' {Ursus Americanus) is one of the best known of his tribe. It is he that is oftenest seen in menageries and zoological gardens, for the reason, perhaps, that he is found in great plenty in a country of large commercial intercourse with other nations. Hence he is more frequently captured and exported to all parts. Any one at a glance may distinguish him from the 'brown bear' of Europe, as well as the other bears of the Eastern continent — not so much by his colour (for he is sometimes brown too), as by his form and the regularity and smoothness of his coat. He may be as easily distinguished, too, from his congeners of North America — of which there are three — the grizzly {U. ferox)^ the brown [arctus P), and the ' polar ' ( U. maritimus). The hair upon other large bears (the polar 169 I/O The Hunters' Feast excepted) is what may be termed ' tufty,' and their forms are different, being generally more uncouth and 'chunkier.' The black bear is, in fact, nearer to the polar in shape, as well as in the arrangement of his fur, than to any other of the tribe. He is much smaller, however, rarely exceeding two-thirds the weight of large specimens of the latter. His colour is usually a deep black all over the body, with a patch of rich yellowish-red upon the muzzle, where the hair is short and smooth. This ornamental patch is sometimes absent, and varieties of the black bear are seen of very different colours. Brown ones are common in some parts, and others of a cinnamon colour, and still others with white markings, but these last are rare. They are all of one species, however, the assertion of some naturalists to the contrary notwith- standing. The proof is, that the black varieties have been seen followed by coloured cubs, and vice versa. The black bear is omnivorous — feeds upon flesh as well as fruit, nuts, and edible roots. Habitually his diet is not carnivorous, but he will eat at times either carrion or living flesh. We say living flesh, for on capturing prey he does not wait to kill it, as most carnivorous animals, but tears and destroys it while stijl screaming. He may be said to swallow some of his food alive ! Of honey he is especially fond, and robs the bee-hive whenever it is accessible to him. It is not safe from him even in the top of a tree, provided the entrance to it is large enough to admit his body ; and when it is not, he often contrives to make it so by means of his sharp claws. He has but little fear of the stings of the angry bees. His shaggy coat and thick hide afford him ample protection against such puny weapons. It is supposed that he spends a good deal of his time ranging the forest in search of ' bee-trees.' Of course he is a tree-climber — climbs by the 'hug,' not by means of his claws, as do animals of the cat kind ; and in getting to the ground again descends the trunk, stern foremost, as a hod-carrier would come The Black Bear of America 171 down a ladder. In this he again differs from the felidce. The range of the black bear is extensive — in fact it may be said to be colimital with the forest, both in North and South America — though in the latter division of the continent, another species of large black bear exists, the Ursus ornatus. In the northern continent the American bear is found in all the wooded parts from the Atlantic to the Pacific, but not in the open and prairie districts. There the grizzly holds dominion, though both of them range together in the wooded valleys of the Rocky Mountains. The grizzly, on the other hand, is only met with west of the Mississippi, and affects the dry desert countries of the uninhabited West. The brown bear, supposed to be identical with the Ursus arctus of North Europe, is only met with in the wild and treeless track known as ' Barren grounds,' which stretch across nearly the whole northern part of the continent from the last timber to the shores of the Arctic Sea, and in this region the black bear is not found. The zone of the polar bear joins with that of the brown, and the range of the former extends perhaps to the pole itself. At the time of the colonisation of America, the area of the present United States was the favourite home of the black bear. It was a country entirely covered with thick forests, and of course a suitable habitat for him. Even to this day a considerable number of bears is to be found within the limits of the settlements. Scarcely a State in which some wild woodlands or mountain fastnesses do not afford shelter to a number of bears, and to kill one of them is a grand object of the hunter's ambition. Along the whole range of the Alleghanies black bears are yet found, and it will be long ere they are finally extirpated from such haunts. In the Western States they are still more common, where they inhabit the gloomy forests along the rivers and creek bottoms, protected alike by the thick undergrowth and the swampy nature of the soil. Their den is usually in a hollow tree — sometimes a prostrate log, if the latter be large enough, and in such a 172 The Hunters^ Feast position as is not likely to be observed by the passing hunter. A cave in the rocks is also their favourite lair, when the geological structure of the country offers them so secure a retreat. They are safer thus ; for when a bear-tree or log has been discovered by either hunter or farmer the bear has not much chance of escape. The squirrel is safe enough, as his capture will not repay the trouble of felling the tree ; but such noble game as a bear will repay whole hours of hard work with the axe. The black bear lies torpid during several months of the winter. The time of his hybernation depends upon the latitude of the place and the coldness of the climate. As you approach the south this period becomes shorter and shorter, until in the tropical forests, where frost is unknown, the black bear ranges throughout the year. The mode of hunting the black bear does not differ from that practised with the fox or wild cat. He is usually chased by dogs, and forced into his cave or a tree. If the former, he is shot down, or the tree, if hollow, is felled. Sometimes smoking brings him out. If he escapes to a cave, smoking is also tried ; but if that will not succeed in dislodging him, he must be left alone, as no dogs will venture to attack him there. The hunter ofteh tracks and kills him in the woods with a bullet from his rifle. He will not turn upon man unless when wounded or brought to bay. Then his assault is to be dreaded. Should he grasp the hunter between his great forearms, the latter will stand a fair chance of being hugged to death. He does not attempt to use his teeth like the grizzly bear, but relies upon the muscular power of his arms. The nose appears to be his tenderest part, and his antagonist, if an old bear- hunter, and sufficiently cool, will use every effort to strike him there. A blow upon the snout has often caused the black bear to let go his hold, and retreat terrified ! The log trap is sometimes tried with success. This is constructed in such a way that the removal of the bait operates upon a trigger, and a large heavy log comes down on the animal removing it — either crushing it to The Black Bear of Amenca 173 death or holding it fast by pressure. A h*mb is some- times only caught ; but this proves sufficient. The same kind of trap is used throughout the northern regions of America by the fur trappers— particularly the sable hunters and trappers of the white weasel {Mustela erminea). Of course that for the bear is constructed of the heaviest logs, and is of large dimensions. Redwood related an adventure that had befallen him while trapping the black bear at an earlier period of his life. It had nearly cost him his life too, and a slight halt in his gait could still be observed, resulting from that very adventure. We all collected around the blazing logs to listen to the trapper's story. CHAPTER XXII THE TRAPPER TRAPPED ' Well, then,' began Redwood, ' the thing I'm a-goin' to tell you about, happened to me when I war a younker, long afore I ever thought I was a-coming out hyar upon the parairas. I wan't quite growed at the time, though I was a good chunk for my age. ' It war up thar among the mountains in East Tennessee, whar this child war raised, upon the head waters of the Tennessee River. ' I war fond o' huntin' from the time that I war knee high to a duck, an' I can jest remember killin' a black bar afore I war twelve yeer old. As I growed up, the bar had become scacer in them parts, and it wan't every day you could scare up such a varmint, but now and then one ud turn up. ' Well, one day as I war poking about the crik bottom (for the shanty whar my ole mother lived war not on the Tennessee, but on a crik that runs into it), I diskivered bar sign. Th^e war tracks o' the bar's paws in the mud, an' I follercd them along the water edge for nearly a mile — then the trail turned into about as thickety a bottom as I ever seed anywhar. It would a baffled a cat to crawl through it. ' After the trail went out from the crik and towards the edge o' this thicket, I lost all hopes of follerin' it further, as the ground was hard, and covered with donicks, and I couldn't make the tracks out no how. I had my idea that the bar had tuk the thicket, so I went round the edge of it to see if I could find whar he had entered. ' For a long time I couldn't see a spot whar any critter as big as a bar could a got in without makin' some sort 174 The Trapper Trapped 175 o* a hole, and then I begun to think the bar had gone some other way, either across the crik or futher down it. ' I war a-goin ' to turn back to the water, when I spied a big log lyin' half out o' the thicket, with one eend buried in the bushes. I noticed that the top of this log had a dirty look, as if some animal had tramped about on it ; an' on goin' up and squintin' at it a little closter I seed that that guess war the right one. * I clomb the log, for it war a regular rouster, bigger than that 'n we had so much useless trouble with, and then I scrammelled along the top o' it in the direction of the brush. Thar I seed the very hole whar the bar had got into the thicket, and thar war a regular beaten path runnin' through the brake as far as I could see. ' I jumped off o' the log, and squeezed myself through the bramble. It war a trail easy enough to find, but mighty hard to foller, I can tell ye. Thar war thistles and cussed stingin' nettles, and briars as thick as my wrist, with claws upon them as sharp as fish-hooks. I pushed on, howsomever, feelin' quite sartin that sich a well-used track must lead to the bar's den, an' I war safe enough to find it In coorse I reckoned that the critter had his nest in some holler tree, and I could go home for my axe, and come back the next morning — if smoking failed to git him out. ' Well, I poked on through the thicket a good three hundred yards, sometimes crouching, and sometimes creeping on my hands and knees. I war badly scratched, I tell you, and now and then I jest thought to myself, what would be the consyquince if the bar should meet me in that narrow passage. We'd a had a tough tussel, I reckon — but I met no bar. ' At last the brush grew thinner, and jest as I was in hopes I might stumble on the bar tree, what shed I see afore me but the face o' a rocky bluff, that riz a consid'able height over the crik bottom. I began to fear that the varmint had a cave, and so, cuss him ! he had — a great black gulley in the rocks was right close 176 The Hunters' Feast by, and thar was his den, and no mistake. I could easily tell it by the way the clay and stones had been pattered over by his paws. ' Of coorse my tracking for that day war over, and I stood by the mouth of the cave not knowin' what to do. I didn't feel inclined to go in. ' After a while I bethought me that the bar mout come out, an' I laid myself squat down among the bushes facing the cave. I had my gun ready to give him a mouthful of lead, as soon as he should show his snout outside o' the hole. "Twar no go. I guess he had heeard me when I first come up, and know'd I war thar. I laid still until 'twar so dark I thought I would never find my way back agin to the crik ; but, after a good deal of scramblin* and creepin' I got out at last, and took my way home. ' It warn't likely I war a-goin' to give that bar up. I war bound to fetch him out o' his boots if it cost me a week's hunting. So I returned the next morning to the place, and lay all day in front o' the cave. No bar appeared, an' I went back home a-cussin'. ' Next day I come again, but this time I didn't intend to stay. I had fetched my axe with me wi' the inten- tion of riggin' up a log trap near the mouth o' the cave. I had also fetched a jug o' molasses and some yeers o' green corn to bait the trap, for I know'd the bar war fond o' both. ' Well, I got upon the spot, an' makin* as leetle rumpus as possible, I went to work to build my trap. I found some logs on the ground jest the scantlin, and in less than an hour I hed the thing rigged an' the trigger set. 'Twan't no small lift to get up the big log, but I managed it wi' a lever I had made, though it took every pound o' strength in my body. If it come down on the bar I knew it would hold him. 'Well, I had all ready except layin' the bait; so I crawled in, and was fixin' the green yeers and the 'lasses, when, jest at that moment, what shed I hear behind me but the "sniff" o' the bar! ' I turned suddently to see. I had jest got my eye on The Trapper Trapped 177 the critter standin' right in the mouth o' his cave, when I feeled myself struck upon the buttocks, and flattened down to the airth like a pancake ! ' At the first stroke I thought somebody had hit me a heavy blow from behind, and I wish it had been that. It war wusser than that. It war the log had hit me, and war now lying with all its weight right acrosst my two legs. In my hurry to git round I had sprung the trigger, and down corned the infernal log on my hams. * At fust I wan't scared, but I war badly hurt. I thought it would be all right as soon as I had crawled out, and I made an attempt to do so. It was then that I become scared in airnest ; for I found that I couldn't crawl out. My legs were held in such a way that I couldn't move them, and the more I pulled the more I hurt them. They were in pain already with the heavy weight pressin' upon them, and I couldn't bear to move them. No more could I turn myself. I war flat on my face, and couldn't slew myself round any way, so as to get my hands at the log. I war fairly catched in my own trap ! ' It war jest about then I began to feel scared. Thar wan't no settlement in the hul crik bottom but my mother's old shanty, an' that were two miles higher up. It war as unlikely a thing as could happen that anybody would be passing that way. And unless some one did I saw no chance of gettin' clar o' the scrape I war in. I could do nothin' for myself. * I hollered as loud as I could, and that frightened the bar into his cave again. I hollered for an hour, but I could hear no reply, and then I war still a-bit, and then I hollered again, an' kept this up pretty much for the hul o' that blessed day. ' Thar wan't any answer but the echo o' my own shoutin' and the v/hoopin' of the owls that flew about over my head, and appeared as if they war mockin' me. • I had no behopes of any relief comin' from home. My ole mother had nobody but myself, and she wan't like to miss me, as I'd often stayed out a-huntin' for three or four days at a time. The only chance I had, 178 The Hunters' Feast and I knew it too, war that some neighbour might be strayin' down the crik, and you may guess what sort o' chance that war, when I tell you thar wan't a neighbour livin' within less than five mile o' us. If no one come by I knew I must lay there till I died o' hunger and rotted, or the bar ate me up. ' Well, night come, and night went. 'Twar about the longest night this child remembers. I lay all through it, a-sufferin' the pain, and listening to the screechin' owls. I could a screeched as loud as any of them if that would a-done any good. I heerd now and then the snuffin' o' the bar, and I could see thar war two o' them. I could see thar big black bodies movin' about like shadows, and they appeared to be gettin' less afeerd o' me, as they come close at times, and risin' up on their hind quarters stood in front o' me like a couple o' black devils. ' I begun to get afeerd they would attack me, and so I guess they would a-done, had not a circumstance hap- pened that put them out o' the notion. ' It war jest grey day, when one o' them come so clost that I expected to be attacked by him. Now as luck would have it, my rifle happened to be lyin' on the ground within reach. I grabbed it without saying a word, and slewin' up one shoulder as high as I could, I was able to sight the bar jest behind the fore leg. The brute wan't four feet from the muzzle, and slap into him went wad and all, and down he tumbled like a felled ox. I seed he war as dead as a buck. ' Well, badly as I war fixed, I contrived to get loaded again, for I knovved that bars will fight for each other to the death ; and I thought the other might attack me. It wan't to be seen at the time, but shortly after it come upon the ground from the direction of the crik. ' I watched it closely as it shambled up, having my rifle ready all the while. When it first set eyes on its dead comrade it gave a loud snort, and stopped. It ap- peared to be considerably surprised. It only halted a short spell, and then, with a loud roar, it run up to the carcass, and sniffed at it. The Trapper Trapped 1 79 ' I haint the least o' a doubt that in two seconds more it would a-jumped me, but I war too quick for it, and sent a bullet right plum into one of its eyes, that come out again near the back o' its neck. That did the business, and I had the satisfaction to see it cowollop over nearly on top o' the other'n. ' Well, I had killed the bars, but what o' that. That wouldn't get me from under the log ; and what wi' the pain I was sufferin', and the poor prospect o' being relieved, I thought I mout as well have let them eat me. ' But a man don't die so long as he can help it, I b'lieve, and I detarmined to live it out while I could. At times I had hopes and shouted, and then I lost hope and lay still again. 'I grew as hungry as a famished wolf. The bars were lying right before me, but jest beyond reach, as if to tantylise me. I could have ate a collop raw if I could a-got hold of it, but how to reach it war the difeeculty. ' Needcesity the' say is the mother o' invention ; and I set myself to invent a bit. Thar war a piece o' rope I had brought along to help me wi' the trap, and that I got my claws on. ' I made a noose on one cend o' it, and after about a score o' trials I at last flung the noose over the head o' one o' the bars, and drew it tight. I then sot to work to pull the bar nearer. If that bar's neck wan't well stretched I don't know what you'd call stretchin', for I tugged at it about an hour afore I could get it within reach. I did get it at last, and then with my knife I cut out the bar's tongue, and ate it raw. ' I had satisfied one appetite, but another as bad, if not wusser, troubled me. That war thirst — my throat war as dry as a corn cob, and whar was the water to come from. It grew so bad at last that I thou^^ht I would die of it. I drawed the bar nearer me, and cut his juglar to see if thar war any relief from that quarter. Thar wan't. The blood war froze up thick as liver. Not a drop would run. ' I lay coolin' my tongue on the blade o' my knife an' i8o The Hunters' Feast chawin' a bullet that I had taken from my pouch. I managed to put in the hul of the next day this away, now and then shoutin* as loud as I could. Towards the evenin' I grew hungry again, and ate a cut out o' the cheek o' the bar ; but I thought I would a-choked for want o' water. ' I put in the night the best way I could. I had the owls again for company, and some varmint came up and smelt at the bars ; but was frightened at my voice, and run away again. I suppose it war a fox or wolf, or some such thing, and but for me would a-made a meal off o' the bar's carcass. * I won't trouble you with my reflexshuns all that night ; but I can assure ye they war anything but pleasant. I thought of my ole mother, who had nobody but me, and that helped to keep up my spirits. I detarmined to cut away at the bar, and hold out as long as possible. * As soon as day broke I set up my shoutin' again, restin' every fifeteen minutes or so, and then takin' a fresh start. About an hour after sun-up, jest as I had finished a long spell o' screechin', I thought I heerd a voice. I listened a bit with my heart thumpin' against my ribs. Thar war no sound ; I yelled louder than ever, and then listened. Thar war a voice. ' " D — n ye ! what are ye hollowin' about ? " cried the voice. * I again shouted " Holloa ! " ' " Who the h — ll's thar?" inquired the voice. '"Casey!" I called back, recognising the voice as that of a neighbour who lives up the crik ; " for God's sake this way." '"I'm a-comin'," he replied; "Taint so easy to get through hyar— that you, Redwood ? What the h — ll's the matter ? D — n this brush ! " ' I heard my neighbour breakin' his way through the thicket, and strange I tell ye all, but true it is, I couldn't believe I war goin' to get clar even then until I seed Casey standin' in front o' me. ' Well, of coorse, I was now set free again, but couldn't The Trapper Trapped i8i put a foot to the ground. Casey carried me home to the shanty, whar I lay for well nigh six weeks, afore I could go about, and d — n the thing! I hain't got over it yet.' So ended Redwood's story. CHAPTER XXIII THE AMERICAN DEER During our next day's journey we fell in with and killed a couple of deer — a young buck and doe. They were the first of these animals we had yet seen, and that was considered strange, as we had passed through a deer country. They were of the species common to all parts of the United States' territory — the 'red ' or ' fallow ' deer {Cervus Vtrginiaiius). It may be here remarked that the common deer of the United States, sometimes called 'red deer,' is the fallow deer of English parks, that the ' elk ' of America is the red deer of Europe, and the ' elk ' of Europe is the ' moose' of America. Many mistakes are made in relation to this family of animals on account of these misapplied names. In North America there are six well-defined species of deer — the moose {C. alces) ; the elk {^Canadensis) ; the caribou itarandus) ; the black-tail or ' mule ' deer {macrotis); the long-tail ileuairus) ; and the Virginian, or fallow deer ( Virginianus). The deer of Louisiana {C. nenioralis') is supposed by some to be a different species from any of the above ; so also is the ' mazana ' of Mexico iC Mexicanus). It is more probable that these two kinds are only varieties of the Cervus Virginianus — the difference in colour, and other respects, resulting from a difference in food, climate, and such like causes. It is probable, too, that a small species of deer exists in the Russian possessions west of the Rocky Mountains, quite distinct from any of the six mentioned above ; but so little is yet known of the natural history of these wild territories, that this can only be taken as conjecture. It may be remarked, also, that of the caribou {C. tarandus) there are too marked varieties, that may almost be 182 The A^nerican Deet* 183 regarded in the light of species. One, the larger, is known as the ' woodland caribou,' because it inhabits the more southern and wooded districts of the Hudson's Bay territory ; the other, the ' barren ground caribou,' is the * rein deer ' of the Arctic voyagers. Of the six well-ascertained species, the last-mentioned {C. Virginianiis) has the largest geographical range, and is the most generally known. Indeed, when the word ' deer ' is mentioned, it only is meant. It is the deer of the United States. The ' black-tails ' and ' long-tails ' are two species that may be called new. Though long known to trappers and hunters, they have been but lately described by the scientific naturalist. Their habitat is the ' far west ' in California, Oregon, the high prairies, and the valleys of the Rocky Mountains. Up to a late period naturalists have had but little to do with these countries. For this reason their /«««