The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1914-10-11

and red headed woodpecker. Through the
woods and in the clearings OF our land
lord were a number of coveys of quail
Outside Of these there were not many
birds except, OF course. the herons, plover
and ducks on the prairie. There was one
snake bird which would sit on a dead
limb lying on our side Of the slough
from which 1t would dart into the water
upon being approached and swim to the
other side, usually with only its snake
like head and neck showing above the
water, where 1t would walk out on the
bank, spread its wings and stand mo-
tlonless in that attitude until dried off.
This bird has a peculiar flight, flying
a short distance with quick beating of
the wings and then soaring, with it's
long. slender head and neck stretched
out at full length.
The night noises here were Of great
variety. Just before dusk the cattle
would begin to come to the palms for
the night and as the various bands met.
the bulls with many a fierce battle
would roar. grunt and groan, until it
seemed as though all the bulls in the
world were there, each trying to drown
out the other. and they kept it up until
quite dark. The pover plaintiyely
whstled while trading back and forth
from slough to slough; ducks quacked,
herons croaked and squawked; owls
booted; fish splashed in the slough and
from the forest came various other
sounds which we couldn't place.
The slough in front OF our camp was
alive with FISH and turtles. There were
!so number OF alligators in 1t and
"c would occasionally see their eyes
ana nostrils projecting above the wa,er.
The days passed very quickly and
almost before we knew it ii was Friday
night and our food abou; gone, so on
saturday morning we babe our friends
sood-by and started back down the river.
Inc trip down was uneventful, though
we saw several all!gators summing them
selves on the logs and banks. one was
very large one and 1t made a mighty
splash as II dived into the water. We
also saw large cottonmouth summing
itself on the bank near the roots Of a
cypress tree. under which it escaped be-
fore we could catch it.
we arrived at our starting point along
In the afternoon and after shipping our
specimens to New York drove 10 the
nome or our guide on Lake Jesup. where
We spent several days, obtaining quite
NUMBER more specimens, including
several six line race runners (Cnemdo-
| phorus sexlineatus), a chicken snake
tColuber obsoletus quadrivittatus) and n
nne gopher or indigo snake (Spllotes CO.
rails couperD, which my partner found
lying summing on the stump of a tree
This snake made no attempt to esCauc.
nor did 1t offer to bite or show any sign
or Ill temper when the writer walked IN
10 1t and picked II up. This species IL
another which is highly beneficial TO
| mankind, as d feeds to a large extent
upon rodents and is to be frequently
found living on farms, where il is looked
upon as being very useful and is not al
lowed to be disturbed.
There were reports Of diamondbdck
rattlesnakes having been seen in some
OF the palmetto patches, and these We
hunted through without success.
our guide was by profession a fisher
man and twice during our stay the big
seine was drawn at night; a large num-
Der OF hsh were caught, including large
mouth black bass, perch, catfish, fish re-
sempllng the shad, but which were not
euloie' ana some huge gars. The fish
Which We're not edible We're thrown up
on the shore and provided banquet
TOT razorbacks, buzzards, herons, eagles
and ospreys.
rhere was a great deal of game to he
round here; plenty of quail, rabbits,
raccoons, wild turkeys, ducks, snipe and
doves some deer and bear, but we did
no hunting for them.
our stay was pleasant, that is as
pleasant as sulphur water and innumer-
able heas would permit the people we
met We're all pleasant and did all IN
their power TO have US enjoy ourselves
and make our trip success, and it was
with regret that ! finally had to say
good-by to my partner and start for
home. He had decided to spend another
week in different locality, which, by
the way, he stretched into four more
weeks. during which time the weather
warmed up a little and he captured
many more specimens, including some
very fine diamondbacks and large cot-
tonmouth moccaslns, but then that's