70 BUFFALO LAND. 



though I am no sportsman from practice, I love and 

 have studied the principles of it. In my father's day 

 the rule was, when a bird rose, for a hunter to take 

 out his snuff-box, take snuff, replace the box, aim, and 

 fire. You may find the advice yet in some works. 

 The shot then has distance in which to spread. A^^ith 

 close shooting they are all together, and you might as 

 well fire a bullet. When you have given the bird 

 time, act quickly. The first sight is the best. 

 Again, the first moment of flight, with most birds, is 

 very irregular, as it is upward, instead of from 3'ou." 



Dobeen begged leave to inform our "honors" that 

 in Ireland, after a bird rose, the rule was, instead of 

 taking snuff, to take off the boots before firing. The 

 professor thought that such a habit related to outrun- 

 ning the gamekeeper, and was intended to procure 

 distance for the poacher rather than the bird. 



Sachem stated that he had known a slow hunter 

 once. He was a revolutionary veteran, used a revo- 

 lutionary musket, and believed in revolutionary pow- 

 der. He refused to do any thing difi*erent from what 

 his fathers did, and abhorred double-barreled shot- 

 guns and percussion-caps as inventions of the devil. 

 It was constantly, "General Washington did this," 

 and "Our army did that," and his old head shook 

 sadly at the innovations Young America was making. 

 His ghost, with the revolutionary musket on its 

 shoulder, had since been known to chase hunters, 

 with breech-loaders, who were caught on his favorite 

 ground after dark. "Old 17 76" was great on wing- 

 shooting, and could be seen at almost any time hob- 

 bling over the moor, firing away at snipe and water- 



