The Hickman courier. [volume] (Hickman, Ky.) 1859-current, 1878-08-23

o. HAACo OA piuulTu NcIcuc-EiCo, W0lI
and bronze stalk along the shores of tn
creeks, which are filed with spawnin
fish. Tue alligators hatch their youn,
and catch long maps in the sunshine
while aocks of screaming paror ruets ant
delicate ncnrarsils mold merry carniva
oSef their heads The mocking bird
give their fedglings a first lesson il
music. The old birds sit on the shady
branches of wild orsnge trees and pipt
to the new beginners for hou,s. Wher
the novice begins to utter its first tTemu
lous notes, the parents raise peans of JOY
and the young ones make fresh efforts
until the trees are filed with sweet
music.
Young broods of wild turkeys pipe in
the hsmmseks and FL themselves with
grasshoppers and wood-ticks The rare
ivory-billed woodPecker and his blsck-
! billed brother drum the trees. Brilliant
plumaged cardinals, mellow~throated
bullfnches and buxom butcher birds
hop from limb to limb, while broods of
young qusil trail around the thickets.
The great gray gull scars in from the
| ocean, and the common fern gives place
to its lesser brother, whose graceful
movements and dove-like color equally
charms the eye. Fleets of silvery peli-
cans ride upon the tide, and scores of
ermine birds watch their movements
with jealous eyes. Great bald eagles
swoop through the air and drive the
industrious ospreys from their fishing
grounds. The night heron loads the
darkness with strange sounds, and the
shrill whippoorwill and chick-wills-
widow add their notes to the concert.
Stray fsmingoes wander up from the
Keys and are lost in the marshes, broad
faced owls hold nightly trysts, and clap,
per rails and marsh hens dart under the
mangrove bushes. That strange bird,
the lihpkin, catters its castinets on the
z4rds doze on the desd limbs. The
Mexican eagle robs them of their plum
der, while airy man-of-wsr hawks float
in the upper sky. The swallOw-tailed
kite chases the humming mosquito, and
marsh hawks dart upon moles and wood
rats.
Fishes pour in from the ocean. The
spotted bass and dotted sea front skir-
mish along the creeks. Gorgeous snap
pers, wild-eyed groupers and logy jew
fish lurk among submerged mangrove
roots. zebra-skinned sheepahead and
broad-brsined mullet fill the lagoons.
Great drum-fsh scour the shadows, keep
ing up an eternal tattoo The silvery
lady fish leaps from the water like sal
mon, and the flexible ribbon>fish shoots
itself through lonely channels. The
chopper sleeps in shady hooks, and silver
scaled tarpun give exhibitions in tidal
eddies. The whiting and sea bass retire
60 deSp y~@ter, as.d ass-,0irte wirh rho !
eI-mouthed-fish. Voracious1hs /
and huge numbering saw-fsh tread the
main channel in search of prey, and
sportive porpoises rollick over ehe bays.
Enormous stingraves and baftslo tails
jump from the waves in fatile efforts
to rid themselves O annoying
sucker fish. School OF golden
cavallo and bluefish spurt in from the
ocean and follow TIE swarming mullet.
The striped sergeant-fsh, or saltwater
is on the qui oire, and the
electrical founder sleeps upon the flats
at high water. PompenO fash in the
sunlight, and the rainbow-hued angel
fish communes in deep, still pools.
Near the mouths of the st. Sebastian
and St. Lucie the monstrous manatee
-ears its young. 1t feeds upon the
coarse grass on the bottom of the rivers,
md is frequently stranded on the bars.
It resembles sea lion, but its nose is
more like the nose ots COW, and its
Is hippers are longer and stronger. 1t
attains a weight of 1000
pounds, and though perfectly harmless,
has been known to upset a boat in its
Efforts to escape annoyance.
With all these attractions Florida
ought to be summer paradise for
'portsmen. But there are drawbacks.
The air is black with mosquitoes, and
,waIms of sandfies annoy the hunter.
Jiggers are not unknown. Ticks OF all
sizes and colors, and deciIlions of red bugs
Durrow in mans flesh. Scorpions visit
lis tent, and yenomous snakes may lie in
wait for him. No exaggeration can
equal the truth about the mosquitoes. |
Natives assure me they have raised their
yuns TO shoot, and the barrels and sight |
we're covered before they could get aim.
at Turtle Mound l have landed and seen
.he mosquitoes raise like cloud and ap- |
Droach me. In ten seconds my clothes
we're so covered that my companion
could not distinguish the color. Dogs |
spent hours lying on the barely covered |
sandbars, with nothing but their noses
above water. They have been known to !
run round cabin all night long to clear |
themselves of the annoying insects. |
Horses on the sea coast are so pestered |
that they frequently break loose and run
into the piney woods for miles before
stopping. Cattle cluster together at
night for mutual protection, and those
On the outside fight till broad daylight in
efforts to attain central position. Poul>
try fly from the roost in the morning
with combs, legs and toes as white as the
riven snow. The insects draw the
blood from them at night. Families
have been drive nearly to insanity. The
bars are made of unbleached cotton cloth,
and there can be no ventilation. In close
nights it is impossible TO sleep under
them, and the victim would
rather run the risk with the mosquitoes
than smother. In some cases bars within
bars are used, for the insects are so thick
that millions steal in while the persecut-
ed man is crawling to cover. Nor is this
all. Fleas, horsefies and deerhies annoy
the sportsman. The soil seems to be
be composed of feas, and the air seems to
be made of insects. There are thousands
who do not sting, and hundreds not
mentioned that do. OF course there are
days when strong wind gives the sports-
man comparative freedom from these