FOREST AND STREAM. 



249 



GOOSING ON SINEPUXENT BAY. 



"■»■■ * 



FROM NOTES BY THE EDITOR. 



Berlin, Worcester Co., Maryland, Nov. 18th. 



"Worcester county comprises a large part of the peninsula 

 that lies between the Atlantic Ocean and Chesapeake Bay. 

 Its seaward boundary is skirted by Sinepuxent Beach, 

 twenty-five miles in extent, which incloses Sinepuxent 

 Bay, and extends to Chincoteague Sound, of which it is 

 really a part. Here wild fowl resort in immense quanti- 

 ties for food. Snipe and beach birds in great variety also 

 abound, and there is fine quail shooting on the main land. 

 The locality is easily reached by rail from Wilmington to 

 Herrington station, and thence by either of two railroads, 

 via Georgetown or Salisbury, to Berlin. From Berlin 

 there is rail communication in summer to Ocean City, a 

 delightful resort on the beach, six miles distant; but cars 

 are not run in winter except for the special accommoda- 

 tion of chance shooting parties, whom the railway officials 

 are always ready to favor. The hotel at Ocean City ac- 

 commodates some 400 guests, and is largely patronized by 

 visitors from Baltimore and Philadelphia, who prefer it to 

 Cape May and Atlantic City. The railroad was only opened 

 last year; but, now that access is made easy, Ocean City 

 will hereafter be more largely patronized than ever, and a 

 second hotel is being built in anticipation of increasing 

 numbers. 



Capt. Ayres keeps a small hostelry open all winter, to 

 accommodate sportsmeD, whom he provides for sumptu- 

 ously. He can lodge a dozen very comfortably . 



During the past few days the bay and sound have been 

 filled with ducks and geese, and sportsmen are here in 

 force. Gentlemen of means have their private sailing 

 smacks fitted up with decoys, skiffs, and all appliances for 

 pursuing their vocation, in which they cruise about the bay, 

 taking the upland, beach, and bay shooting at pleasure. 

 This is a luxurious and engaging method to those who can 

 afford the time and money ; though I take occasion to say 

 here that comfort, and success in shooting, would be much 

 increased if a model of vessel could be introduced into 

 these shallow waters similar to that in vogue on the Florida 

 coast. The topography and conditions of the coast and 

 channels here and there are much alike. The water in all 

 the bays and estuaries is seldom more than four feet deep 

 except in the main channels, and the usefulness of the 

 round bottom craft in service here is therefore very much 

 limited. They serve chiefly as portable shooting boxes, 

 while skiffs must be continually in readiness for work, and 

 as constantly resorted to. It is not pleasant to be obliged 

 to come to anchor in mid-sound, two miles from shore, 

 'and weather a storm of several days' duration when the 

 skipper could run in under the land with a flat-bottomed 

 craft and be happy. The jib-and-mainsail boats built at 

 St. Augustine, Florida, by a Polander named A. Iwa- 

 nowski, are models of beauty, and when in the 

 water show lines as graceful as the handsomest round- 

 bottomed keel-boat afloat. Indeed, .for what hull they 

 show above the water line, they might be taken for round- 

 bottomed boats. An idea of their model might be con- 

 veyed by imagining the section below the water line sliced 

 off parallel therewith. The chief desiderata for a gunning 

 craft in these waters, and indeed in all waters along the 

 coast, are light draft and plenty of cabin room. 



Several gentlemen on the bay have built snug shanties 

 or shooting boxes at eligible points, or on the islands, 

 which are supplied with all requisites for comfort and en- 

 joyment. A sneak boat or skiff, and several dozen decoys 

 for geese, ducks, and snipe, are indispensible. Hon. 

 Stephen Taber, who owns some twelve miles of the beach 

 and main iand, maintains two dozen live geese, which have 

 been domesticated and take especial delight in luring their 

 credulous kindred within gun shot, when their services are 

 brought into requisition. Capt. Stokes, of Philadelphia, 

 with a party of friends, is now on the bay off St. Martin's 

 river, with his gunning smack, doing a good business, 

 Messrs. Johnson and Sclee, of Poughkeepsie, are also cruis- 

 ing in the smack "Chatham," owned by Capt. Coffin, who 

 keeps a good hotel six miles below here. The bunches of 

 wild geese triced up in the rigging, and the miscellaneous 

 lot of ducks, quail, plover, snipe, and rabbits, on deck, 

 show that they have put in their time with profit. Mr. 

 Johnson owns the Isle of Wight, above St. Martin's river, 

 where he has a snug farm and' shooting box. Messrs. Fas- 

 sitt, father and son, of Philadelphia, went home yesterday, 

 with 150 quail, woodcock, plover, etc. Mr. Charles Hal- 

 lock, Editor of Forest and Stream, has been the guest 

 of Mr. Stephen Taber, for four days, occupying the shanty 

 at Hammock Point, opposite. Ocean City, always one of the 

 best thoroughfares for wild-fowl on the coast. Two sides 

 of the building, at last accounts, were covered with a mis- 

 cellaneous lot of feathered game, which had been hung up 

 on nails for future disposition. Every train to Wilmington 

 carries home a score of gunners well loaded, chieflv with 

 quail and woodcock, which they have picked up on the 

 farms adjacent to convenient stations on the railroads. 

 Favorite points of departure for the field aie Canterbury, 

 Herrington, Farmington, Greenwood, Seaford, Georgetown, 

 Salisbury, Pittsville, and Berlin. As a rule, the farms are 

 all posted, as a protection against market gunners, but gen- 

 tlemen sportsmen can almost invariably obtain permission 

 to shoot over private territory. It is better, in all cases, to 

 obtain letters of introduction to land owners. There seems 

 to be no obstacle to beach or bay shooting. Efforts are about 

 to be made by Dr. H. R. Pitts, President of the Wicomico and 

 Ppkomoke Railroad, B, Jones Taylor, R, J, Henry; £. Sho- 



well, Dr. Dennis, and other prominent citizens of Worcester 

 county, to organize a Game and Fish Protective Society, to 

 prevent presentabuses, which are serious, not only with re- 

 spect to game, but fish. Seining and netting is practised by 

 residents and nonresidents, not only at improper seasons, 

 but with one-inch-mesh nets which destroy small fry in 

 innumerable quantities. Sinepuxent Bay and Chincoteague 

 Sound both abound in oysters, blue fish, striped bass, 

 weakfish, perch, terrapin, etc., which, with the products 

 of the land, make the stated bill of fare very attractive and 

 replete. 



"Goosing," in its various methods, is an art which re- 

 quires much study to acquire, and patience, judgment and 

 endurance, to bring into successful practice. The adage, 

 "Set a thief to catch a thief," does not apply to this busi- 

 ness. "Set a goose to catch a goose " holds good only as 

 to decoys; and these must be properly set in suitable loca- 

 tions. The gunner must learn not only the habits of wild 

 fowl — their flight and feeding grounds — but he must be 

 able to distinguish at sight the several varieties by their 

 peculiar cry or note, their movements through the air, and 

 their general appearance, at whatever distance. He will 

 not mistake a loon for a goose, or a flock of geese for 

 brant, or black ducks for red-heads, or red-heads for 

 canvas backs. He will never waste powder on coots, old 

 squaws, or sheldrakes, when better game is afloat or aloft, 

 or throw hi3 shot away on dippers and divers. He will 

 lose no precious time by watching chances at high-flyers 

 and "travellers," when great masses bf birds are pitching 

 into the bays where decoys can be set with advantage. He 

 will determine at all times whether it be better to place his 

 decoys out from blinds on shore, or from his sink-box in 

 mid-water; for sometimes, for various reasons, the fowl 

 feed far-out, and at other times close in shore. He must 

 understand the numerous artifices to be employed to cir- 

 cumvent his wary customers, and determine promptly 

 when and where to bring them into play. The gunnei 

 must be serene in rough weather, and learn to indure cold 

 and shed rain like a duck; for it is in stormiest weather 

 that the fowl fly best. He must at all times shun observa- 

 tion, for the birds are as keen of vision as deer are of 

 scent. Reward comes, too, only to the early riser. The 

 sluggard will get few birds. The gunner must take his 

 stand at daybreak when the fowl fly low. To ensure 

 success, he must be a good wing shot, quick and accurate 

 of aim; must learn to measure distances and rapidity of 

 flight, and accustom his arm and shoulder to rough usage 

 from the breech of a forty-eight inch barrelled gun charged 

 with eight drams of powder and a handfull of T shot. He 

 should be a good boatman, as well, and in emergencies a 

 fair cook. A little knowledge of dogs is desirable at times, 

 when a spaniel can be employed to letrieve birds that fall 

 into the water out of reach. Sterner qualities than those 

 that belong to the fair-weather sportsman are needed. 



The geese that have been passing over the past week 

 have been chiefly high-flyers — most of theui "travellers," 

 not tempted to tarry by luxurious feeding grounds, but 

 bound for far distant regions in lower latitudes. It re- 

 quired the "tallest" kind of shooting to reach the nearest 

 of them, and scarcely one known to have been killed, has 

 dropped at less than 100 yards! [Just here we have assur- 

 ance enough to predict that the time will come soon when 

 the sporting rifle, under the skill acquired by practice at 

 our Rifle Ranges, will become the chosen weapon of sports- 

 men for shooting geese. And we believe, now, that an ex- 

 pert rifleman would save more game than the man with 

 the shot gun, who cripples or wounds nine out of ten that 

 he shoots at. We know this to be true, for any one can 

 hear the shot rattle against their bodies — not always harm- 

 lessly, we are positive.] 



The ducks, too, were driving birds, and expert pigeon 

 shooters might have had their best skill brought into play 

 to drop them within bounds. No doubt it was a great 

 aggravation to the individual goose, hastening on with the 

 rank and file, in full blown anticipation of speedily reach- 

 ing the objective" point for which he had started— very dis- 

 couraging, indeed, to be suddenly halted on his melodious 

 flight by a pellet of lead, and tumbled headlong to earth. 

 Quite likely the rest of the "honkers" wondered why he 

 had so suddenly taken sick and dropped out of the ranks; 

 but they never paused to inquire. Pat Mullins' famous five- 

 bore guns never did nobler duty than on several of these 

 occasions. No ordinary bird gun, of whatever pattern, 

 could have done execution. No. 2 pellets would have 

 rattled harmlessly against their armature of feathers and 

 quills. The early breakfast at the shanty was often ab- 

 ruptly interrupted by the signal of the lookout seated at 

 the cabin window that a flight was approaching; knife and 

 fork would drop instant er, and a rush be made for guns, 

 as in the primitive days, following an alarm from Indians- 

 then a furtive reconnoisance from the gable ends of the 

 building, and possibly a fusilade, presently answered by a 

 fluttering corpse dropping to the ground with a thud, almost 

 into the cooking-pot. These interruptions were inter- 

 mittent. And after the spasmodic meal there followed a 

 two hours bivouac at the blinds, where the rain pelted and 

 the chill air made the teeth chatter. 



At times a resort to the outer beach, or a cruise down the 

 bay, would vary the programme. Very exciting it was to 

 see the dark lines of geese in the distance, like low clouds 

 on the horizon, gradually approach, and resolve themselves 

 into squads and platoons as they drew near to the decoys; 

 the suspicious file leaders with outstretched necks, sound- 

 ing their horns, sheering off momentarily to the westward 

 and southward, then hesitate, wheel, and finally pitch into 

 the w$ves with a splash, $feaf made tb,e sajt spray fly , T^en 



the great guns would thunder, and the vast living mass rise 

 with a tumult of wings and din of trumpetings and screams, 

 leaving many behind, and more to fall as they flapped in 

 disordered flight to the upper air. How complacent the 

 live decoys seemed as they triumphantly surveyed the 

 havoc they had helped to create! and with what a self- 

 satisfied air they settled down to business again and 

 awaited the coming of the next reinforcement! The keen 

 observer could almost fancy he detected mutual congratula- 

 tions among the flock and saw, as in the historical olden 

 time 



"The old gray goose a smiling at the gander." 



It was rare sport, too, for the gunners who harvested the 

 plunder, while visions of roast^goose and apple sauce filled 

 the "mind's eye, Horatio." 



Nothing like goose shooting to whet the appetite and 

 woo sound slumber! What larder can excel that of Sine- 

 puxent? Lucious oysters and fresh fish to alternate with 

 roast goose and duck; fresh eggs, rich sausage, and pota- 

 toes from the farms? One can live royally at the shanty, 

 and every hour of rest and sleep after eating adds an 

 ounce to a man's avoirdupoise and a steel spring to his 

 lifting power. Soon the red-heads will come in force, and 

 then there will be fresh fields for sport. But these I must 

 now leave to others less trammelled with business. "Dido 

 et dux." No wonder! Nath'less the editor must stick to 

 his quills. Alas! that poor editors, like pwine, should be 

 driven to a pen for a living! Nevertheless, his brief holi- 

 day at Sinepuxent will be remembered whenjmany others 

 are forgotten. 



I volunteer the information here that a large tract of land 

 of many miles in extent, embracing some of the best 

 grounds for upland, beach and bay shooting, is available 

 here at a low lease for a party of gentlemen who wish to 

 organize a Club similar to those at Currituck and else- 

 where. I shall be glad to further any movement of the 

 kind and to place proposals before the parties in interest. 



Hal. 

 -*.♦» 



"Late at the Feast."— Under this title maybe seen 

 at Miss S. J. Gibbons' art gallery, 95 Fifth avenue, a pic- 

 ture of rare merit from the easel of Benno Adams, repre- 

 senting a fox and three hounds, and in it may be traced a 

 master hand, as the painting and natural delineation of the 

 fox and dogs will compare well with the best of the late 

 Edwin Landseer. So natural is the pose and coat of the 

 the fox that the eye conceives a living, breathing animal. 

 In color her work is particularly happy in all its figures 

 and surroundings. This picture was purchased at a cost 

 of $5,000, and is the property of a lady of discriminate 

 taste, who is about to part with it at. a sacrifice of $2,500. 

 Our readers will do well to make a critical examination of 

 this grand original picture. Five hundred dollars were 

 offered to allow a copy to be taken, but refused. The 

 painting is without question one of the finest in the United 

 States, and of its kind the best one known of. 



\ifh. 



A NEW DEPARTURE IN RIFLE SHOOT- 

 ING. 



THE matchesat Creed moor on Saturday represented a 

 new departure in rifle shooting, and will undoubt- 

 edly result in interesting a new class of riflemen, as well 

 as increasing the attraction of the range to the old habit- 

 ues. Many of the Creedmoor marksmen who are old 

 hunters have frequently complained that the off-hand 

 shooting at an immovable target had a tendency to mr ke 

 them "too slow on the trigger." The same objecticn has 

 been urged by many others, who have not used the range 

 for that reason. The system of ma*ch shooting has also 

 given the preference to those rifles which are best adapted 

 to deliberate aim at the target. Even at 200 yards the 

 elaborately sighted and heavy rifles using a heavy charge 

 had an advantage over the leading sporting rifles, although 

 in the field the latter would have the advantage. The 

 Winchester Arms Company, of New Haven, deserve great 

 credit for the attempt which they have made to place 

 a sporting gun upon an equality with the match rifle. 

 They have, at an expense of $1,750, erected and complete- 

 ly finished a "Running Deer" target upon the range at 

 Creedmoor, which they have presented to the National 

 Rifle Association for the purpose of encouraging the same 

 practice on the range as would be required on a run way 

 in the forest, and to afford the ordinary sporting rifle a fair 

 chance in its proper field. 



The Running Deer is an outline of an ordinary sized 

 deer, composed of two sheets of boiler iron bolted togeth- 

 er, and consequently bullet proof. The figure is suspended 

 froman upright by a pivot in the center, which gives it a 

 slight up and down motion. The whole apparatus rests 

 upon a low truck running upon a narrow railroad track 

 laid in a double inclined plane 150 feet long from end to 

 end, with a fall from each end to the center of about eight 

 feet. In the rear of the target is a ball-proof fence of 

 timber 25 feet high, filled with stone, at each end of which 

 are wings 20 feet in length of the same material The 

 markers are stationed on a platform in the rear of each 

 wmg. Upon a whistle from the firing point, which is 

 given as the shooter takes his position, the marker gives 

 the deer a violent push, which sends him down and across 

 the track to the other side, where he is received bv the ■ 

 other marker, who marks the hits he may have received 

 1 m bis passage, by placing a disc upon the correspomliag 



