THE ERA OF EXPLOITATION— MARKET HUNTING 9 



are described by Nuttall""". One is the imitation of drumming to lure '"jealous males" within 

 shooting distance by striking upon an inflated bladder. Another is the smoking to death 

 of the birds "in the same manner as the wild pigeons in the western country." 



SNARES CONFISCATED BY THE NEW YORK STATE CONSERVATION DEPARTMENT 



A very amusing and interesting story cm tra|.i)iMg. illustrative of the general practices of 

 the times, is given by Whitehead when writing in Mayer's'^ "Sport with Rod and Gun." 

 as follows: 



"This bird is the friend of the country boy. It has many a time made him jump as it l)urst 

 out of the wayside bushes, and bird and boy perpetually match their wits against each other 

 —the one in trapping and the other in avoiding being trapped. Master Barefoot finds a drum- 

 ming log, and at once whips out his jack-knife and. bending down a neighboring hickory 

 sapling, sets a twitch-up. with a slip-noose at the end. made of a string pulled out of one of 

 his capacious pockets. The twitch-up being well watched, is sure to catch the bird or drive 

 it away. As Barefoot grows older, he learns to set running snares of horsehair or silk in 

 the paths in the woods, and he will walk miles to attend them when he is too sick to go 

 half a mile to school. At length, he grows to be a young man, 'some farmer, some poacher', 

 making a precarious living by selling game he has trapped or shot in season and out. and 

 killing more birds than all the minks, owls, and foxes in the countryside." 



A method, formerly common and still practiced illegally in remote parts of New York 

 State, is to construct one or more low brush fences running through a cover frequented by 

 grouse. At intervals, openings are left in these fences, the ground in the immediate vicinity 

 being cleared of leaves and other debris to attract the attention of the birds. At each break, 

 a wire snare is so set as to be sprung by a grouse walking through it. Once released, a springy 

 stick promptly jerks the unfortunate bird by the neck, several feet off the ground. Grouse are 

 prone to do more walking than is generally realized. A brush fence, therefore, is an effective 

 means of guiding them to the openings in which the snares are set. 



