^WHPmm^HBH 



•«" 



Lower grounds pretty wet. Some half-dozen birds picked up 

 thus far, Stevens, of Weal Newbury, got some fine wood 

 drakes recently. The season is very backward. Bluebills 

 quite numerous in Salem Harbor recently, also whistlers, old 

 squaws and loons. Cherry birds about in. flocks. Muskrat 

 shooters are yet after the " critters." The recent heavy storm 

 drove lots of fowl inside of Reva3 Beach into Lynn Marshes ; 

 they were very numerous and weather beaten. Woodcock 

 are" about in sunny corners. I have recently found albino 

 feathers in necks only of woodcock, canvas-back duck and 

 a crow blackbird. They occur much more commonly than 

 some persons think, aud are liable to occur in any species. 



It. Ii. N> 



Newburyport, April 17.— I had the honor of bagging the 

 first Wilson's snipe in the piaca on the 14th inst.; Tollowed 

 with one on the loth, and five to-day. Prospects seem fair 

 for a good flight. The runs are in prime condition. 



Conneotigct — Beep Bmr, April 21. — Our sportsmen are 

 now enjoying the snipe shooting on the River Meadows near 

 this village. H. C. Tyler and J. H. Waterman bagged IS 

 one day last week, also on Saturday, 19th, H. C. Tyler and 

 Will Flint bagged 12 in about two hours ; othor parties have 

 bagged quite a number. Snipe have not been so plenty for 

 several years. 11. n. B. 



New Youk— Kingston, April 15.— Duoks of various kinds 

 are quite plentiful, and a few of our local "shootist;- 

 some very fair bags on good Friday. One of the policemen, 

 while on his beat near one of our principal hotels in the very 

 centre of our city, at about 4 o'clock a. m., had his attention 

 arrested by a commotion among the telegraph wires, of which 

 there were a large number overhead, and noticed a bird flutter 

 to the ground. "Upon examination it proved to be a wood- 

 cock which had struck one of the wires in its early morning 

 tour. Its flight had been so rapid that its skull was quite 

 crushed in by the contact. It was one of the first seen this 

 season. Ax, 



Canton, St. Lawrence Co., April 14. —The Qrasse River 

 here is yet frozen over, except on the rapids. It has been 

 closed continually since ice first formed last fall. Snow 

 drifts and mud hold even hands, while cold, raw winds sweep 

 the board. A few robins and blackbirds have put in an ap- 

 pearance, but none of them seem very happy over the situa- 

 tion. We look for a thaw in July. R. 



JayvUle, L. I., April 21. — A large number of snipe came on 

 the meadows and remained during the storm last week. W, 



New Jersey— Behidere, April \8.— Quail wintered well in 

 this region, and the prospects for good shooting in the fall 

 are better. H. S. H. 



Tennessee — Savanah, April 15. — The prospect for shoot- 

 ing next season seems good. Many covies of quail have been 

 carried over, and the birds seem to have all mated. Several 

 turkeys have been killed here recently, but 1 do not hold 

 with that kind of slaughter, misnamed sport. A negro living 

 near town has a fine gobbler now two years old, sole survivor 

 of a sitting of thirteen eggs brought from the woods. The 

 eggs were placed under a brood hen and all were hatched, the 

 young attaining maturity only to fall (with the above excep- 

 tion) victims to the insatiate carving knife. The gobbler of 

 which I write is a magDificent specimen of meleagris gallapavo, 

 and seems to have no desire to forsake the haunts of civiliza- 

 tion. Will. 



Michigan.— Detroit, April 19. R. Gillman and W- Jardine 

 weredown to the Big Eight marsh on the 16th inst., and in 

 four hours bagged 54 ducks. Diittid. 



Illinois — Quincy, April 12. — The ducks and snipe are 

 plenty, but wild and poor ; the former are almost unfit to 

 eat. The snipe are getting fat, and we anticipate some glori- 

 ous sport before the close of the season, May 1. 



Ohio — C'hillieothe, April 15. — The shoot between teams 

 from Pike and Ross counties came oil April 5 ; four men in 

 each team ; 20 balls ; distance, 21 yards. Pike 03 and Ross 

 65, winning the match. Pedestrian match at Fair Grounds, 

 April 12 ; 8 entries ; distance 10 miles, go at pleasure, Sey- 

 mour winning in 67m. 59s. Our duck shooting this season 

 ia very poor on account of scarcity of faroadbills. The boys 

 have put away their "shooting irons " and taken up the rod. 



J. W. P. 



Toungsiown, Ohio, April 15 — Shooting matters are rather 

 quiet at present. There are plenty of quail left for breeding. 

 The new game law forbids shooting quail until after the 1st 

 of November, 1881. There are plenty of ruffed grouse left for 

 breeding. Saw two woodcock, March 30th ; several snipe have 

 just put in an appearance ; ducks have been plentier than usual 

 this spring ; very few rabbits have been left after the winter ; 

 gray squirrels are very scarce. The sportsmen of this city o wn 

 somegooddogs; the Gordon setters seem to be the favorites, al- 

 though there are several fine red Irish setters owned here. 

 Buckeye Boy. 



Minnesota— Morris, April 19.— They are about to start a 

 game protective club here, something that is greatly needed. 

 AVe are killing any quantity of ducks. This country is alive 

 with chickens; we will have any quantity of them next 

 August. W. E. W. 



WisooNsnsr — Baraboo, April 14. — Ducks of all kinds are 

 here on the big marsh j a few jack snipe, but scarcely any 

 pigeons. The ice went out of Devil's Lake the 10th. The 

 Cliff House will bo open the 1st of May to accommodate 

 touristB and anglers. Ed. II. 



Kankakee Marshes.— The 15th of March wc had about 

 eight 1'tiU days duck shooting on Kankakee Marsh, in Lake Co., 

 Indiana. During that, time we brought to bag 1,401— ducks 

 and a few geese, red-heads, mallards and pintails, 

 shooting down over decoys. The score of four shooters at 

 Cumberland Lodge was : S. W. Beauclark, of Troy, N. i r ., 

 Thurs., 32; Fri., 74; Sat., 46; Mon., Tues. and Wed., 108; 

 Thurs., 52 and 3 geese ; Fri., 32 and 2 geese ; Sat., 27 and 2 

 geese; Mom, 53; En., 23 and 2 geese ; total, 437 and 9 

 geese. Harry Widdicomb, Grand Hapids, Mich., Thurs., 76 

 and 1 goose ; Fri., 94 ; Sat., 18 ; Mon., Tues. and Wed., 81 ; 

 Thurs., 61; Fri., 80; Sat., 20; Mon., 77; Tues., 46; total, 

 503. Joseph DeGolyer, of Troy, N. Y. , Thurs. , 38 ; Fri. ,21; 

 Sat., 12; Mon., Tues. and Wed., 110; Thurs., 52; Fri., 10; 

 Sat,, 7 ; Mon., 20: total, 270. Watts DeGolyer, of Chicago. 

 Thurs , 29 ; Fri., 41 : Sat., 40 ; Fri., 12 ; Sat., 29 ; Mon., 30; 

 Tues., 10 ; total, 191. S. W. B. 



In a Hole.— Bridgeport, Conn., April 21. — Editor Forest 

 and Stream : In reply to the inquiry in the Fokest and 



TIFFANY'S PRIZE CUP FOR THE STATE SHOOT. 



The above is a cut of the beautiful prize— clock and mantel ornaments-offered by Tiffany & Company, for the New 

 York State Tournament. The prize is valued at $250. 



Stkkam of the 17th, by "Druid," whatever designation you 

 may give to that name, whether magician, geometrician, su- 

 perintendent of morals and religion or judge, please say that 

 his old frieud Hobbs did not get a ducking, only dropped into 

 a muskrat's run and came out dry. H. 



The Target Bali, Co., of Titusville, Pa., which manu- 

 factures Boughton's explosive ball for trap shooters, request 

 us to inform our readers that they are delayed in filling their 

 overwhelming orders for lack of requisite machinery, and beg 

 the indulgence of their patrons for a few days longer. They 

 made their announcement, upon the promises of the manufac- 

 turers, and have been disappointed by them, 



Bogaedtjs'. Shooting ScnooL.— Captain A. H. Bogardus 

 has opened a school in Chicago to teach the young idea how 

 to shoot with shotgun and rifle at glass balls, birds, beasts 

 and Injuns. See his advertisement. 



Not an Otter — Editor Forest and Stream : I have lately 

 missed one of the most exciting shots any old hunter ever 

 saw. Our lake seldom freezes over for a distance of a hun- 

 dred rods above the dam, and every winter, after all the small 

 streams are frozen up, a family of otters will appear, fishing 

 for land-locked salmon. The only place where they will 

 show themselves is on the edge of the ice, near the bold 

 shore, where it is quite difficult to trap them. I succeeded 

 in trapping one the next morning after they came by measur- 

 ing the water with a maple pole, then making a shelf four 

 inches under water on the pole and covering with boughs for 

 my trap, fastening the trap so that the ring would slide down 

 on the pole, as they want to go to the bottom if in any trou- 

 ble ; but all the others I would see come out of holes in the 

 ice within a few feet of my trap. Being where I could watch 

 them, I would then in the middle of the day shift the trap to 

 the holes where they wero seen at in the morning ; but I 

 could not trap another. 



I then cleaned out my old Springfield musket, that carries 

 an ounce ball, put in three inches of powder and the first 

 wad of tissue paper, ramming until the steel ramrod would 

 hop out of the bore ; then twelve buckshot, with a light wad. 

 This means death at one end, and almost at both, if it is not 

 held with all your strength against your shoulder with a pad 

 on it. Then, when they came the next morning, I put on an 

 extra amount of clothing and nearly buried myself in snow 

 within thirty feet of the holes I saw them in last, creeping 

 up when they were down fishing, and waited with the old 

 gun all cocked, expecting to have a slide backward, also to 

 kill one or two otter, and to kill them so dead that they could 

 not turn around and dive ; for if they did, the water being 

 so deep, I would lose them. I had not waited more than five 

 minutes when I heard a little noise of water in almost oppo- 

 site direction from what my gun was pointed, and could see 

 by turning my eyes three otters with their forward feet on 

 the edge of the hole in the ice, with their body out of the 

 water about a foot, two of them looking direct at the snow 

 bank where I lay. I knew to move would drive them away 

 for the season, so I gave them their time to go down again, 

 then came into position for the hole where they were ; but 

 they have not been 3een there since. A few years ago 1 shot 

 one with the same gun and same size charge only a few rods 

 above this same place, only I was lying flat on glare ice, 

 w ith a sheet over me, with a small hole for the gun— and kill- 

 ing him so dead that he dropped the fish he had in his mouth 

 when he came out of the hole, and giving me just time 

 enough to get the old gun under the edge of the hole in the 

 ice and over his back. Old hunter Lyford at the time, who 

 has killed more bears than anyone man in the State of Maine, 

 told me I eould not shoot an otter so dead, when they sat on 

 the edge of a hole ; that they would not turn and get under 

 the ice. Frank M. Ford. 



Sebec Lake, March 11, 1879. 



"THE ART OF SHOOTING ON THE 

 WING." 



San Jose March 13, 1879. 

 Editoe Forest and Stream : 



In the Chicago Field of Jan. 18 and 25 are some lengthy 

 and elaborate instructions for learning the art of shooting. 

 The author— T. S. Van Dyke — has, he says, " faithfully " 

 considered the subject, and has laid down rules for becoming 

 an adept in the art ; but they are full of contradictions and, 

 I would say, absurdities. But Mr. Van Dyke has a penchant 

 for "kicking ponderosities." He tells us "that the royal 

 road— the short cut— to perfect skill is about as far as ever 

 from being discovered, but by following his directions, the 



shortest road will be found, and any person of sound sight 

 and average gumption will make a crack shot and shoot as a 

 reasonable being, by a combination of skill and judgment in 

 the application of sound philosophical rules, and not by a 

 blind, unreasoning mechanism of the muscles, engendered by 

 incessant repetition and dignified by pompous and nonsensical 

 names." "Blind, unreasoning mechanism of the muscles," 

 like " the mobled queen," is good, but like the rest of the 

 sentence, tends rather to mystify than enlighten. He also 

 says : " There is nothing smart in shooting without aim, or 

 shooting by instinct, by natural gift, intuitively, and such 

 nonsense." 1. agree with him that shooting without aim 

 would not be smart, nor apt to be successful ; but no one will 

 deny that there may be a natural gift without being accused 

 of talking nonsense, for Mr. Van Dyke admits that " smash- 

 ing glass balls at ten paces with a rifle is a superhuman gift." 

 Again: "There are those who say 'Shoot without aim.' 

 Look at the Indian with his arrow ; he don't take aim, neither 

 does the teamster with his whip, the ball thrower with his 

 ball, or the carpenter with his hammer. He simply looks at 

 the object and lets drive." And then he remarks with amus- 

 ing simplicity : "But, my dear friend, can you tell me how 

 much better that Indian could shoot if he could take aim ?' 

 I maintain that they all take aim, unless they keep their eyes 

 shut. They may not, like Mr. Van Dyke, shut one eye and 

 squint along the barrels through two rifle sights. He then 

 tells us with much consistency "that the only rabbit shoot- 

 ing he ever enjoyed was when he had to use his gun precisely 

 as he would an arrow or stone — by keeping both eyes open and 

 hardly getting the faintest glimpse of any part of the gun bar- 

 rels." In another part of the instructions we have this singular 

 phrase, "dim, glimmering glimpse." Again: "It is amazing 

 how many intelligent men think the side wise motion of the gun 

 will carry the shot along with it so as to cross the path of the 

 bird where she will be when the shot gets there. Half the 

 time there is little or no sidewise motion, and the gun is 

 stopped by the sudden and involuntary bracing of the muscles 

 of the body at the instant of pulling the trigger." Certainly ; 

 but many good shots will take care that the lateral motion or 

 the gun is not checked ; the art of doing that has to be ac- 

 quired to make the finished shooter. Mr. Van Dyke says 

 " he has known good duck shots who swear positively that 

 they never hold ahead of a crossing bird, because the motion 

 of the gun carries the shot." He shows great ignorance of 

 natural philosophy when he says " that a gun barrel moved 

 from a centre, like a wheel-spoke, or a radius motor, does 

 not impart as much lateral motion to the shot as shooting 

 from a horse or wagon or railroad car in motion." Shooting 

 from a vehicle in motion makes little difference, because it is 

 not equal to the flight of the bird, and one will miss equally 

 the same unless the lateral motion is kept up ; aud he over- 

 looks the principle that a slight movement of the gun at the 

 radius will make a difference at the circumference, propor- 

 tionate to the distance, and that his pendulum following at a 

 foot distance amounts to nothing. As to the coarse rifle 

 sights on shotguns recommended, he might as well tell us to 

 go back to flint and steel. Again : " Shall he satisfy himself 

 that the gun is pointed right ? or, shall he disregard the old- 

 fashioned way, and shoot only by sense of direction ?" Point- 

 ing right is not an old-fashioned way, but the only way in 

 which game will ever be killed. The "sense of direction'" ia 

 merely the muscles carrying out the directions of ttie eye. 

 Again : " The latter (sense of direction) has many more ad- 

 vocates than formerly,'and to the mature as well as the youth- 

 ful mind it must be confessed that there is something rather 

 captivating in the idea of shooting by intuition, instinctively, 

 on general principles, by a natural gift, by the aid of pure 

 genius, of which we have heard so much lately, instead of 

 the old pokey, pottering way condemned so vehemently by 

 him whose memory is still so dear to us all." I also quote 

 "Dinks" — no mean authority on sporting subjects— who 

 says : " Never poke at a bird ; that is, try to see him along 

 the barrels. If you do, you can never be a good or quick 

 shot. Fix your eye or eyes upon the bird ; lift up vour gun 

 and fire the moment it touches the shoulder." And Col. 

 Hawker says : " The perfection of the art is attained when 

 you can knock over a partridge the moment it shows itself 

 above the stubble in November." 



Mr. Van Dyke is very indignant at "Oneida " for quotino- 

 J. D. Dougal — who more than once hit the dead centre with 

 a rifle with both eyes open— and says "he ought to be ashamed 

 to sit down aud write out and print, deliberately, such a 

 slovenly induction, and thinks more ponderosities ought to 

 be kicked." So far from kicking "Oneida's" ponderosity 

 for such an induction, it is perfectly legitimate and deducible 

 from the facts. Mr. Van Dyke has a kind of " dim glimmer- 

 ing" notion that to prove anything "a man should shoot a 

 match against himself," something like ihe right hand playing 



