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November 11, 2012

Bears, Panthers, Wolves, Gators, White Perch....Sicily Island in the early 1850s


Dr. A. R. Kilpatrick writing in De Bow's Review, vol. 12 about Sicily Island in the early 1850s :

Bears were very numerous and the meat formed an important article of the settlers diet.  The oil was used for cooking, and to grease leather, machinery; also used medicinally, and to dress the hair of the beaux and belles.  The skins were used for many domestic purposes, and also as articles of commerce.  In G. W. Lovelace's mercantile books, is seen this bill of articles, shipped on a keel or flatboat, in 1813; Bear skins, 243; Deer skins, 450; Beaver skins, 28.

The bear, when very fat, weigh from 500 to 700 pounds.  It has been repeatedly asserted by old hunters, that no person has ever found a she bear with cubs in her womb.  But Henry and Stephen Holstein, on Sicily Island, state positively that they have seen the young frequently about the size of a large flat bean, but perfectly formed.  They were instructed by the Indians how to search for them.  When the cubs are first born, they are not as large as a grown rat, and are devoid of hair or fur, like a young rat.  

Several citizens of Sicily Island went, in the month of Nov. 1851, on a bear hunt, up in the swamps of Franklin Parish, taking about thirty hounds and curs, an ox-team and wagon, two negroes, plenty of tents, bedding corn and other necessaries, and were out more than two weeks, killing ten bear and five deer.  They would have killed more, but unluckily their best dog was killed, and the others so much crippled that they were compelled to quit.  The region of country where they hunted was so low, flat and wet, that they could not haul their meat away; so they constructed a scaffold ten feet high, salted the meat away upon it, covered it with a tent, and so left it, hoping at some time to get it away. 


Panthers were at one time quite numerous, but of late years have been thinned out and chased off.  Even a few years ago, a panther attacked a horse in the woods, and killed it.  A mover, as late as 1836, had one to attack one of his horses while camped on the island, and he shot it while it was on the horse.  One killed an Indian at his camp, and ate what he wanted of the carcass before the other Indians came up.  

One attacked old Mr. John Lovelace in his camp, when moving from Red River to the island; but his faithful negro, Jupiter, shot the animal and killed it before his master was hurt.  In the scuffle, though, a negro woman, in attempting to club the panther, struck Mr. Lovelace a terrible blow on the head, which nearly proved fatal.

Wolves are very numerous all through the pine hills; but there are more in the wild ravines of the island than anywhere else, and sometimes are very troublesome, and destructive to young lambs and pigs.  Even this fall, 1851, they are very numerous, and the citizens have to set poison for them.  

Alligators are not so numerous as in early times; it is stated by those who have had the amplest opportunities for observing them that they seldom exceed twelve feet in length.  The oil is suitable for many domestic purposes, particularly in dressing leather.  Formerly it was a good deal used to grease machinery.  It is said to be so very subtle and penetrating that when suffered to remain for some time in a pot it will penetrate the metal.  It is highly charged with the musky odor, which never leaves it, and on this account is very nauseating to man, beast and insect.  If much is rubbed on a horse, it will deprive him of appetite for two or three days.  One large alligator will yield from eight to twelve gallons of oil, which is worth a dollar a gallon.  It is best rendered by a slow gentle heat, and when proper care is taken, is very transparent.

The Pike (Perch) is found plentifully in the creeks of the pine hills.  The trout is very numerous in the same place.  No streams furnish better fishing than those in the pine hills.  Hundreds have been caught in a few hours with hook and line, while with the dropnet, many bushels have been secured in a very short space of time.  Fishing parties and 'pic-nic' parties afford great amusement in the summer months, when the citizens from the swamp resort there to enjoy the delightful breezes and spring water, which are so cheering and healthful.  While the lake is full, the fish in the creeks do not bite so well; in fact, that is the season when they are "not at home" but far away, roaming the lake and deep waters; but when the water is falling, they resort in countless thousands to the cool creeks, where they are caught in great numbers, and can be seen in the transparent waters in immense schools, ready to seize the bait hook.


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