Mexico weekly ledger., 1877-01-18
lFron the Atlanta Constitution

f. IFron the Atlantis Constitution.l
TALLAHASSEE, Dec. IL, 1S76.--Our
destination was James island. Through
the sullen dusk our boat fitted like
some great. White-winged bird, untilthe
island, a huge, dark oval, arose before
us, with one single fire glaring from it's
front. We made for the fire, effected
a landing, found that it was the camp
ing place of a party of hunters who had
been into the interior of the island and
had come back with five deer, fourteen
turkeys, and a pile of smaller game.
We joined them, and were soon seated
around their blazing fire, eating veni-
SON that was rich with the flavor of the
woods, and turkey breasts that had
grown fat and aromatic with a years
picking amid the plentiful dainties of
the hammock.
James Island is. Is to 16 miles long,
and about four miles and a half wide.
1t has no. inhabitants, except six or
eight people, who are simply game
keepers for the four or five Floridians
who have clapboard shanties there, in
which they spend the summer hunting
and fishing. 1t abounds in game. Be-
ing rather inaccessible it is not hunted
over much, and turkeys and deer swarm
on every side, the trees are alive with
squirrels, patridges run in clusters
through every cover, the lagoons and
inlets are covered with ducks and bull
heads, the stately bear marches not un-
frequently through thicker hammocks,
the wary wildcat crouches ON many a
branch, and tradition has located the
dread panther here and there through
out the island. 1t is not unusual for q
party doing a two days. hunt in this
secluded locality to kill a dozen deer
and a score of fat turkeys, the limit, in
deed, being usually put just where
hunting ceases and slaughter begins.
In the morning it was decided that
three hours should be given to hunting.
and that we should then start home
ward, stopping for a while at the oyster
banks of St. Marks. Letting those
gentlemen who had a free stride plunge
into the heart of the island, ] devoted
my time to picking fat squirrels out of
the trees around our camp. They were
peculiar squirrels. Nearly as large as
rabbits. with black heads, whitish ears,
and jaws swelled out as if they had a
double barreled chew of tobacco on
hand. | fired at them continuously for
three hours, killing eight, but missing
SO many that Mr.. ManJon Marble, who
was sitting near by reading .sKubla
Khan - through gold trimmed specta-
Giles, removed his smelling-bottle from
his s long enough to humiliate me
with the title of - Young-Man-with-a-
Crooked-Gun!"
The hunting-party returned at 8
O'Clock, with Il bag full Of partridges.
som ducks, and four turkeys. They
had wounded several deer, but didn't
catch them. Feeling that we could not
return to the city without a deer, we TO-
ANONYMOUSLY purchased one. He was a
splendid buck, the only difficulty being
that there was only one bullet hole in
him; thus limiting the glory of killing
him to only n OF his purchasers. We
tried hard to get one that was well rid
died with bullets, with at least one hole
for each hunter, but we failed. Getting
our game aboard a boat, we were soon
at the lighthouse, where we stopped for
q while TO look into the fisheries and
oyster beds.
This is one of the largest and most
promising oyster beds on the southern
coasts. 1t is a natural or wild bed, but
the oysters are very fine. The supply
is simply limitless. There are proba.
bly, 100 boats engaged in the oyster bus
mess here. The machinery and meth
cd are both simple and primitive. One
wishing to go into it buys a boat that |
costs any where from five to fifty dol
lars. 1t is made SO that it can be eth
er sailed Or roWed. He then needs on
ly an oyster hook, and he is ready for
work. With this hook, about four feet
long, and furnished with four pronos.
he leans owe his boats edge. when he
has reached the beds, and pulls the oys-
tiers in. He generally hooks only one
or two of the bivalves at q grab, but
frequently gets at n haul a matted
n OF ten, twenty, or even fifty. He
can easily put in six or seven bushels,
as much as a single-manned boat will
carry, in three Or tour hours, and then
putting his boat abreast of the tide
floats IN to market with the ingoing wa
ter, or, better still, before a SPANKING
wind. Reaching the ancient village Of
st. Marks, he hurries forward to sell
his load.
The market price is twenty five cents
HNS oJcOCiS oA bLlc UOtE, Ulo
to unload them. The boatman
usually gets the job of unloading them
himself, being paid therefor five cents
bushel. The oysterman thus gets
from one dollar and eighty cents to two
for his days work. As soon as
he sells out, he gets in position for the
outgoing tide, and floats down to the
gulf again, sleeping on his boat.
1t costs 10 cepts a bushel to get these
oysters to Tallahassee. Consequently
are worth here about 60 cents a
Oysters from this point are
shipped to various points in the South,
and are inferior only to the plant oys-
'ers of Mobile and Norfolk. They hive
extremely rich lavor-in fact, it is
thought TOO rich by maryland are of
very large size.
OF more Importance, and more lucra-
i've than the oyster banks, are the fish
along this favored coast. 1t is
to name a Southern fish that is
lot ca1pht in nuantitias haro Tho I