The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1902-11-14

ana In their hunting costumes, started
soon afterward for the camp on Little
Suhnower river. AS the distance is
about fifteen miles and the trail is
rough and bad, the chances are that it
was after dark before they reached the
camp.
Smedes is siding on the Yazoo and
Mississippi Valley Railway, where cot
ton is loaded from the big Smede's
plantation. plantation store and
the residence of one of the managers
are the only structures except negro
CABINS in sight Work on the neigh
Dorlng plantations was suspended this
afternoon, and several hundred negroes
were at the siding when the train stop
PED. Most of the men sat on the cotton
bales, but the black mammies and the
plckanninies stood along the track.
They showed their white teeth in broad
grlns, but made no other demonstra-
tons as the President stepped from the
train. He was clad in hunting cos
tune, riding trousers, heavy leather
leggings, blue flannel shirt. corduroy
coat, and wore a brown SLOUGH hat:
around his waist was buckled his car
fridge belt, and at his side hung his
ivory handled hunting knife The 9TH
er members of the party also wore
hunting suits.
While the guns, blankets and other
small baggage were being loaded into
a four-mule wagon, the President chat
ted with the manager of the Smede es-
tate and two ladies who had come es-
peclally to greet him. When all was
in readiness the members of the party
except Mr.. Fish and Mr.. Dickinson,
mounted small, wiry- touch looking
horses, and dashed away for the woods
at break-neck canter. The Presi-
dents mount was a black horse. He
did not look spirited, but it was ex-
planned that he was just the sort of
an animal needed to force a way
through the dense underground MIR.
Fish and Mr.. Dickinson followed the
others in a buckbard drawn by two
mules.
Two disappointments met the Pres
ident here; the first one was that Mr..
Mingum, who had much to do with ar
ranging the hunt, was too i'll to pro-
coed to camp tonight, and the other
was the story which came back from
camp that in trying the pack of
the dogs had gone after a deer, which
was jumped, while Hoke Collier was
on the trail of a bear. AS there are
only twenty-five dogs in the pack,
the split is very disquieting. Mr.. Min
gum, as soon as he heard of this ac-
cident, put himself in communication
with Bobo, a famous bear hunter, who
has fine pack of forty-five dogs on
his place, about 100 miles north of here,
lat Bobo Station. If his pack can be
secured, there will be a sufficiency of
dogs. In place of Mr.. Mingum it has
been arranged that Hugh Foote and
Hoke Collier will hunt with the Pres
ident. They will start at daylight to-
morrow morning.
The President and his guides will
follow the hounds through the under
growth, in order to be at hand if a
bear is brought to bay.
1T will be powerful hard" said Mr.
Mingun, and l predict the President
viii lose at least five pounds in the
next five days. / rode through z
few days ago and when got out my
clothes were almost torn off me.
looked as Ii had been in q railroad
wreck" ~
Mr.. Mingum says the black bear.
hereabout WEIGH from 300 to 500 pounds
We have a set of scales at the
the camp" said he, land beasts will
be weighed when they are brought in.
The signs of bears in the vicinity o.
the camp are plentiful, and Mr.. Parker
promises the President a shot befor,
Tomorrow evening. In one water hol,
Collier on Monday found the foot
prints of nine.
The Presidents train is on the side
track here and a telegraph station ha.
been rugged up in a box car on the sid
ing.
The arrangements made here to pre-.
prevent crowd of curious people from
spelling the President's frn 1,rora a.
| mirably carried out. The people O.
V1cksburg wanted to run an excursion
up here this afternoon to see the Pres.
ident start on his hunt, but President
Fish of the Illinois Central Railroad
would not permit it.