186 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



[APIitL fi, 



ally despised by all mankind, and thev know it well 



That this ( lass of farmers have very littte influence J was 

 Uipronghly convinced While attending a meeting of tlie 

 Worcester County Orange, n little more than n yea* ago, 



ft: .iiccti ig was hold :n Ji' of tin halls in lh:: _:t.v :i d 

 the afternoon .session was open to the public. It had been 

 announced in the daily papers that the following subject 

 would lie discussed: 



"ii'A,. ,-r,, . ti„ aports I' iii. a sun- have caused a law to be 



''in mnk -.ilii-sliDetin - .•!' "iirae by farmers on their own 

 hivnus-s at certain seasons,,! tin. \enr a criminal •flense; and 



: . - ', it. in .■•i.i-.. .-,,.■ !•■ . ■ ■ ■..-., li this M.-iniiv have 



Uttered a reward f,,i tin- iiciccinin of ,.iti n,l,-rs. iiiei,-),.\ ••■... ■..■.. 

 11 selvi ■ . ■■,.. rs of game to wl .:'.••. b we i . I tin 

 " I n„ ■,-,•,«,, The object, in viev. i- ait.liti, .nnl sport to the siiootimr 

 ivaiiTnit.v ana not the ^,„-„i of society la general; therefore 



■' ■ ■ ,/. That the agricultural community should reseul this ... 



i.leiTcivnce with its natural rights, and by united Itgsil 



action, especially 111,- enforcement of the trespass act! cause its In- 

 tel ,-sts to lie protected anil liuiinmined." 



1 was at thai time president of the Worcester .Sportsmen's 

 Club, and I received an invitation to be present. Being n 

 county meeting- it was quite ti large one, the members of the 

 mI. ■■ him- from the various towns being present with their 

 Wives and daughters. It was as holiest and intelligent 

 i Iii- a body of people as one could wish to meet; ami I 

 .■ hi deal of curiosity to see how the subject would 

 be hindled. i am pretty thoroughly acquainted in the 

 neighboring towns, and as 1 took my seat in the rear of the 



hall and looked about I saw manv familiar faces. A liirue 

 mi was present from my tiative town and 1 found 

 myself surrouuded by men and women who were mj boy- 

 hood 1 liemfs and selioolmales. 1 cilnnot give a detailed re- 

 port of thai meeting; t .in as the discussion progressed I was 

 very glad to see thai n large majority of the farmers present 

 i the Pad that not all lovers of field sports were 

 loafers and scnllawags Some very pleasant things were 

 said of our club, for which I fell, deeply grateful. 



1 he other element was, however, represented, and after 



several members had -poken, Mr. was announced, lie 



arose aud walked slowly to I he Speaker's desk and began to 

 unroll he- manuscript ; and while doing so looked about him 

 in fi 11-i.y confident way, as though he were entirely satisfied 

 with I he paper he was about to read. Now, Ibis man was 

 from my native town, and I have known him long aud well. 

 He has wealth, considerable ability, is well educated, the 

 o\\ ncr of one of the liuest places in the town, and of course 

 an influential member Of the grange. Bui the idea of his 

 having prepared an elaborate 'paper on the subject under 

 discussion si ruck me as being decidedly absurd.' I should 

 uot have been mure at sea endeavoring" to deliver it lecture 

 on astronomy than was this matt with Ihc subject be was 

 trying to handle, lie has not a rod of cover on his place 



in | G game bird would be likely to live, and I doubt if he 

 ever saw a man with dog and gun" on his domain. I have 

 I i he slightest, that he could tell a shotgun from 

 a rifle, a ,-etler from a St. Bernard, or a woodcock from a 

 quail, and yet this man read to us as though he thought he 

 had the whole thing "down tine" and wanted us to under- 

 stand that he couldn't tolerate a "so-called" sportsman. lie 

 quoted in a sarcastic way from the speeches made al the 

 annual dinner ol the sportsman's club as they appeared in 

 the daily paper?, also from the game laws ' 'so selfishly framed 

 by the shooting fraternity that a farmer's boy could not 

 Hi,,m- modemk," He claimed that the. farmers were the 

 natural and only owners of the game, and urged his hearers 

 to sec to it that the trespass act was enforced. And how 

 was this masterly effort received? Was lie applauded'/ Very 

 faintly. It was apparent that it was too rank for their 

 tastes. After the reading of this paper the "worthy master" 

 announced l hat "there was a representative sportsman in the 

 hall and he thought the members would be glad to hear 

 from him." 0! to have been equal to that occasion. Imust 

 say somethimi. ami 1 did try to say a few words that should 

 help to remove the prejudice ' that exists toward our 

 fraternity. 1 shall not soon forget the many kind greetings 

 I received from the. members "of the Worcester County 

 Orange at the close of that meeting. 



And now. brother sportsmen, let me say that 1 believe it 

 is possible for us to SO conduct ourselves toward the farmers 

 that when we drive out to the covers or the trout brooks, in 

 nine case, oul ot Ion we shall be kindly received. "K. 



Wow ester. Mass.. March 37, lKSa. 



NOTES ON THE QUAIL OF TEXAS. 



J SEN D an account of some, things I have noticed of quail 

 in Texas. Arriving in December at Fort, Duncan, on 

 the Bio flrande, Texas, I was told that the old ordnance 

 sei'geallt COuld tell me whereto find quail. He said, "Oh, 

 yes, plenty, right down the river near the bank; but 

 yon will never get more than two shots at a c-ovey, for 

 they go Straight to Mexico." This seemed strange, 

 fort he river there is more than half a mile wide. Ye't I 

 found that he had told the truth. After losing a number of 

 I.. .'.I lux over tin- water and swept aw ay "by the rapid 

 current. I always took my duck dog with me. aud it was a 

 novelty in quail shoot iug'lo have my birds retrieved from 

 the liver. 



I could always find them in the morning or late in the 

 afternoon, seldom in the middle of the day, and finally came 

 to the conclusion that they were hatched in Mexico and 

 roosted there, and came over to feed. Had they found out 

 that Mexicans do not shoot quail? Did the old birds practice 

 the young on long flights before they started over the river 

 with them? The birds were the. Texan variety of the com- 

 mon brown quail {Orli/r vinjinitiim le.mnfi). Back from the 

 river they flew no farther wlteu flushed tlmu Northern quail 

 Usually do, They do not lie to a dog as well as the North- 

 ern bird. Once, 'however, 1 was tor weeks on a road little 

 traveled except by Mexicans, and i found them so tame 

 thai they would not even squat when my dog pointed, but 

 move slowly along nol twenty yards from me. They prob- 

 ably had not been, disturbed for years. 



The blue or sealed quail {Ptil!') >' i »/ ,e(,ii worry a 



KoOddog. FIc must point goingat about half speed if he 

 keeps anywhere near his bird. The.s seldom fly unless hard 

 pushed, and are very fast runners. I prefer to tie up my 

 dog, ami if the weather is hot shout from horseback. 'I 

 never hesitate about shooting them on the ground, and it is 

 no contemptible feat to knock them over as I bey dart from 

 bush to bush. They seem to fully understand the necessity 

 Of keeping some obstacle in range between themselves and 

 the man thai is after them. Although so wild, there are 



in i! one uiiisl. kick I hem out of the bushes. 1 have 



found a covey that I could not get. within gunshot of on one 



day, to be tame the next. There had been no change of 

 weather, and I am unable to account for this difference. 

 They are larger than the common quail, but I ilo uot con- 

 sider them as good on the table. I have repeatedly had one 

 of each cooked to test this. 



The Massena quail, called also black quail (Oi/rtoni/.i- was- 

 una) lie like stones. I „,„.,. saw a pointer catch 'a full-grown 

 unwounded one. They are trying on Ihc nerves. Yourdog 

 points, perhaps, when there is no cover but short grass; you 

 can see nothing and go slowly forward. All at once, with 

 a peculiar chatter (that don't steady you a bit) they are up 

 in froul, behind, and to the right and left. I have seen 

 good shots stand open-mouthed, not able to make up their 

 minds which way to shoot. A full-grown cock Massena is 

 such a beautiful bird that you smooth down his feathers 

 carefully before yon put him in the game pocket. To my 

 taste they are better eating than any quail I have tried. 



1 believe that in Texas the quail have two broods. My 

 journal says: "July 89, 1882, shot ten common quail", 

 almost full grown." And again, "September 'JO, 1882, saw 

 a covey of common quail barely able to fly." The belief 

 that they raise more thau one brood seems to be general in 

 Southwestern Texas. 



I think it is rare that quail in Texas are killed by snow or 

 cold in winter. Cold rains and floods in the nesting season 

 and when the birds are young affect the increase very seri- 

 ously. Hawks are abundant and make great havoc among 

 them. A hawk in n tree or hovering near one spot is a good 

 sign that a covey of quail (probably scattered) is close by. 



What quail do for wafer when the whole country is dried 

 up and there are no dews, is a mystery. I believe they 

 occasionally travel considerable distances for it. 1 acci- 

 dentally learned that they do come to water at times. It 

 was this way. I was shooting near Fort Clark, Texas, late 

 in the afternoon, and found a covev in a small clump of 

 bushes that grew by the edge of a small pool. I followed 

 the scattered covey ami killed several. Then went back to 

 the pool to let my dog drink, and he poiutcd a second covey 

 in the same spot I had found the first. I shot some of the 

 last covey aud found them to be younger and smaller than 

 the first.' I had been gone about" twenty minutes, and they 

 had come to the water during that time. They certainly 

 were not there' when I first passed, as the cover' was scant 

 and my dog went over it thoroughly. It was three miles 

 from the pool to the nearest water. 



The quantity of quail in the vicinity of Fort Clark, Texas, 

 last fall, was something wonderful. As 1 heard a sportsman 

 express it, "every- egg must have hatched." I have fre- 

 quently killed as 'many as I wanted before breakfast. Many 

 hundreds were killed, but their number was so great that 

 plenty must have been left to breed. On account of the 

 heal, shooting there is hard on man and dog before the 

 middle of October. T. 



Fear LVON, Colorado. 



A NORTH CAROLINA MEDLEY. 



ABOUT the 10th of the present month (March), having a 

 little leisure, or taking it by force, mv friend and kins 

 rm. li. Teceel and myself, got ready, with guns, shells and 

 dogs, lor a short jaunt into the upper part of our county, to 

 see if we could find some sport with quail shooting in that 

 section and the contiguous part of the county of Mont- 

 gomery. We expected to meet our hunting coinpauiou, 

 whom I have hitherto, somewhat euphemistically, called 

 Bishop Crickett (but of whom I shall hereafter speak, in 

 deference to the wishes of his "better half," as Crickett 

 ouly), and with him make an afternoon foray among the 

 birds in the lowlands, just above the confluence of Little 

 River with the Pec Dee. But from some cause we failed to 

 be greeted by his genial smile, and went to work by ourselves. 

 We soon started a small covey, and succeeded in getting 

 two birds, when we heard the Welcome voice of our friend 

 Tom. the son of the gentleman whose hospitalities we pro- 

 posed to enjoy during the approaching night, and for sev- 

 eral successive ones thereafter. So sending our buggy for- 

 ward by one of the "newly enfranchised" American' free- 

 men." we' took to the fields lying along the river, audhunted 

 in tin' direction of the residence of our host. Birds were not 

 numerous, and we succeeded iu getting only eight. 



Just before night, we had reached a point In the lowlands, 

 not more than a fourth of a mile from the dwelling, which 

 wtis quite marshy, but destitute of cover. 



As we approached it, we heard the. well-known sound 

 which the snipe always emits as he rises from his feeding 

 ground. We saw more than fifty of them, but as they were 

 at long range, we could ouly get three or four. Soon after 

 reaching the dwelling, our friend Crickett made his appear- 

 and-, and after the "iuuer man" had been delightfully satis- 

 fled by the abundant contents of the larder and pantry, 

 Which the wife and daughter of our host knew so well how 

 to spread, we went into the parlor, and discussed all sorts of 

 matters, from hunting and fishing, and dogs and guns, and 

 rods and lines and hooks, down to questions of finance, and 

 and European, diplomacy 

 (inal allusion to Vennor and 

 -crs at the coming state of 

 uy bed we had agreed to go 

 ling at ail early hour, and 

 pay our respects to the snipe. After this agreement, my 

 companions endeavored to keep me up, so that they might 

 enjoy, for a longer time — so they said— "the feast of reason 

 unci the flow of soul," which I always contribute for the 

 delectation of my associates. It is due to candor, however, 

 that I should sav, 1" believed then and believe now, their 

 object was to gain by flattery what they feared they could 

 not get in any other way— ail escape from stertorous breatl: 



revenue aud taxation. An 



anil statesmanship. With m 

 Wiggins, and other sapiei 

 the weather. Before rctii 

 down to the mcarlo 



ig, "which they have 

 sound of "the wolf.- 

 They failed in I heir 1 

 under al! circumstai 



'tis soon fast, asleep, 

 ber undisturbed by c 



Earl? next mornini 



ifteu told I 

 long how! 



i pleasant drc 



ickettand I i 



l Oo: 



[pleasant as the 

 Iarka's shore/ 

 8 all men should, 

 downy pillows," 



were up and ready foi- 

 st visit to the meadow, but Teceel was fast asleep, afterward 

 alleging, as lie alwavs does, that he was nervous during the 

 fy part of Ihc night. We got him up. however, and the 

 three were soon engaged in a fusilade at the birds, which 

 bad collected in large numbers, But, as before stated, they 

 were too wild for much sport, and each one that we got 

 cost us several shells, if there had been cover for the birds 

 iu the meadow, I have no doubt we could have bagged 

 eral dozen before breakfast. I have never seen them so 

 merous. And they were equally plentiful ton days after- 



.rd. and, I may add. equally hard to kill. Heretofore 

 these birds have usually made their appearance in our section 

 during the early part of April; but this year, being deceived 



by the weather prophets of Canada, or the balmy atmosphere 

 ol February, they started upon their summer tour. 



After breakfast, being joined by Tom. who has an excel- 

 lent gun, which he handles well when "pussy's mortal foes" 

 advise him that she has sprung from her ""form" in the 

 knars :r sedge, bit which is rarely held right wher. a pert 

 re set out for new fields, 

 We got up but fetf , 

 and when we stopped 

 , we had not exceeding 

 url quite n number of 

 to sav, twelve or lif- 



adly off, 

 abundant 



that the I hi 

 we were phi 

 less swollen 

 unt onlyb 



-kets 

 ed ut 

 than 



n which, 

 Icr a rem 



ve could 

 is about 

 ccial art 

 i-c after 

 :t which 



■idge (qi 



hoping to find game n 

 however, in a walk of 

 for lunch (we always call it 

 eight birds. In the aftcrnoi 

 coveys, and some very largf 

 teen birds), but owing to ill 

 they took refuge were very ( 

 disadvantage, and our bags 

 have wished. Our entire di 

 thirty birds, beside several rabbits which To 

 had brought down. We reached our restiu 

 night, and, as usual, highly enjoyed the re- 

 awaited us. 



The next day, facing a cold north wind, we set out lot 

 what was once, no doubt, a "happy huntiug ground" for the 

 pre-historic nice, if one may judge from the' existence of a 

 mound having a base of about fifty feel, and an altitude ot 

 twenty, which is situated near the margin of Little River, 

 in Montgomery county, about two miles beyond the Rich 

 moud line. When I was a boy I thought this relic was the 

 work of the Red Lords of the Soil, "monarchs of all they 

 surveyed." but the researches of archaeologists seem to 

 establish the fact that the people who did this : unexplained 

 work were of a rather higher type of civilization, and existed 

 before the country was occupied by the "sons of Aiknomook" 

 or other chieftains of the Indian race. I confess 1 do not 

 know what sort of people constructed this and siniiho 

 "earthworks," and have not the slightest idea of the pin- 

 poses which they bad in view. To my mind they had very 

 little work to do or they would not have had time to pile up 

 so much useless dirt. 



And 1 am frank enough to admit that I am equally 

 ignorant of the uses which this or some other people had 



for those elegant specimens of handicraft w 

 discoids, several of Which were found i 

 years ago in the lowlands iu the immediat 

 this mound, I am aware that the hiah-l 

 before named assert with great, posiiiveni 

 exactly the same uses as the modern g 

 pigeon, so called, except that the sports 7 

 two hundred dollar breech-loader used a si 



,iii 



•ailed 

 nty-flvi 



ut of qua. 



an arrow, and shot at it 

 considered as giving no ui 

 to suggest that if such wti 

 the pastime had very poot 

 with all the modern lata 

 on stone, it would take ai 

 make one of these discoidi 

 week. Then, when hatchet: 

 things according." it may be so 

 facture would have required 

 month. To apply all this "swi 

 round stone, to be shattered at u 

 of an arrow, would be evidence t 

 were entirely ignorant of physi 

 softer stone could be easily had 

 rude tools, several could have 1. 

 out further words upon the sul 

 gard the statement as entirely i 

 But the mound is there, and 

 yards of it, and stopped our bin 

 day was to decide the long-pending 

 and Crickett for the champion belt 



•oiling. 



hie offt 



lof 

 iieeil gentlemen 

 is that they had 

 iss ball or clay 

 .an. instead of a 

 jar, a javelin or 

 I trust 1 shall be 

 ise if I venture 



time than a 

 of stone, "and other 

 I'cly assumed that the. niamt- 

 the labor of more than a 

 at of the face" iu making a 

 :ie cast of the javelin or (light 

 iat the people who made them 

 sal economy, especially as a 



and out of which, even with 

 ecu made in it day. With- 

 iject. 1 simple say that I re- 

 nworthy of belief. 

 ,vc passed within a hundred 

 ' t Toney's Ford. This 

 ontcst between Teceel 



Like Balfour of Burley 



and Bothwcll, as described in "Old Mortality," these two 

 worthies were so intent, in their purpose to succeed iu achiev- 

 ing a personal victory that they did nol regard Tom and me 

 as worthy of their notice. With firm step ami flashing eye 

 they entered the lists. Teceel gently patted his dog P 

 on the head, saying to him, "Be smart, master, and Teceel 

 will give you good victuals to-night." At his suggestion 1. 

 as his subaltern only — his mere bird marker — talked puppj 

 talk to Branch, and' promised him, if he would stand up to 

 Nip, I would give him a big pone of plain corn bread. 

 Crickett successively fondled and flattered Kate, Jack and 

 Jenny, and Tom only smiled his approval ol the warlike 

 preparations, And then the combatants separated, meeting 

 only litte in the afternoon. Teceel charged Crickett with 

 preferring Tom to me, because T. rarely hit, and had SO 

 little confidence in his skill that he never claimed a bird 

 that anyone else said he shot at, while my disposition was to 

 claim every bird that fell. Of course it was a slander. 

 Sometimes 1 do hit one, when no one else is near. 



We turned to the left, going along the margin of the liills, 

 while the rival sportsmen took the route nearer the river. 

 We had not journeyed far before Nip was in that attitude 

 which sportsmen regard as "glorious." with Branch "sec- 

 onding the motion" in gallant style. T. was on the bird side 

 of a small brook which 1 was unable to cross. The covey 

 was flushed and each got i n both barrels. He missed with 

 one barrel while 1 was more fortunate, and both claimed to 

 have shot at another bird which fell. Here the score, stood 

 at one and a half to one-half. Pursuing, we flushed one 

 Only, at Which both shot, wounding but nol getting. The 

 others flew up wild fully fifty yards off, and made good their 

 escape. Going down iuto the bottom Nip again stood, my 

 dog backing, and T. got. two to my one. The other purl, of 

 the covev we could not locate; so going on 

 a beautiful level field, Nip flushed a very 1 

 going down the wind, and T. got a bird.' 

 along the side of a rliteh near where 1 was 

 my captain to come up, we both apf 

 the birds but three flew on his side, a 

 barrel; 1 had the same luck. He at 

 birds and wounded three others be 

 this we heard and saw the other "tei 

 with a covey scattered in the stuhbll 

 our covev in such splendid ground, 

 with hope elate. - ' for We confidently 

 palm we soon should win." Changi 

 rection of the ford where we left ou 



oil 



3d he got . 



listanee, in 

 v while 

 isettled 



iug for 



■>■: ah 



iii each 



eral other coveys, but gene 

 it is sufficient to say thai 

 counted our trophies. Teci 

 1 fifteen and a half— thirl' 

 killed before 1 joined him. 

 long afterward 0, and t 



1 1 each got tWO more 



ween us. Just before 



m" having a high time 



but when we started 



'high beat our hearts 

 expected "the Klysian 

 ug our route in the di 

 . we found sfcv- 



scalps 

 heads. 



ally too clo; 

 when our hunt ended ami jve 

 id bail seventeen and a half and 

 three in all. Two of them he 

 He shot a 16 and la 19. Not 

 alked up and exhibited their 



They had twenty— or rather fourteen birds a i 



the bodies having'been left with the wife of a gentle- 

 ... it whose house they got u table dinner. OJ the 

 twenty O. claimed sixteen and a half and Tom the others. 



