Los Angeles herald., 1892-07-24
ALL SORTS OF GAME.
What Is Found at the Colo
RADIOS Mouth.
A Region Rich in Business POI
sibilities.
A Terra Incognits and Its Attrac-
tions-Birds and Fish in
Great Plenty = Its
characteristics.

A letter in the San Francisco Chroni-
Gle from Salton, under date of the 10Th
inst, says:
According to Charles Thielsen, the
gentleman who made the trip from the
mouth of the Colorado river to Salton in
man who shall take up his residence
where the Colorado empties into the
gulf. The picture he paints is certainly
an alluring one. and the wonder is that
| this land has not been explored by the
hunter. Every year men call out for
some new territory wherein to expend
their limitless energies. They have
grown tired of the peaks of the Yo-
semitic, the high Sierras have been ex-
plotted to very WEAKNESS, the Siskiyou
mountains are too we'll known, even
Mr.. John Muir's discoveries on Kings
river have not satisfied other than the
most ardent lovers of nature.
But Mr.. Thielsen promises to the
sportsman much Joy if he will take his
advice and voyage to the Colorado's g
mouth. There will be sufficient novelty
in the journey to give it spice Of adven-
ture, for though he will meet no furious
savage beasts the natural conditions are
such as he is unaccustomed to. OF fish
ing he will have plenty, from the big
jewish to the mullet, and besides he
will have the opportunity of making and
enjoying clam chowder, and he will dis
cover an oyster which cannot be equaled
for deliciousness.
\ "a man can live there and be happy"
said Mr.. Thielsen, ''and he will have the
finest kind of food. The jewish, when
fresh, is particularly sweet, and weighs
about 100 pounds. used to shoot them
in the head, and as one charge will only
stupefy them 1 had to let them have
both barrels. Then there are turtles in
abundance and mullets and oysters, while
on shore there are thousands of quail and
rabbits. The climate is superb. A gen.
tie breeze blows in from the gulf and
keeps the place at delightful tempera-
ture. Indeed, one can live there the
year round and have the most ENJOYABLE
hunting. The Cocopah Indians occupy
that territory, and TO Jne suuti,eart tho
Papagos range.
"The Papagos are warlike and fight
ing race, but do not know of their
having troubled anybody. The Coco
pahs are strange people. They never
eat fish, but prefer the mesquite bean.
Some of the younger Cocopahs will kill
and eat the Colorado salmon, which
they find in the reeds, but the older
ones look upon fish with perfect alb
horrence. The Papagos, / am assured,
are very fond of CLAIMS, and the
huge piles of shells testify that they
must have periodically INDUCED in clam
bakes.
"My purpose in going down to the
mouth OF the Colorado was to hunt the
plumes of the egret. This is heron,
about the size of half-grown rooster,
and its feathers are highly priced in
New York. 1t is said these plumes are
at their best during the breeding season
and are found between the wings and
tail. They are light, extremely light,
and their market value is $26 an ounce.
An entire skin fetches about $3.50. The
birds travel in great colonies, and if
man is in luck he will fall into quite
nice little sum of money"
"Do the Indians hunt these birds?"
"No. The Indians can never be made
to understand business. They wonld
rather work for 80 cents day and their
food than have $500 in prospect. If they
devoted their energies to the chase they
would make money, for there is man
in Yuma who buys all the feathers and
pays cash for them, so there is positively
no risk. 1 am told that their feathers
are used on hats. The egret is common
feathers come from the Colorado's
mouth"
81 am positive that some day, not 30
far distant either, enterprising men will
| start a fish cannery there. The Jewish
is sweeter when dried than Goldfish, and
considering the millions that run there
the business would undoubtedly pay.
Besides these, it must be remembered,
other fish can be canned. By land the
distance is only seventy five miles from
Yuma, and by water $780,"
"Did you experience any difficulty ?"
mo, nothing to speak of. was once
| greatly put out by losing my matches
and was at a great loss to make light.
1t, however, struck me that I could
make q fire by discharging my gun at
close quarters into some dry bushes and
setting them into blaze. This worked
like charm and / secured all the fire
wanted" 1a
us it easy to get Cocopahs in trip
down the river?"
Nothing is easier. They are good,
faithful workers, and will gladly 60 for
30 cents day and their food. In fact
they are pleased to go, and are extreme.
ly proud to show their people that they
are acting as guides to white man,
1t is best to take one of the Cocopahs,
for they know the country and are at
home i'll it, while to the Yuma Indian
all is strange. If a party got q
houseboat and went down the river
in the fall 1 am prepared to stake
my reputation as a hunter that they
would have more enjoyment and better
living from the proceeds of their guns
than in any hunting place inthe United
States. There are many objects of inter.
est down there, such as the Volcano
mountains, the sulphur beds, and on
the Sonora side are wonderful hot
springs, while those who have never
seen bore can have this experience.
do not mean the common, ordinary bore
such as can be fonnd in every city, but
the great tidal wave. These are enor.
nous tides from thirty. to thirty-five feet
at the mouth; this is during the spring
and great care has to be exercised Of
else these tremendous waves would en-
tirely swamp the boat and raise mis-
chief generally -