The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1899-03-15
The Wild Game Of Cuba

sportsman, wild came and i-h Of all
Kinds being abundant.
Parties Of men on horseback. with
their packs Of hounds, hunt the feet
footed deer. When they arrive in the
locality which the zane frc.,ueat the
hnn'crr. rs with u,. station them
selves IN the path, wierc tn, deer are
ilkcit' u pass AMI the dng, are turned
lpo>e. 1t i, common tlinr for a
'ma-i l'..r:y to XIII ci.ht or ten deer in
day. When night fall and the men
are through with the chase. ,ir.npn,i
cd b. their trophies of the ,iay sport .
they >pcnf the evening with pipes
and tales at the campfire, later 10
swing their hammocks from the neigh
boring boughs, and, free from care
and troubles and amidst the moonlight
and shadows and scent of luxuriant
flowers, to sleep that sleep that gives
health and life.
The wild boar is plentiful, and some
times. if cornered, dangerous. especial
~ the old master of the herd. called
'un solitario. which will tear Il dog
to pieces rr make a green hunter climb
tree, bnt the Cuban easily kills him
with machctc The island boar
sometimes weighs 200 or 300 pounds,
and has huge tusks, often five or six
inches in length. The meat Of the
female is much rclshcd by the ma
tlvcs. Wild dogs and cats, wild cat
tie, horses and jackasscs abound But
the jutia, peculiar only to Cuba which
looks like cross between squirrel
with Il rat 5 tail and Il rabbit, and
which lives in the trees and feeds on
nuts and leaves, is the great delight
of the Cuban
Fowls are in great numbers. Wild
guinea hens and turkeys are found in
tlocks of from % to 100 The whistle
OF the quail and the nuttcr Of the
! pheasant and perdiz are heard on all
sides In the rural and mountain re-
! SiVho' - uChS III uDuuuduCC
over from Florida in the winter and
return with the spring. Wild pigeons,
with their white tops and bodies Of
blue, larger sometimes than the do
nestle bird, offer, in hunting, the
greatest sport to men who will be re-
strained within reason. In the early
mornings the pigeons generally go to
feed on the mangle berries when ripe,
and which grow by the sea or near
some swamp place. l have known Of
party of three persons to kill l 900
OF the pigeons within few hours
Robichcs, tojosas and guanaros are
found in the thick woods. Mocking
and blue birds, orioles, turpials, ncgri-
tos, parrots and thousand of song
sters and birds of brilliant plumage
Hit from tree to tree.
The waters about Cuba, at night
strangely phosphoresccnt, are marvel
lous in their transparency. Objects
can be seen in a depth of eighty or
ninety feet and the endless variety of
botanical and animal life in the depths
afford great pleasure for those who
love the realm Of nature mysterious
lore. Brown lichen, great white coral
trees, and the numbcrlcss shells, with
fish whose bright colors emulating the
tints OF precious stores and the hues
of the rainbow, darting hither and
thithcr, combine to form most en-
chanting aquarium of nature.
The naturalist, Pocy, says there arc
Gll distinct species of fish in the
Cuban waters. Among those that de-
light the sportsman are the red snap
per, lista, ,nanta, gallcgo. cobcra, SUI
rcia and gar fish The sierr, which
weigh from forty to sixty pounds, is
extremely game, as is the romeo, So
d. called because it snorcs when brought
out OF the water. For heavy sport,
fishing for sharks, which are good for
nothing, or the gusa, which weighs
from 400 to GOO pounds, and is excel
lent eating, offer abundant exercise.
1t is daily occurrence to see schools
of fish, numbering from hundreds to
many thousands, each fish weighing
| from one to four pounds, swimming
around the bays and harbors waiting
, for bait. Any American who enjoys
J good fishing can find his fondcst dreams
more than satisfied in Cuba.
Delicious shrimrs, crabs, and lob
. stcrs, oysters and clans abound. The
Holsters have no claws and weigh
from two to eight pounds. They arc
caught at night in shallow places along
, the sandy beach, torch, harpoon and
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