The Cecil Whig. [volume] (Elkton, Md.) 1841-current, 1874-10-03
holes. The fish are found fast asleep, and.

with proper caution there is no necessity
for shooting them over two or three inches,
except the catfish. You have to shoot him
as he flies. l never found one of them
mapping. In the quiet bays near the sea
coast have shot founders with light till
it was shame.
There were at this place, plenty of deer
and turkey and the fishing was splendid,
and l had recovered my passion for the
gun, rod and bow; but the immigrants
were pouring in with their shot guns and
hounds and it was very plain to be seen
that the game would soon be gone. In
addition to all this, my father was becom-
son, we had better fix up and leave this
crowded country while times are good"
was very willing and told him I would be
ready by mid winter and we would move
to Tuscaloosa river. That was settled. I
Immediately sent an order to G. Gump,
Lancaster county, Pennsylvania, to make
a rifle of certain dimensions and forward
it to me by my friend, NJ. Whitfield, who
went to Philadelphia every fall for goods.
The gun came, and she was the most COM
pletely finished rifle that had ever seen up
to that date, and shot as true as any gun
ever did before or since.
We were soon already to take the will
derness. There was no road after crossing
the Ocmulgee river. The company con-
sisted of my father and mother, three
grown brothers and some smaller children,
my brother-in-law and his wife, myself,
wife and two children, and we also had
amongst us twelve negroes.
We set out December 81, and our third
camp was in the wilderness, in the Musgo-
gee country. 1t was an extraordinary dry,
pleasant winter; we very seldom had to set
our tents. 1t had been a fruitful year and
the earth was strewn with nuts of many
descriptions. Blackhaws Vibernum pruni-
folium) grapes, persimmons (Diospyros Vir-
gtniana) and berries were plenty on the
vines and bushes. Deer and turkeys were
abundant every where. We were in no
hurry, and when we found good camping
place we would not leave it for several
days; and while the women and children
and negroes employed themselves gather
ing wild fruit, the men would be ranging
the wild maiden forests where the unholy
ranting, domineering shout of civilization
had never before alarmed the birds and
beasts. Our journey through that wilder
ness was something over five hundred
miles in extent, and except where we
crossed the Chatehoochee rivera large
stream where they had ferry boat-we
saw no houses. Our course lay through
billy, somtimes mountainous country, hav-
ing many water courses-big creeks and
small rvers-dashing their clear, sweet
waters over the craggy rocks that foored
their gravelly beds. 1t was on the banks
of these rushing streams that we pitched
our tents. They were all full of fish, and
notwithstanding it was pretty cool, almost
icy sometimes, my brother Garland and
myself would fish them of nights with the
bow and arrow. We found in the little
eddies about the rocks and near the shore,
any place where they could lie still, suck
ers, small shining trout, and perch as red
as the core of a red meat watermelon.
Very plenty they were, fat and well flavor
ed. At all our camping places we had fine
sport. The entire forest was alive with
wild pigeons, but nobody troubled them.
coNTINuED