166 lewis' AMERICAN SPORTSMAN. 



August. Some Sportsmen, in justification of their wanton 

 amusement, will tell us, no doubt, that Cocks are a migratory 

 and uncertain Bird, and, if we do not kill them in the summer, 

 we may not have the opportunity of doing it in the autumn, as 

 they will abandon their old feeding-grounds for the far South, 

 or other spots equally remote. This is not the case; for Wood- 

 cocks, as before mentioned, remain with us till the cold weather 

 sets in, and, if they were not slaughtered in such immense num- 

 bers during June and July, we should have an abundance of 

 them in the months of September and October. But the fact 

 is, they are nearly all killed during these months, and those few 

 that are left unharmed have become so wild and cunning that 

 they are difficult to be got at. We all know that it is no very 

 unusual thing for even a tolerable shot only to bag fifteen or 

 twenty couples of young Cocks in the course of one day's 

 shooting ; and well they may do it, and make a brag of it 

 besides, when they go after Birds that may be shot on their 

 nests, or when being led about by their anxious parents in 

 quest of food. 



The Game Laws of most of our States are a ^''mere bagatelle,''^ 

 that no one regards ; or, in other words, they are all a dead 

 letter, as there are no appointed agents intrusted with the care 

 of them, and there are few if any persons willing to take upon 

 themselves the trouble and responsibility of enforcing them, or 

 calling those wilful offenders to account for their many misdeeds. 

 Hundreds of transgressors consequently escape year after year, 

 unwhipped of justice, until at last they lose sight of the law, if 

 there be any, entirely, and stalk boldly over the country, de- 

 stroying game in season and out of season, just when it suits 

 their fancy or inclination. AA^hy do the inhabitants of New 

 Jersey, Delaware, Pennsylvania, and other States, allow those 

 reckless Shooters, just let loose from the purlieus of our cities, 

 to overrun their grounds and kill Woodcocks two or three weeks 

 before the time allowed even by law? Is there no one among 

 the respectable and worthy agriculturists of those States, pos- 

 sessing sufficient energy or moral courage to make a few exam- 

 ples of these lawless fellows, who sally forth to destroy these 

 noble Birds for mere wanton amusement, as the most of them 



