FOREST AND STREAM, 



143 



also numerous smaller birds, sTOth as ringneeks, Bander- 

 c did not think 

 mucli notice: and on rare oCCasi 

 jack-curlews, stilts, plndaropes, and arocets; and ok! the 

 odor of those delicious pot -pies ! lean almost smell them 

 now, and can imagine I see the hones of vast numbers of 

 departed snipe passing in proceei 



Let, ns pause a moment and brush the cohweh 

 brain, and endeavor to call np some of our other sporting 

 friends, w l, ■ en for a lent; time. There 



were H. M,, H. G., D. C, B. M., and a host of others. We 

 have also heard tell of \V. H. C, an enthusiastic sportsman, 

 whose facility for ferreting out ail the holes and pitfalls in 

 the marsh and exploring their inky depths by inserting his 



pedals into them . j 

 and unaceount; 

 into a ditch, w 



that ti.: 

 "It is D 



birds would so 

 his mishap. "S 

 have on several 

 plunge 



lehto his 



trtib 



IstL- 



ap„ 



uitti.v 



onderful 



' falling 



vith the 

 uiorv of 



s experienced the iionw- .•! a sudden 

 noddy ditch in our strenuous 

 to capture some stray plover, and should the eye of our 

 ahove-me&tioned friend chance to read these lines, he will 

 no doubt smile at Lb Ueeiion .; . •■•;] 



, v recall to mmd . a rfaiz - all boy, C. F. P. by 

 name, who, being very anxious to experience the deb'ghts of 

 a day's shooting on the marshes, and seeing in imagination 

 visions of great flocks of buds, had prevailed upon two of 

 our fellow gunners to take him on one of their trips: and 

 he, being loaded with a superabundance of clothes to prevent 

 bing cold, a long gun, an umbrella, and a pair of 

 rubber 1 w '' teh mad the unwilling 



victim of i! do inges into bog-holes, from which, 



amidst much tribulation on his pa t, i wi aid be extricated 

 by dint of hard pulling on the part of the others. We have 

 aiso heard of the dexterity he displayed in crawling upon his 

 stomach from the stand in search of the powder flask, which 

 hod been dropped sit a short distance in a sudden rush made 

 for the. place during the approach of a flock of beetle-head 

 plover, and of his safe return with the coveted article to his 

 friend, who was anxiously awaiting him, momentarily ex- 

 see the birds take flight without his getting ashot 

 at them; and the boom of the gun which shortly followed, 

 ed weight of the 

 d bov performed 

 a credit 

 man knows how 

 r contributed to 



we have i <ften 

 s on that oeea- 



told the result of stratagem by the in 

 contents of the game-bag We t hink the sal 

 this exploit in a manner which would have 

 upon even an old gunner, as every sportsi 

 wary an old beetle-head is. He llso gftil 

 the success of the day by shooting several 

 although he has uow grown to man's estat 

 heard him speak of his pleasant experienc 

 sion . 



We will now make a few passing remarks about the old 

 bam which we have before mentioned. Many a time has it 

 afforded us a place of refuge from an approaching deluge of 

 rain. Prom within its sheltering walls we have watched the 

 dark clouds rolling over the marshes, and the rain drops 

 pattering on its moss-grown roof, together with the vivid 

 . lightning and the reverberating peals of thunder, 

 forming a scene at once grand and sublime; and the thunder 

 of our guns, which were discharged from the open door at 

 an occasional flock of passing birds which where hurrying 

 by to avoid the tempest, added to the uproar of the elements. 

 Many a fat snipe we laid low here, and during the darkness 

 of night it has often given us rest, and repose, and upon its 

 soft beds of new-mown hay we have sunk into the arms of 

 Morpheus to dream "our battles o'er again." We re- 

 member being told the experience of G. W. W. P. and J. 

 E. W. who together passed a night there. On one occasion, 

 of the unaccountable rustling of the hay and loud breathings 

 which they heard, highly suggestive of ghosts, especially as 

 after a vigorous search of the premises they could find no 

 one about. J. E. W. being rather a nervous individual on 

 the ghost question, was very anxious to keep his companion 

 awake, zealously poking him in the ribs for the furtherance 

 of that laudable object. Perhaps it was the spirit of some 

 dead sportsman returned to haunt his accustomed place. 

 But the inscrutable finger of time has long since swept 

 this favorite retreat, and its owner, who has ofte 

 cheerful word to us as we toiled homeward und 

 of game, decoys, and other trappings, has years i 

 his long home. Let us remember with pleasure t 

 glories of the old marsh, and while we breathe a 

 memory of our many dead comrades who took par 

 those bright scenes, we will hope our living fellov 

 will ever keep green the recollections of thos 

 times; and as death is gradually thinning our ranks, may 

 the survivors be knit closer together by the bonds of friend- 

 ship which were formed on the "Uld Cow Pasture," 



Powder Horn. 



spoken a 

 t our load 



Leparl I 



sportsmen 

 tod old 



For Forest and Slwam. 

 A QUAIL HUNT IN VIRGINIA. 



IN looking over an old diary of 1872 I find the following 

 entry, in reference to my first visit to Virginia upon a 

 shooting" expedition. 



"Jan. 8th. Left home Monday a. m., via Pennsylvania 

 Eailroad, and met my friend H at Morris Junction, by 

 previous appoint m well equipped with guns, 



dogs, etc., and anticipated a very pleasant and successful 

 trip 1 , although it was our first attempt, and I am glad to say 

 we were not disappointed, which I can assure you is not 

 always the ease. Enjoyed a very quick and pleasant race 

 down to Washington, and here we determined to take a 

 sleeping coach and go on the same evening to Lynchburg, 

 We did so and had a very comfortable night's rest, and ar- 

 rived in the eity Tuesday morning at four o'clock. Stopped 

 at the 'Worrell House,' and received 

 meals, etc. Glad to find one of its pro 

 from whom we got much valuable it 

 eluded to make that point our basi 

 whence to do our shooting. I-L 

 with other sportsmen, and it was their 

 ich gi 



od atte 



ition and 

 rtsmiui, 



id ISTO- 



a from 



.tainted 



find i 





n g 



u-ly lu 



oik. 



carriage and (trove out into the country to try _.„. 



■ ry haw lurrnj tj night and the red, 



Lie most inviting, as we found to our 

 —j I" 1 be face of thi niitrj i .. undulating, rough, 



ad a ■aiking" difficult, even when 



i .,.; is dry and firm. The 'Blue Mountains' are in 



sumo fifteen or twenty miles distant, and the 



if Otter* loom up in hold and undeniable grandeur, 



nous and unmistakable landmark 



eler in a new and strange land. All through this 



portion of the State there is much land, 'turned out' 'tis they 



call it, and suffered to grow up in broom-corn sedge, briars, 



Chis, I suppose is so from 



■a-ile as not to pay cultivation; and 



because fin y have so much of it that they are 'land poor.' 



' "I neglected plantation of' this description 



lind plenty of 'partridges' and excellent cover, 



and good feed to protect and sustain the game. It was quite 



late in (he p. m. when we arrived upon our shooting ground, 



owing to the heavy roads and the slow advance we made. It 



was not long before we found game in good open wood 



shooting, feeding we thought upon small acorns, etc. Mr. 



Irvine, whose acquaintance we had made in the city, a most 



gentlemanly and thorough sportsman, had kindly consented 



I euy us, lend being well armed with a breech-loader 



as well as Mr. D., it was not long before the hills and roads 



began to resound with the reports of our guns, and we were 



having first-rate sport, if we did not do so much execution 



in filling the bug. Upon onr return we counted lotD 



fifteen nice fat birds, which was doing pretty well consider- 

 ing all things. In simple justice to my friend B., I must say 

 this was about the first real experience he had evar had wing- 

 shooting, and had only [undertaken the trip upon the. recom- 

 mendation of his physician to regain his wonted h 

 strength. Having been thrown from his carriage and injured 

 very much sometime previous, he was advised to to 

 cise walking, and in order to combine amusement with it, to 

 get a dog and gun, and this was about his first effort, and as 

 " issured i n lilted verj beneficially to him. Earthworks 

 W n Stall visible in many places snrrounding the eity, and I 

 think it was not captured during the war. I could not sup- 

 press the reflection that the peaceful and pleasant way in 

 which we were burning powder was much more sensible. 

 and certainly less dangerous, than the hostile attitude of the 

 combatants of the recent civil strife. 



Wednesday, concluded to try another locality, and enjoy- 

 as good shooting with less hard and tiresome walking. Ap- 

 pomattox County was recommended, and we left OD the 

 morning train, and arrived at the station at eleven o'clock a. 

 I -: : v small place and no hotel accommodations 



at all; and the best we could do was to get quarters with p. 

 ■•',', for a few days. Another gentleman and 

 sportsman kindly acted as guide to this place; had it not been 

 for him u e could not have got any place to stay at all. I reeve; 

 lhave lost his name and addressed will always feel grateful 

 to him for some tine shooting. The walking was much better 

 here and game quite as plenty, and we made a remarkabl] 

 fine bag for the time we were in the field— thirty 

 'partridges' and five 



Thursday was a fine hunting day and we expected to 

 give our 'contraband' a heavy load, besides our 'quacks' 

 which he carried along. We got a good start and were lucky 

 in finding some full coveys of birds, and some excellent 

 marksmiurship was displayed, and, as I had foretold, our bag 

 was well filled— I think nearly forty head. 



Friday our good friend returned to JL. with a fine lot of 

 game. We had some left and gave away to others. To-day 

 wo got thirty more, and twelve in a half day, Saturday. 

 -"van Lo.i.e ,i l;.v; ,.,.■! ,:IuLijl .::;" or seventy, and at 12 jr. 

 Saturday took the train for Richmond to spend the Sabbath. 

 Found excellent accommodations at the 'Exchange.' Visit- 

 ing the principal objects of interest in the eity in the morn- 

 ing, and in the afternoon rode out of town to see the crumb- 

 ling earthworks, and on Monday we went directly by rail to 

 'Acquis Greek' to enjoy some duck shooting, as we were told 

 immense numbers had collected there and in its adjacent 

 waters. We soon discovered the importance of being better 

 posted to avoitl disappointment in looking up a locating, re- 

 liable shooting ground. It was true wild fowl were here in 

 abundance, but the place did not have a guide, boat, decoys, 

 and not even a hotel, and we were only too glad to get upon 

 the staunch old steamboat Keyport in" time to continue our 

 journey to Washington that evening. We were served with 

 a most excellent meal, and I felt very much at home upon 

 the steamer, as I had taken many trips upon her in more 

 northern waters and near my own home before. As far as 

 the quail shooting we had enjoyed during the trip was con- 

 cerned, it was a success, hut our original intention was to 

 have a chance at the wild fowl also. At Baltimore we thought 

 we would try our luck again. My friend was acquainted with 

 members of the various sporting clubs of the city, and 

 thought certainly through the kindness and courtesy of soma 

 of them to enjoy some fine sport down below the city upon 

 the river or bay. In this we were doomed to disappoint- 

 ment. The most violent snow storm set in and continued 

 with unabated fury for several days, and it being impossible 

 for ns to stay from home longer, we reluctantly turned our 

 faces homeward, and arrived in good health, safe, and sound. 

 My friend B. wrote me soon after; he was so much pleased 

 with his experiment that he desired me to go West with him. 

 Every year since I have been shooting from one to two weeks 

 either in Virginia or Maryland, and have uniformly had a 

 good time, with fine success in the field, but no duck shoot- 

 ing. M, 



§mm §hq mid §un. 



GAME IN SEASON IN APRIL. 



Wild Ducks, Brant, Geese, Etc. 



Snipe. — Some few birds have been killed on the Hacken- 

 sack and adjacent meadows, but the main flight has not, up 

 to this writing come, along. Our friend, Justus Von 

 Lengerke who generally gets about the first bunch, very 

 generously divided his bag with us on Sunday, On the 

 in Morris County there is still too much water to 

 enable farmers to do well. 



Vermont, Ebrrisburg, IX, April ILh.— Bucks very scarce 

 here this ^spring— and no snipe. Of the last there are never 

 but few seem in the spring migration. The Lake, (Cham- 

 plain) has been broken up lor some days, but the weather is 

 unpleasant. Northerly winds prevailing. 



R. E. R. 



Massachusetts, SWeiff, M&SS., April dih. — The past week 



has shown the first snipe of the season, taken on the ith by 



Mr, Gh B, Stone. Weather and birds, including woodcock 



and ordinary Spring migrants backward. Geese flow thick on 



. April 1th and 5th. ' ■ I . 



Spring-!' .i ply opened inthie Bection. Wild 



fowl have numbers, and snipe are 



just putting in an appi arance. The welcome booming of the 



' ' . [grouse is hoard upon the meadows and It - lands, 

 and the inspiring carols of the sang birds assure us that 

 Spring is here, But very few wil ■ ' 



seen, ' It is probable that this week the woods will bo filled 



with • 'amateur'' hunters after pigeon-, , ■ .,,. a these 

 migratory birds being the signal for "every d 

 fool who - t pieei n go forth and sift} to 

 their hearts eon rent. When viewed in tie 

 pigeon shooting does not rank high, but coming as it does 

 lOng cessation of all shooting, the practice is quite 

 pleasurable. The woodcock is indeed ai in this sec- 

 tion, never being pursued solely for sport, but occasionally 

 shot by sportsmen out after grouse, etc. Feed. 



Wisconsin-, ..'■(■ j/e— Bucks, geese, cranes, etc., 



here in abundance; a few pigeons have been seen. Robins, 

 black birds, and blue tiird-.have been here for several days. 

 Koshkonong Lake is still full of ice, but think it will be 

 clear in a day or two, 



— We have never known English snipe to be so scarce at 

 this season as they now are. The few that arc for sale by our 

 city game dealers art sold at one dollar per pair. They come 

 from the lower part of the Shite of Delaware. At this price 

 they are decidedly the dearest delicacy in the market. Every 

 year the bird seems to be growing less numerous. We bave 

 heard of several parties who hunted for them without success 

 this spring in localities where they were formerly abundant, 



Pen>-syi,-.- A ni ,o , April 3d. — A pigeon match was 



shot at the Wheat Sheaf Hotel, on Easter Monday, between 



MCi is. Fry, Boudwin, and Irwin, for Sweepstakes, Sid en- 



12 birds each, 11 ounce shot. The following is the 



score: 



E. Fry 1 11110 1110 1 1-1(1 



G. Boudwin 1 01111101011—0 



A.Irwio 1 11101001111— S) 



The Mr. Boudwin that shot in this match is our cele- 

 brated taxidermist, and he is as able and ready with the 

 gun as he is skillful and artistic in preserving its' victims. 



Postage. 

 ♦♦•» 



A DOUBLE SHOT. 



Boston, April fith. 

 Editor Fobest add Stbeaxi. 



H you think the following item is worthy of publication, 

 please let it be recorded, that Br. H. M Enowles, iron man- 

 ufacturer, of Cleveland, Ohio, while on a gunning expedi- 

 tion at the "Hone's Point" club grounds in Ohio, had his at- 

 tention called to a woodehuck by one of the natives, who 

 asked the Br, to shoot it (the woodehuck I mean}, which the 

 Br. in his usual graceful and accommodating manner did; 

 and immediately as the report of his gun rang out on the 

 air, the native exclaimed "There goes "n iox !" when the Br. 

 quickly wheeled around and gave "Jack Reynard, Esq." the 

 contents of the other barrel of his gun, ro llin g the afore- 

 said Esep Reynard over in tine style, thus making a double 

 shot of a woodehuck with one barrel and a fox with the 

 other, much to the astonishment of the native, and to the 

 pleasure of the Br. Very truly yours, Slug Bkook. 



»'» — 



TAXING GUNS. 



Albany, April ith, 1877. 



Mk. Editor. — Your correspondent Venator in his article 

 on Pot Hunting says all sportsmen would willingly pay a 

 t.i:; of SIS per annum on their guns to know that i't would 

 debar so many from owning guns. This is the only con- 

 struction you can put upon his letter. How else could there 

 be such a suppression of shooting throughout the country? 

 Does he mean all true spiortsmen or only that class who call 

 themselves such, but in reality are a lot of selfish tyrants 

 with no thought but self, with means to go when ;end "where 

 they choose, whose one wish is to enjoy themselves no mat- 

 ter if poor people do or not, who think the hirda of 1 

 and fishes of the sea (to quote Scripture) were created to be 

 monopolized by the more fortunate, while the poorer class 

 are considered as mere machinery Lo cater to their tastes :;. 

 wants, without enjoying any of the privileges intended 

 all — the rich and poor alike. There are many men who 

 exert themselves, and squeeze their purses to have a few 

 days shooting; this they can hardly afford, without being 

 compelled to pay a tax for the sake of owning a gun. Now, 

 Mr. Venator, suppose the farmers should be as tyrannical 

 as you wish to be, and not allow any one to shoot"on their 

 grounds, then what benefit would your guns be to you? 

 Only to look at and sigh over, like the man who bought the 

 elephant to prevent his neighbor from having it, but could 

 make no use of it after all. If Venator and a few more such 

 liberal-ininded sportsmen would donate their $15 and some 

 of their energies to the prosecution of law breakers, it would 

 be more creditable to themselves and beneficial to all. Al- 

 though no friend of Pot Hunters, still I do not like to see 

 any one wish to deprive the poor man of his privileges. 



Wishing V. and all others the best of success in iheir 

 earnest and sincere desire to promote the interest of their 

 fellow men, I am yours very truly, Bexter. 



[Wo do not believe in a gun tax for this country, but we 

 heartily approve of one on dogs. As for the term "Pot 

 Hunter," our definition of it is, "one who shoots game for 

 profit and not for pleasure, and who is not particular as to 

 the mode or means used; who would rather shoot into a 

 bevy on the ground than at a single bird on the wing, and who 

 corresponds with a game dealer."— Ed.] 

 *■» 



JOSEPH BRADDELL & SON'S GUNS. 



London, Oct., March 26. 1877. 

 Editor Forest and Stream. 



In year issue of tba 2'2tl, "Inquirer," San Francisco, aaks about Jos. 

 lsraddell .V Sou's (Belfast, Ireland) rubs. I have known the present 

 representative of the uriu since my school days, audhave used hia guns 

 for over tan years. Several of my friends, who were so much pleased 

 with tho workmanship and shooting of the gun ha made for ine, h&va 

 ordered guns from hliu, and in evory instance have given the utmost 

 satisfaction. The gun I at present own— made for me six yearn eln.-e, 

 breeeh-loading, O.F., 1'2-gangu, 30-lneh barrel, 7j: lbs., with a cuargo 

 of SJi drs. of powder, 1 ok. of No. 8 shot— will fetch quail ever] time 

 betweon 50and 60 yards, if held titraight, which I consider a very good 

 test oi how a gun, without chef e-boring, throws its shot. I have no 

 hesitation in recommending Joseph Bi'addell & Son's guns so being 

 Cret-olusf in every respect, aud alt they warrant thorn to bo. 



J. S. LNives. M, R, 



-Baldwin, the clothier of Broadway and.Canal Street, retails C. O, 

 D. over Fonr Unndred Thousand Dollars worth of Boy's clothing an' 

 noally, aud competition thus far has railed to deoiease the amount a 

 single dollar. Parents know where to rnaka selections for the boys.— 



