404 



TJie Aincricaii An<^l'er. 



And when the real cold of winter 

 comes the inland sportsman changes 

 his loads to a lighter charge, unleashes 

 his hounds and goes rabbit hunting, 

 ^lany himters, I am well aware, affect 

 to disdain such humble sport, but I am 

 willing to go on record as stating in 

 sober earnest that somxC of the rarest 

 days of my life afield have been passed 

 in this way. While the march of civili- 

 zation marks the steady decrease of 

 other game, the rabbit is still with us in 

 all his pristine glor}'. In fact, he flour- 

 ishes on the products of modern agri- 

 culture and horticulture to such an ex- 

 tent as to be generally regarded as a 

 nuisance. But go out on a cold, crisp 

 winter's day when he is sleek and fat 

 from feasting of the best that the land 

 affords ; invade his haunts with a pack 

 of good hounds,— Beagles are much to 

 be preferred, — give his hareship when 

 you jump him a chance for his life, let 

 the dogs bring him round again and 

 then do your best ; and if then your 

 blood does not tingle with the fine ex- 

 citement that is the elixir of a sports- 

 man's life, you are to me anew anomaly 

 of man. This fills in the winter months, 

 and modern cookery has found many 

 methods of making of the flesh of the 

 rabbit a delightful dish. 



With the first breaking of the ice, 

 comes the northward flight of ducks, 

 led by the hardy mergancer in February 

 and concluding with the passage of the 



blue winged teal in April ; and it not 

 infrequently proves that the spring 

 flight affords better shooting than that 

 of the fall, — especially if the season is 

 late and the waters of rivers and tribu- 

 taries over the banks. 



Following the larger wild-fowl, with 

 the first good April showers, comes the 

 luscious jack snipe and plover, into the 

 bottom and flat prairie lands, remaining 

 generally several weeks and affording 

 the most royal shooting of the year. 

 The writer belongs to a club of good 

 fellows who for the past ten seasons, 

 have made an annual pilgrimage to the 

 snipe lands, following the coining of 

 the first w^arm rains, and never yet have 

 we failed of finding rich sport. 



With the middle of April comes the 

 closed season, for two months, but then 

 we have the nimble squirrel, still to be 

 foimd plentifully on the timbered lands, 

 and the now rare but therefore more 

 appreciated woodcock. 



These are some of the reasons why it 

 is still good to be an occasional devotee 

 of dog and gun, even in the Prairie 

 States, and with respect for the game 

 laws, and demand for their strict en- 

 forcement constantly growing, there is 

 every ground for the hope and belief 

 that the day of the loss of this noble 

 pastime in the ^liddle West, is yet far 

 distant. 



REMEMBER— The American Angler is 

 now only One Dollar a year. 



On and after January 1, 1897, the Ameri- 

 can Angler will be exclusively devoted to 

 angling and its cognate themes, and the 

 subscription price will be reduced to ONE 

 DOLLAR. 



