268 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



[Mat 5, 1881. 



The fleer's feet arc its best prokc ion, and in the economy 

 "I nature they wt ru surely meant to t e hounded. My ofiSer> 

 vation hns led rne 1 1 believe flint ten tiroes more deer tire killed 

 I y still hnntinr. than by hounding* Many things besides bad 

 HH»rtltue aid Hie r'e. r in escaping when run by hounds. 



HouadiDg i? ecr.d mmd on the ground that il is " unsports- 

 i-n nhke. ' If we could get. some one to dvline "sport," we 

 might, get, at this charge. If the example or past ages were 

 I jllOwed, hounding iv, uUI rank as the highest sport. Rut,, 

 idur ail, the amount or skill riquired is the best test of the 

 (-pun in Shooting. Frank Forester tells ua that lie would as 

 toon stand ui Broadway and shoot omnibus li' fsesas to shoot 

 deer on a ltmwny. This was doubtless vciy gratifying to 

 that class who condemn everything they don't indulge in, and 

 HUWto the class who affect spoiling ideas. At best this as- 

 sertion is but a piece bf nonsense. 



The skill required on the runway, to hit a deer, is equal to 

 1Mi' of the still hunter: the excitement is greater, But 1*1 

 us not waste words in fruitless argument. Every one to his 

 taste. We prefeT the joyous music lhat inakrs the welkin 

 imp, and the noble greyhound that springs from the leash 

 With Bag t bounds. If the still hunter prefers to crawl upon 

 bis victim and shoot it down, p< rhaps in iis very bed, we do 

 not object. We insist, though, upon being let alone. 



Nut long since these columns infuinvd us that Canada had 

 passed a law permitting any one to kill a hound found run- 

 ning deer. 'Ihis is the noblest manifesto we have vet had 

 frOin the advocates of still hunting. Is it not baifnrious? 

 Killing ai innocent brute, set on by its master, and following 

 us best instincts. Suppose we wishtd to protect quail, and a 

 law was paused licensing any one to kill a pointer found 

 Handing a bird. The crses are similar— who will jns'ify 

 either of them? SycamotUh. 



OAME IN WESTERN FLORIDA. 



Momickj lo, Fi.a., April 16. 

 rpTIIS is an excellent point for visiting sportsmen to adopt 

 JL as their headquarters. The western const affords 

 splendid fishing -slm-ps-head, weakfi.-h, channel bass and all 

 fine salt water fish. Excellent duck shooting can be had at 

 the same lime. 



In the lakes plenty of black bass, perch, pike?, clc . can be 

 found in any number.--, some of the bass wiigh fourteen 

 pounds. Those desiiing to try their hand ai larircr sun,- can, 

 in this vicinity, hunt bears, wildcats. [jt-SMmis, raccoons. 

 deer, turkeys, etc. The country here is huh, sliglillV rolling 

 and very healthy The seem ry is beautiful. .Most ol Die 

 sportsmen soekint: good sport miss it by troing to Jackson- 

 ville. The fare here Iron, New York by steamer is >;:W, 1 

 left New York on January 15 and arrived here, in Alordi- 

 eello, Fla.. on theiuoiningof the 10th, 1 had six dogs ami it 

 CpS.t me $3 per dog by Steamer to Savannah, (la. The dogs 

 were in a cond'onable place in the lower deck. I took Ihe 

 precaution to provide theui with a bundle ol* straw each, I 

 had them chained in a space about forty feet square: Ihis 

 made an excellent place to exercise I hem' in, and instead of 

 being lagged out when they reached Savannah Ihev were as 

 fresh as when they started. 1 I hen bought a through ticket 

 toMontieello, t,u the Atlantic & Gulf Railroad, which cost 

 me |S per dog. The dogs thus Cost me |8Q for fare and about, 

 $5 more bonus to baggage muster. 1 left New York on 

 Safurdfty 15, on Wednesday 10 killed fony quail, and Tor 

 two months I have had just, such kind of shooting Board 

 he-e, at, first-class hotels— can be bad for !j?20 per month. 

 The town of Monlicello, or rather city, for it is incoporated— 

 is a beautiful place ; the roads are well kept, and there is a 

 first-nlass liv< ry stable. Here, instead of high prices, as at 

 Jacksonville, the visitor will lind reasonable rales for every- 

 thing. TaMahassee is ilurty-l wo miles from here; Jackson- 

 ville one hundred and ninety miles. The people are polite 

 and hospitable to visitors. VY. W. T. 



THE EVOLUTION OF A WING-SHOT. 



NoiiTiT Asdoveu, Dee. 10. 



THE first fifteen years of my life w< re spent in Mime, 

 where game was quile plenty, and my love for field 

 sports began, if not with my existence, very soon after, and 

 now, as I write, my mind goes back to Ihose happy days of 

 youth, and in imagination 1 climb the. beautiful old hills as 

 of yore. At first my arms wete a wooden gun with a cross 

 bow, and the trusty dtg was brown and wdiile, with a curly 

 tail; hie pedigree was— >vcl", for short, let it be called across 

 between a hunter and a findit, and his training was carefully 

 done by nature, and doi e S i well that the dog never failed to 

 find game. Bet-ides the bo v-guu and dog, I used a steel trap 

 and box trap, the former's spring, being too much for my 

 weight and strength, had to be sit at home by- placing the 

 spring under a heavy wagon wheel, then, by swinging the 

 pole to one. side, the whtel would roll on and press down the 

 opting, when I would set the trap, and swing Ihe carriage 

 pole back until the wheel would roll off the spring, leaving 

 l he 1 trap ready to be carried perhaps miles away", and con- 

 cealed in some place which experience had taught me was 

 irrquentcd by r game. As I grew older, a shot gun took the 

 place of the bow, and rny field of operation increased, and I 

 became quite an export pot hunter aDd snare r. 



Although skilled enough to behead a stationary barn swal- 

 low with a little muzzle-loading pistol, and to seldom miss a 

 silting shot with the shot-gun, wing shooting never occurred 

 to me as among the possibilities. No one then did it in that 

 vicinity, and 1 had never seen it done. But one dtiy I was 

 fortunate enough to fall in wiih some sportsmen from Con- 

 necticut, who look sn interest in me, hcciuse I was thor- 

 oughly acquainted wilh all of the best game districts in that, 

 section, and I hey presented me with a copy of the American 

 /Sportsman, Which was the first 1 had ever seen. It was read 

 and re-iead, for although it did not contain so much valued 

 information as grace the columns of the Forest \vd Stream, 

 yet it was valuable indeed to me. It contained a few hints 

 on wing shooting, and well do I remember ray first attempt. 

 I went alone, with inygun and an old tin coffee pot, to a 

 batik lot, where my practice would not be broken by specta- 

 tors, UoldiPg the cocked gun in the left hand, the coffee 

 pot was thrown into the air, with all my strength, with the 

 oi In >-. ami bang went ihe gun before it touched my shoulder. 

 A race to the lin pot told me it was a failure, ditto the nest, 

 and so on until my supply of shot failed, But I was not dis- 

 couraged. I kuew what experience it cost to learn what 

 little I knew of pistol shooting, and I looked upon wing- 

 slinoiing as far beyond auythiug I bad ever seen, and I ex- 

 pected lo lie obliged to practice long and patiently, and so was 

 ouuc astonished when, ai my uc-;a practice, the old coffee pot 

 (Y&jkQDC :■-■:! iMii,:,.,- i ,- 'i-Vqin tit ltefirly l|w first ohot. I | 



had git over the first excitement, and not knowing how much 

 allowance to make for the motion of my target, was deter- 

 mined to find out for myself: so 1 c wiurenced by shooting 

 several feet ahead, lessening the distance each time until no 

 allowance at all wes made, when, as they were straight awav 

 shots, the result wai a success. After a little more practice I 

 could bit with a degree of certainty. My next step was fur 

 a public txhihiiion," and finding a playmate I proposed to 

 throw up my hat for him to shoot, at, if be would do Ihe same 

 thing with his for me. He agreed, and the result was that 

 my hat wa9 untouched while his was riddled, an I my repu- 

 tation for shooting on the wine was marie without my ever 

 having shot a single bird on the'wing. Yet Ihe key had been 

 lunched, and Eoon I could do tolerably good work. 1 could 

 not shoot " five or six ruffed grouse in succession," and I am 

 not ashamed to say, without an apology, that I cannot do it 

 now, and 1 do not know of any one who can do it wiihoul 

 picking Ihe shots. 



The writer thinks that our whole sporting community is 

 covered with an illusion caused by the unscrupulous exag- 

 geration and bragging or many would-be sportsmen, who, 

 wishing to make themselves appear very expert, not only tell 

 all they can of their own success, but can collect of Ihose they 

 meet on their trip. We are extremely fortunate in having so 

 reliable a medium as the Forest and Stkfam in which to 

 record our experience for the benefit of others, and I say let 

 us not he trying lo drag to the front rowdyish bragging or 

 attempts to cap off every difficult shot or feat wilh a pull at 

 the Bask; Anil just here 1 come to what I most particularly 

 wish to say. To protect our game we must stop this tinker- 

 ing on our game laws, for we already have more law than 

 sentiment, and the word sportsman is so mixed up with drink- 

 ing, gambling and so many o^her evils lhat our honest fanners 

 can see nothing else; nor will any undertaking succeed as 

 long as we allow so many gambling rowdies to "break in and 

 corrupt and dispel ourriile matches, our field (rials and every 

 other laudable undertaking. My idea is that to protect our 

 game we must make sportsmen of those snarers and pot 

 hunters, instead of hurling all sorts of damaging missiles in 

 their direction. Instead of condemning them for setting a 

 snare and catching a bird, because they have sportsman's 

 blood in I heir veins but have not sufficient skill and knowl- 

 edge to bring the bird to bag artcr it has sprung from its 

 hidiug place and "is speeding away with lhat ever- to he- 

 reniedihered whirr. Perhaps a few instructions and a iitlle 

 i nc niragement would Ian lhat r-pirk, which lies nearly buried 

 in that young snarer, to a perpetual bla/e, and warm his 

 ambition to make a skilful, expert sportsman. There is much 

 good nature throbbing in the great rural heart, and much en- 

 joyment, for those who know how to draw it out. Let those 

 who are genibtneo conduct themselves as sioh. Let us 

 remember that the farmer on whose land we shoot will judge 

 us by what besees of us. L r :t usremember that a gentlemanly 

 deportment is necessary to command respect, and if we receive 

 much enjoyment and good treatment,, let us return something 

 for it. Appreciation will be much better than nothing, and 

 js all that, will be received in many cases. G. \V. K. 



OUR DETROIT LETTER. 



A T last the uncommonly stiff back-bone of our worst 

 XX Michigan winter since. 1^41 is broken, and the heart 

 and stomach of the sportsman is proportionately gladdened. 

 1 can give readers of Forest astj Stiumn corta'll. f acts con 

 eerning recent operations hereabout, which will open I heir 

 eyes, but I beg Iheru not to suspect, me or romancing. The 

 sober truth is remarkable enough lo make it won h while lo 

 pel it on record. Thus, n few days ago, K. S. Fay, of Bos- 

 ton -, H. H. Brown, of Cleveland, 'and Hon. Andrew Jack- 

 son,' ol' Sault Sle. Mane, went down to Point Mouille to shoot 

 ducks. Inside of two weeks Ihey tailed upward of a 

 thousand canvas backs, red beads and blue bills, but (ami 

 now look out for the big figures) seven hundred of the thou- 

 sand and more were dropped by these bold warriors from -Sat- 

 urday to Thursday. Think of thai. • desiruciiveness, ye mewed 

 up men of business to whom lare and tret is the hete noi.r 

 that stands ever in your path with fierce a::d wide open jaws, 

 waiting to devour you ! Can you imagine a five days' gun- 

 powder revel like that on "mounds that may show' even a 

 greater record before the Spring packs up its carpet sack?" 

 Congressman Lord took a guest's min down to the same 



marsh" Ihe other day, where the boys gave him some of the 

 finest shooting he ever had. He is an enthusiastic sports- 

 man, a member of Ihe North Channel (bib, and an unerring 

 shot with rifle or shot gun, equally at home with 

 big and Utile game. Mr. Fay, the liostou enthusiast, 

 of whom 1 spoke in the opening, says he belongs to many 

 clubs, anil has shot over most of the crack places on two con- 

 tinents, but his recent experience nt Point Mouille discounts 

 anything in his previous achievements of that kind. He as- 

 sured me Ibis morning that it was the best shooting he ever 

 knew. Friend tsanks can indorse his eslima'e, I do not 

 doubt, for did not he pilot one of thevfamous Irk-h rific team 

 to that identical spot ouceupon a time within the memory of 

 the present historian ? That same M •. Fay. in partnership 

 wilh H. II. Brown of Cleveland; L. B. Jewell, of Harlford 

 and Ed. Nichols, of Battle Creek, in this Slate, is building a 

 private cabin at the Point (they arc all members of the club, 

 you must know). The new ranch is to be 30x40 feet on the 

 ground, containing four bed-rooms, and a large sitting, read • 

 ing or reception-room running the whole length of the 

 structure through the middle of it. 



I have information that the Indians are spearing immense 



imbers of black bass at the St. C lair Hats and selling them 

 for the Detroit market, where they command on sight ten 

 cents to a shilling a pound. 



Migratory ducks have practically left us for a more north- 

 •ly latitude, though mallard, teal and wood are Still with us, 

 of course. Still they have not shown up in anything like 

 their numbers last year, a fact which is attributable lo their 

 feeding places being so long frozen up. Snipe are exiremely 

 i-carco for the same borealic reason. Voir could not get one 

 for your supper though you should offer a kingdom for it. 

 1 have not heard of any around here though 1 have made 

 repeated and searching inquiry. 



Geese am on the wing in millions, to speak within bounds. 

 Old observers say no such spectacle has been seen here before 

 within the period covered by the utmost stretch of fheir 

 recollection. To me it is certainly a wonderful sight. Down 

 at the mouth of the river and far out in Lake Erie wild 

 ..wan arc also gathered in surprisingly largo numbers. I do 

 not quite know what this argues, but I dare say most, per- 

 sons who read this letter can tell me all about it. 



Sj'i;isu-Tii)ii. 



Two Rats— Osr Tkap— -Ways Station, Bryan Co., Ga., 

 .April 21,— The following extraordinary r.hiug happened here 



a few days since, viz., two full-grown rats were caught at a 

 lime here the other day in a small steel trap, one by the 

 hind leg and the other by a front leg. How, as the trap 

 was set by a hole, said rats must have 'been in a great hurry 

 to say ihe. least. I never heard of a similar case. There 

 are also very few rats on my place, which makes the affair, 

 all the more strange. —Geo. L. Appleton. 



SPRING GAME NOTES. 



Goon Ilapi'ls, Imm, April 13.— The geese and ducks have 

 come in thousands. I was out three days ago, aud in two 

 hours had four mallards and two geese. I have just had an 

 invitation from a farmer (he has about fifty acres of com out 

 yet) to go to his place and shoot the geese, ducks and cranes 

 out of his field. He says he will build mc a blind and 

 board me until they are gone if I will keep them out. I will 

 do it or burst the gun. We have had prairie chickens in 

 thousands around all winter. I can't find any quail ; think 

 they are all dead. — W. 



Bedford County, Fa.— Snipe have been fairly numerous in 

 their usual haunts this month, and several duck have been 

 shot. I hear it reported from the mountains that there is a 

 very large stock of trout in the streams this year, as was an- 

 ticipated there woidd be. Before I wo weeks are out I hope 

 to have tested that fact in person. In a letter of mine some 

 weeks ago iii which I mentioned that ''old liar's" were in 

 ilieir usual abundance and that schoolboys had had big times 

 wilh them in the snow, a typical error made me write "old 

 bars," which, with the context, must have appeared a some- 

 what startling statement to those of vour readers who are 

 credulous as to Southern matters.— Rixowooo. 



Haverhill, Mass., April S3.— Woodcock have returned in 

 fair numbers, and if the arc not molested we shall have 

 something to shoot at next fall. I. have heard very go, M ac- 

 counts of quail and Chink there will be more in this scclion 

 next fall than for years, as there are more to start with. A 

 few snipe have been seen, but not enough to waste time on 

 In reading G. W. Edwards' arliclc I was glad there was one 

 spoilsman m thin section w.ling t: uclp protect, our game 

 birds. There are enough sportsmen in this place to get up a 

 good club for the protection of lish and game., and keep the 



pot hunters out of the woods at this time of the year. 



Sachem. 



(Maloma, Imm, April 18,— In regard to our quail I think 

 tnc gi-jficr portion perished during the past tsrrib'Jc winter 

 I can hear of scarcely any birds being seen since the snow 

 has gone, save those "round in fence corners and along hedges, 

 frozen or smothered to death, aud, I think, it will take three! 

 years at leas!, provided that none were shot during that time, 

 for them to recover what has been lost in the winter. Wu 

 are. having very high water here ibis spring, and mote ducks 

 than ever known bet'orc Our sportsmen arc having a glo- 

 rious lime and are makiug some splendid lings.- W. f,. ' 



miMlte, N. 1'.- Woodcock are with us again. I have 

 seen quite a number of partridge (ruffed grousei I his spring, 



and I do not think our severe winter thinned Ihein OU1 



than usual. — F. 



lioejioter, April "39.— I have beard of no extensive bag'-, of 

 English snipe being made as yet. It has been exceedingly 

 dry siuce the snow lel'l, as there bus heen no rain until UN 

 day. A warm rain would probably bring birds. Twelve 

 birds to two guns is the best day's work I have heard of.— B. 



Dishonest Employes— New York, April 26.— Oil 'be 

 32d iusl. 1 sent, by Dodd's Express, eleven head oi game, in- 

 cluding four brant from Jersey City, to my residence, in this 

 city. They were firmly tied "together and fastened securely 

 lo the handle of my satchel; they were checked as baggage 

 from Mannahaukin to Jersey City. As the train approached 

 Jersey City I gave the check lo Dodd's Express Agent, and 

 received from him the usual receipt. Late in the afternoon 

 my satchel and game arrived, bul two ot the heat, brant were 

 missing. As this was the second time I had game stolen by 

 employes of the same express company I thought it lime to 

 inquire into the matter, but on making complaint at the office 

 I was told that my claim would not be allowed, and that I 

 was lo biaini myself for not getting a receipt, for the number 

 of game 1 had. This is probably true, but when one in- 

 trusts his goods to a first class express company he should 

 feel that they arc safe. But experience loaches. In the 

 meantime I would warn sporlBinen against, sending their 

 game home by Dodd's Express unless Ihey can keep it under 

 their eyes the entire time it is in their charge. -1. E. M. 



It does not appear that the birds may not have been taken 

 by the railroad employes. Our correspondent's experience 

 should teach others to lie particular to obtain a receipt par- 

 ticularizing the heads of game intrusted to the express 

 agents. 



The Sink Boat Agaiv. — Cheers for "Sink Boat." lam 

 heartily glad to see some one come forward in defense of 

 this most abused method of ducking. In your issue of April 

 31, "Sink Boat," uses the fame argument that, has often 

 occurred to me. It is not worth while to repeat it, but I 

 cannot understand the perversity of some of the sporting 

 fraternity who will hide in a deer lick or shoot from the most 

 deceiving blind they can construct, and 'always with the 

 desire to kill as many birds as possible, and yet denounce 

 their friends wdio are enjoying themselves in sink boats. 

 Y r ou may say what you please about slaughter, but I have 

 yet to know the man who takes his gun to the bays wilh the 

 intention of killing so manybirds and no more. On the con- 

 trary, he hopes for a big bag : and if his expectations are 

 fulfilled, he comes home highly elated with his success. But 

 i in-: neighbor Bees fit to use a box, and is equally successful, 

 the former calls it butchery. We, who find exciting sport in 

 the sink boats, propose to follow our inclinations" just the 

 same in the future, for no lover of real sport, having once 

 used onewonld ever return toadnllold blind where shooting, 

 or rather waiting for a shot, grows monotonous on your first 

 day. Let sportsmen who want to have genuine fun next 

 season hunt up a sink boat. — Cdttrh. 



An I mpoi'.tant Meeting of the Long Island Sportsmen's 

 Association will be held at the Pcival Arcanum Room, Music 

 Hall, llrooklyn, Friday evening, May 0. All are invited to 

 be present. 



Sport is Tennessee— Dysrsburg, Tenn., April 20. — The 

 winter here has not damaged the quail crop. Wild turkeys 

 are abundant; one man killed six in less than one minute 

 near here a few days ago, and another one' killed five. They 

 are brought to to wu nearly everyday- The boys all have -'- 



