436 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



[JtTNE 80, 1881. 



(§Mi(e JUJag and @tw. 



The W°o4evek Season in. New York State opens August 1. 



GRAY PLOVER SHOOTING. 



ABOUT the middle of April, along with the sheen of the 

 poplar leaves reversed by the' breeze, your Northern 

 New England sportsman is delighted with a sheen of vastly 

 greater importance to him— he sees the glint of the gray 

 plover's wing as that wary game bird, returning from tbe far 

 South, slants downward for a f ew (lays' rest in the marshes 

 of our lakes and river bottoms. Soon as ever the welcome 

 ■sign appears our watchful knight of the trigger steals gleefully 

 into his armory, and with secret zest uncases his beloved 

 breech or muzzle loader, and prepares for the carnage of the 

 morrow. No word he > peaks to man, woman or child, save 

 cue tried and trusty companion, without whom the coming 

 sport would lose half its charm; and even him he conjures 

 to assume a Spbynx-like stolidity of countenance for the 

 Ihoursthat intervene between day and day, lest even in his 

 •sleep the precious secret should betray itself and a hungry 

 crowd of fowlers anticipate them at ilic ronrfiu. 



"But the new sun ri as at last, and no one seems the wiser 

 for the little confidence which lias passed between our lutppy 

 sportsmen. An early breakfast, and carefully stowing away 

 guns and ammunition beneath tbe buggy feat, we ride away 

 jii innocent civilian's dress toward the mouth of the river. 

 Penetrate our purpose if ye can, oh, b other sportsmen. To- 

 night, when we return begrimed with powder and covered 

 with feathers and glory, we shall willingly part with our 

 secret! but now, may the goddess surround us, like -Eneas 

 of old with a moving cloud, that we may pass witli unseen 

 thought and purpose through the midst of our rivals. 



It ia done— we have left the limits of she town behind and 

 •no suspicious eye has followed us in our bowling flight. 

 Thanks to the cloud of dust, our prayer seems answered by 

 the goddess. As we approach and pass the residence of the 

 last enthusiastic lover of the gun upon our route we ply the 

 whip vigorously and raise such a nimbus of floating parti- 

 cles around our heads that not even the keen-eyed C , had 



he been upon the lookout, could have determined who we 

 were. 



At eight o'clock we reach the marsh and begin to prepare 

 for the day's sport. A shady place for Dolly is soon selected. 

 and hitching her til a convenient limb, we proceed to divest 

 'ourselves of ci i/.ens' garb and don the more appropriate and 

 <cornfortahle canvas suits which have been tucked away under 

 the scat. This done, we disinter our guns, distribute our 

 stock of ammunition about our persons, and set forth in high 

 expectation of sport, it is not yet too late for the birds to 

 be feeding around the soft edges of the pi ioIs, and accord- 

 ingly we direct our steps first to a well-known cove, about 

 half a mile long, where the waters of the river play truant 

 and lose themselves among I lie rushes never to return to the 

 mother stream. There is an infirm old dug-out drawn up 

 among the reeds, and instructing C— — to remain on tins 

 side of the cove while 1 cross over and beat the opposite shore, 

 Haunch upon my precarious passage, and, by dint of anxious 

 and expert, balancing, while 1 ply the slimy paddle, the voy- 

 nge is made in safety. 



Now we start abreast and move stealthily up the cove. 

 The gray plover is so wild and suspicious a bird, at least in 

 this section, that 'he use or a dog, either to flush or stand 

 upon them, is impracticable. The mere vicinity of the 

 sportsman is almost sure to put, them up, but if he shott'd 

 suspect iha', any are lying concealed within range, he has 

 only to imitate their mciurtd'ol whistle to bring thorn swoop- 

 ing in swift circles around him. 



Hark! we have disturbed some dreamy heron standing 

 knee-deep among ihe reeds, and with a splash and a harsh, 

 defiant cry, away he soars, his long legs trailing behind him. 



The temptation is too great, and my friend brings hi" 



Utile muzzle-loading Greener to hi3 cheek, and in an instant 

 the great mass of feathers collapse, and, all drooping and 

 shapeless, the heron drops among the rushes, stone dead. 



At the sound of the report a flock of gray plover rose 

 about a hundred yards away, and had already sighted the 

 North Pole preparatory to bidding us good-bye forever, 

 when some laggard launched out of the reeds, at the same 

 time favoring us with a couple of notes from his pensive. 

 pipe. It was enough. -My flute of imitation, somewhat 

 rusty, instautly caught the familiar old strain and answered 

 back with quavering pathos. Bound wheeled the liggard, 

 ami after him the whole Hock, and ihe glint of many wings, 

 like a snow-storm, flashed in our faces. We held until they 

 were within twenty yards of us, and in the very act of 



swerving away again, when bang! went C 'h remaining 



barrel, and bang, 'bang ! both of mine. Quick as possible 1 

 slipped in two more shells and gave the bewildered birds a 

 parting volley as they winged away in a huddle. Three of 

 them fell, and marking them down as uesir as I could, Ire- 

 loaded and went in seai ch of my game. Meanwhile C- — 

 was spilling powder and shot down his sleeves, ramming 

 away frantically, sweating, qualifying and agonizing gen- 

 erally. 



"Pick up the first batch," I called back to him, "before 

 you forget where they lie." Some indistinct reply came 

 oaek through a raturod and two percussion-caps held in his 

 teeth and lips, and sounds of more pounding, shaking of 

 powder into nipples and inarticulate grumbling attended me 

 upon my way. I was fortunate enough to find all three 

 plover, and returning, congratulated my friend up"n out- 

 good success. 



He had just completed the operation of loading, and "as 

 returning his various flasks and boxes to their appropriate 

 pockets." Wo searched for the oilier four birds, which we 

 are sure had fallen to out first fire. But memory in a wilder- 

 ness Of reeds is precariously short, aud we were fain to be 

 content with finding two of the four. "Now," said I, "0., 

 if you had had a breech-loader, you would not only have 

 marked down and recovered your birds, as Ixlid, but you 

 would have shot twice as many as you did." But the sturdy 

 advocate Of the muzzle-loader was not thus to be overcome. 

 "Hold on!" he Dried. "You shot five out of tbe seven, 

 didn't you ?" I assented. "Well," he continued, "suppos- 

 ing I hadn't Shot at the heron, and had had two eharees to 

 begin with, as you did, J brought down two with the choke- 

 bore as it was, "ami if 1 couldn't have dropped three with the 

 cylinder, had it been loaded, 1 would have eaten my head." 

 "Then what were you grumbling about?" I asked, somewhat 

 nonplussed, 'Because I shot the heron/' he answered, 

 "and so gave you a chance to beat me. Wait till the next 

 flock gets up." And I must confess that the superior skill 

 uf my friend earried his point. The plover were abundant, 



and although our bags were very u?arly equal, when we re- 

 turned to o'iir team for luncheon C. was a brace or two ahead. 

 'i course, J. contended that the difference lay in the men 

 aud not in tbe. guns, but he generously, albeit maliciously, 

 maintained the contrary. Finally, however, we agreed to 

 refer the dispute to the editor of ihe Foekst and Sthbaji, 

 and if he, out. of his inexh.ustive kuowledge of sponing 

 matters, unqualifiedly pronounced the breech-loader SUporlot 

 in general to ihe muzzle-loader, C. signified his willingness 

 to assent, in theory, but not in practice. 



During the afternoon the birds grew more wary, and it was 

 not until sundown that we got any more really good shoot- 

 ing. Then the birds returned to their feeding grounds, and 

 for a short while we hail our hands full. As our pockets in- 

 creased in weight our desire for slaughter decreased corre- 

 ipondingly, and we left off firing promiscuously into flocks, 

 md choosing single birds dropped thern with far more genu. 

 ne and truly sportsmanlike salisfi otion than before. The 

 pigeon-like flight of tbe plover afforded excellent practice, 

 id although 'we by no means scattered feathers at every 

 shot, yet, we were quite satisfied with bagging the majority 

 of birds singled out. At last it grew dusk, aud Dolly neighed 

 ipatiently through the gathering fog. It was time to close 

 our long day of sport, aud not unwillingly we turned our 

 faces homeward, and sniffed, In anticipation, the savory re- 

 past which we had directed should be teady against our re- 

 turn. Eighty gray plover lay huddled beneath the seat, and 

 the fury of the gods was satisfied. Paul Pastnor. 



DIFFERENT MODES OF SHOOTING. 



Pooasskt, Mass., June 8. 



HAVING often read in your columns articles condemn- 

 ing "floating batteries," "sink boxes," pot-hunters, 

 etc. 1 would like to give some examples that have come uu- 

 der my observation showing how difficult it is to draw a line 

 between the right and wrong in different localities. 



Many of your correspondents condemn a sink bos without 

 sayins'why they do so. They condemn a pot-hunter, when 

 very likely the" pot, he. hunts for demands all his energy to 

 keep it boiling. To many of our Northern sportsmen the 

 idea of a floating battery is associated with hunting the fowl 

 on I heir feeding grounds. With us if this were done to any 

 extent it would drive them away, but on the other band if we 

 decoy thCD to blinds or shoot them from points on the shore 

 or benches that they cross it docB not cause them to leave. 

 At the host our shooting season is short and uncertain. We 

 may have art open winter, and some fowl will stay through 

 the season ; this applies to the sea shooting north of Barna- 

 gat, and likely to the lake districts as well. Our brothers at 

 the South are more fortunate, they have more and better fowl 

 than we in the East. Then, too, their shooting season lasts 

 longer, and as the birds are residents for a while and not lia- 

 ble to ungrate unless for food, they can hunt there different- 

 ly- 



In the fall and winter of 1870 I spent some time at Chesa- 

 peake City, which is situated on a branch of Elk River at the 

 head of Chesapeake Bay. While there I became acquainted 

 With several gentlemen who were successful sportsmen. One 

 of them showed me his sink boat, decoys and all their be- 

 longings. Some of his decoys though home-made would do 

 credit to a manufacturer. He described the mode of using 

 them on the Susquehanna Flats, and I think the same rules 

 hold for the whole bay. Bis "box," was just large enough to 

 hold him lying at full length, and, as near as I can remember, 

 was about six feet long, two and a half wide and about four- 

 teen inches deep, It had wings at the sides and ends, these 

 were made with a board frame and canvas covering, and when 

 not in use could be folded over the' box saving room 

 The inner edge of these wings lormed a flat, washboard 

 around the box, on which were tacked long strips of sheet 

 lead, cut about two inches wide; one edge of these eiuld be 

 raised up so as to keep out the swash that came over the 

 wings. As everything was as flat as a floor I was quite sur- 

 prised when told what seas they would stand. Decoys are 

 set all around the box and on the wings ■ my friend had 

 some, cast iron ones for this purpose. When hunting in this 

 way it is necessary to have an attendant to pick up dead 

 birds, and t» t out and take in the decoys. Tbe Susquehanna 

 : of Elk Neck, Md. These are noted 

 ivasbacls and redheads; and I don't 

 :thod of hunting would be successful, 

 n the James River the writer had to 

 to get near enough to shoot. We 

 nth qf Gray's Creek, opposite James- 

 :ks fed on the mud flats in the mouth 

 siukbox we could not get 

 near them. We built, a brush hedge around our boat and set 

 decoys off from that, then waited for event", which soon 

 came in the shape of teal, duckies, canvasbacks and pintails. 

 When I tripped up a stray canvasback I felt no qualnn of 

 conscience because I shot him from a battery. Sometime 

 >f our leading magazines how some gun- 

 the edge of a sloiigh in the open prairie, 

 Is made a blind that effectually concealed 

 was no natural shelter. Blinds of some 

 l.and the style varies with the locality. It 

 at anything to conceal 

 be if one was in pla' 



flats lie c 



feeding grounds for cai 

 know that, any other m 

 Once while hunting t 

 build a battery in order 

 were, hunting in the mi 

 town Island. The dm 

 of this creek, and as 



ago I 



ners I 



and \ 



them 



kind 



is ridiculous to think nf I 



the hunter. What h 



:the 



sight of his gat 

 None in any p' 



uld 



Batteries < 



off the birds 

 season, it is 



Tb 



What success would attend such a hunt ! 

 t, lam familiar with. 



the feeding grounds, at the North tend to drive 

 at the South, where 1 hey are residents for a 

 different. Our Southern brethren have men 

 ,vho kill more fowl by yetting them in a "raft," 



f the 



f these embryo c 

 deafening report had 

 and hills, we asked h 

 drams of powder and 

 so add that none of h 

 Washington, D. C, I 

 He could only shoot 

 of shot at a charge, he 

 "pot 



"that shoot twelve drams of 

 f a pound of shot, than any of t>e 

 shoot from "sand boxes," ' blinds," 

 beside a man once, and saw him fire 

 nnon at a flock of geese ; after the 

 :eased reverberating from the banks 

 n what was in the gun. 'Twelve 

 ghty buckshot," said he. 1 may al- 

 shot reached the geese. When in 

 iw a man who used a "swivd gun." 

 t the water, and as be used a pound 

 inly fired at flocks. If he was not a 

 this countrv. This, with 



i'ght hunting, should be stopped. Night hunting is ruinous; 

 the fowl leave forever if it is followed up long. 



"Pot-hunter" is sometimes an unjust appellation. The 

 Fokkst and Sthbaji for May 5 tells o'f a party of three who 

 killed upward of a thousand canvasbacks, redheads and blue- 

 bills. Quite a potfull. What did they do with a ton of 

 birds? Gave them to their friends, no doubt, and escaped 

 the derisive title of pot-hunter. Poorer men would have. 



made friends with mammon, perhaps, and would have been 

 detested accordingly. 



Any w T ay that, game can be taken may be hunting ; fortu- 

 nately all ways of hunting are not legitimate. It would be 

 better for the public if all trapping iw<A snaring was stopped. 

 Yet no one could wonder at the opposition if. would meet 

 from the rural districts. 



In my native town, twenty years ago, quail were not muck 

 hunted ; now, when the seasou opens, the fields swarm with 

 hunters. The countryman with his old fashioned gun and 

 spaniel vir-s with the city sportsman with his hammerless 

 gun and thoroughbred pointers and setters. The country- 

 man scours the fields at daybreak in order to break up the 

 coveys first; from then till dark a perfect fusillade is kept, up. 

 The birds grow poor from that day, and I have, found them 

 miles away in the woods, where they had been driven by the 

 pointer and breech-loader. This" is continued for two 

 months ; and if the time were, shortened down to two weeks, 

 I think there would be such a turnout as to exterminate 

 them. City men often buy a tract of land and forbid all 

 trespassing on it ; they, however, do not. Scruple to tramp 

 through the countryman's dooryard or garden. Oftimes 

 they leave down bars and fences; finally he posts his land; 

 then there is trouble fill money smooths it over. 



Perhaps no kind of hunting is so destructive as that, pur- 

 sued in the far North by the egg hunters. They go in boats 

 to places where fowl breed in thousands, and reap a harvest 

 of eggs that would produce a legion of wild fowl. The meth- 

 od told me by a man who had been on such expeditions 

 was to go to some island where nests were plenty, and 

 smash all the eggs that could be found, and next moruing all 

 would be fresh. Then began the harvest. Most of this is 

 done out of the limits of ihe United States, but I think it ex- 

 ceeds in evil any mode of hunting I ever hoard of. 



Muttons, 

 — . — .^.». . 



THE GAME LAW VEIO. 



To the AssemHy : 



Assembly Bill No. 061, entitled "An act to further amend 

 chapter 584 of the haws of 1879, entitled * An act for the 

 preservation of moo-e, wi'd deer, birds, fish and other game," 

 as amended by chapter 531 of the Laws <■ f 1880," is herewith 

 rei in ned without approval. The Constitution prov des that 

 excessive bail shall not be required nor excessive finis im- 

 posed, nor shall cruel and unusual punishment be inflicted, 

 nor shall witnesses be unreasonably detained. Manifestly, 

 the object of this provision is to gu>rd aud pr iiccl, the weak 

 and unfortunate from oppression, eith< r in the enactment or 

 execution of laws, and it should be quite as binding up>n the 

 Legislature in the exercise of its peculi r prt rogativc as upon 

 theniag'sUate or subordinae officer " ho is charged with the 

 dmy of enforcing the statutes. In the progress of legislation 

 with reference to the protection of game and lis!' there has 

 ben a constant tendency to antagonize this beneficent pro- 

 vision of the Constitution. From year to year penalties have. 

 been made more and more severe, and offenses have In en 

 largely' increased in variety and number. Eanh successive 

 Legislature has amended the la-ASontke subject, so that it 

 has become next io impossible for the people to understand 

 what is permitted or forbidden. Instead of just and stable 



laws that would command respect 

 confusion and uncertainty, with risk 

 of those ever so well disposed. $c 

 the accompanying bill are obviously 

 in this regard must be deemed obr 

 tional restriction referred to, For i 

 shooting a wild fowl from 



.nd oi 



f olfe 



ec, we have 



ding on the part 



ad unusual, and 



to the cousfitu- 

 , the penalty for 



1 vess'l, as pre- 

 ■Jiilc this bil 1 increases 



scribed by the existing law, is $10, 

 it to $50. This change cannot be justified as reasonable or 

 in any degree consistent with tbe characP r of the offense 

 niiun d. Attain, in the amended thirty-third section, this bill 

 provides that "no person imprisoned' n execution under this 

 act shall be bailed or admitted to the liberties of the jail." 

 No sane person will attempt to deny that this provision is 

 b rh cruel and extraordinary, nor will it he claimed ftiat it is 

 in any sense necessary for a proper and efficient execution of 



the U W . 



The amendment proposed to (be thirty-fifth sect ion pro- 

 vides that " Courts of Special Sessions in towns mid villages, 

 and the several courts in cities, situated in the countyin 

 which the offense was committed, or in any adjoining county 

 ha-viug jurisdiction to try misdemeanors in their own county, 

 shall have jmisdietion to try offenders in all c scs occurring 

 under this act. It shill be the duly of every Sheriff, Under 

 Sheriff, Deputy Shi riff, policeman, constable, etc , to arrest, 

 wherever found within this State, without wan ant or pro- 

 cess, any person whom they shall find violating any of the 

 provisions of this Act and immediately to bring such offender 

 before any magistrate residing in the county in which the 

 i flense is committed, or in any adjoining county, for exam- 

 ination and trial." Thus, the' jurbdicllon of the most in- 

 ferior com is is extended over 'several counties, and officers 

 are authorized to convey ■ ffeudcrs wherever [hey p.ea-e 

 within the limits of any adjoining county. Comment is 

 hardly necessary to illustrate the imprudence and incon- 

 sistency of such a proposition., When >m offense is com- 

 mitted against the person or property, either in the nature of 

 a misdemeanor or a felony, it is the duty of the. officer mak- 



thc 



Thu 



befon 



the 



ug the arrest to tak< 

 trate for examlnalio: 

 mitted, whether it be hit 

 fender must be. taken be.foi 

 the offense be simply catch 

 season, the offender may be 

 peihaps any one of a half d 

 trial. The case in this respf 

 on the part of the officer making the ar 



i the 



:ry, i 

 trate, while if 

 g a bird out of 

 : magistrate in 

 xamination or 

 re or prejudice 

 This remark- 

 able provisions is also antagonistic" to the Constitution of the 

 United States, which guarantees to every person charged 

 with crime "the right, to a speedy and public trial by an im- 

 partial jury of the State and district wherein the crime shall 

 have been" committed, which district shall have been pre- 

 viously ascertained by law." The only application of this 

 guarantee that stems reasonably consistent is 

 under the Came law shall be tried, as in a 

 the nearest court having jurisdiction To 

 diction in the manner proposed is wholly h 

 rational theory. Fishing and hunting WOT 

 pursuits and privileges enjoyed by our f 

 early occupation of this country. No iute 

 muuity especially vital in character requir 

 ileges should be restrained j but with the advauc 

 t ion a sentiment has found expression in the enactment pi laws 

 extremely rigid and restrictive. Infract ions of the g ■mie la \vs 

 are not such" serious offenses against the peace and welfare of 

 the people as to justify the odium sought, to be. attached to 



lattheoffe 

 ott er case 

 xti-Tiri the J 



adei 

 3,.by 

 uris- 



insistent w 

 fathers h 



lh a 



first 

 the 



sfefJf the 



that these 



jom- 



■ 1 



ituce of civ 



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