358 With Rod and Gun in New England 



about the middle of April can be seen and heard again in our swampy 

 woodlands. Their departure, owing to the season, seems to be later every 

 year. In 1870, I shot my last bird on the 10th of November. This was 

 then considered very late. In 1880, on the 14th November, in 1886, on the 

 18th November, in 1890, on the 25th, in 1891, on the 20th, and in 1893, on 

 the 1st day of December, I shot a couple. The birds were not large, but 

 very fat, and this fact applies to all the cock shot after the 1st of November. 

 They seem of a uniform size, not large." 



The common, or Wilson's snipe, is another species that is very generally 

 distributed throughout the State in the migrations, every stretch of meadows 

 containing some of these birds. The habits of this snipe, as well as our 

 other beach and shore birds, have been treated of so fully in another 

 chapter, that it is unnecessary to enlarge upon them here. 



In treating of snipe-shooting, Mr. J. Moray Brown says : 



" Snipe-shooting has one great advantage ; it can be enjoyed by the 

 poor man as well as the rich. . . . All that is necessary, is wet, marshy 

 ground, and the rest must depend on the caprice of one of the most capri- 

 cious of birds. The snipe comes and goes as the season or the weather 

 changes, or perhaps at the ruling of some still more mysterious influence. 

 He 's here to-day, gone to-morrow ; now frequenting ground where you 

 make certain of finding him at home ; at other times, and under apparently 

 most favorable circumstances, deserting it. In fact, his pursuit has always 

 that concomitant amount of uncertainty which enhances the delights of 

 sports. Then, too, snipe offer, as a rule, such difficult and sporting shots 

 that the knocking down of two or three couples will, in the eyes of most 

 men not satiated with bird-slaughter, be more appreciated than the bagging 

 of many partridges or grouse. 



" The charm, therefore, of this particular form of sport, lies in its 

 uncertainty, its essentially wild surroundings, and the satisfaction of find- 

 ing one's game, and holding one's gun straight. I may be unduly enthusi- 

 astic, but to me there is a charm in the mere splashing through a bit of snipe 

 bog, a thrill engendered by the ' s-c-a-a-pe ' of a snipe, as he shapes his 

 tortuous flight, that the whir of the pheasant never awakens. I know my 

 game is thoroughly wild. I have looked for him in the proper place, and 

 approached him in the right direction, and if, as I catch a glint of his white 

 under-wings, I have ' straight powder ' — why, I glow with pride and 

 pleasure. 



" But beware how you search for him in some places, or your enthu- 

 siasm may place you in an awkward predicament, for the snipe loves quak- 

 ing bogs, and if you venture too far, you may souse in up to your armpits 

 in mud, weeds and water, and find some difficulty in extricating yourself. 

 Under such circumstances, and having to exercise due caution in advanc- 



