October 20, 1881. 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



229 



§;ig mid 



iun. 



FOREST AND STREAM GAME TABLE 



qpe\ SEASONS. 



The seasons, In which !t is lawful to shoot game In the several 



suites and Territories, open "as designated in the following l able: 



(let. zo. 

 July l.. 

 Sept l. 



. A life'. IR. 



Oo«. I .. 



. AUtf. 1. 



S 



. ooc i.. 

 sept, i. 



K.V.... Sept I. 



La \n','. I.. 



M(\b.. . Oct 1. . 

 Muss. . Nov. 1 . 

 Ml.-li.-. Oct I .. 

 Minn .. Nov I . 

 Mils. .. Oct. 1 . 



yio.ii .. sept i. 

 Netj. .. Oct, l.. 



M..1./.. 



N. M< x. 

 N. V. •;. 

 N. r. ■ . 



..lulv -I.. 



.Inly 1.. 



July id. 



s.-pi. i. 



All-. I . 



•iiiiyi.. 



Se| : ■ 

 Aug. l„ 

 Oct. i.. 



sept. ir.. 

 S<-|,1. ':. 

 I'roht.d 

 ■ . 



AUS 16.. 

 Nm. I.. 

 NOV. I., 



'-'••I. ' . 



Sept, :.. 



(leu I... 

 ()<:(. I'.. 

 OCt 1... 

 Nov. 1.. 

 Oct. an . 



Sept. is 



I—.; 

 Oct. 15., 



■ 



Sept i.. 

 Oct. i... 

 Out in 

 Oct I.. 



Sl-]ll. 1.. 



Si pi. I.. 



Nov. I 



Sep!. I 



'7 ; ;,i,; ' 



tiled 



I'.', ,,,. :.; 



r '.-,'.,V, 

 Oltok- 

 en). 



Sept. is. 

 061 i... 

 Oct l... 

 Aug. 10., 

 .Nov. i .. 

 All-. I.., 



Oct. 1. 



Aug'.' is 

 s'opi'.'i 



Aug. 1.. Nov. ... 



'Ml. I, 



H. I . . 



■IV II II. 

 T«.'.\a- 



h An- •■';'. 







nah 



.. Aug. : . 





1883 



VL. .. 





Sept. 1.. 





Va.' .. 



.. Sept. ;.. 



.luly 1.. 



Nov. 1 . . 



Wash 



.. An-. [.. 





sepi 



W. Vl 



.. .iiiiyi:... 





001 15. 



WIS. . 



.. Si-pl. IS, 



.Inly 10. 



Aug, I, 



Wyo. 



..Aug. IS, 







QCU 1... 

 Oct 10.. 

 Oct. I... 



■Oct bit'. 

 s, pi. i.-. 

 Sept l, 



Si-pl.. i.. 

 Sept l . . 

 sept i.. 



Otitis!! 



All- IS., 

 SOpt ] 

 Sl-pl. 1.. 



Nov. I . 



Sl-pl. I.. 



sept. i.. 

 (hi. i .. 

 scpl. I. 



■ ie is. 

 . i... 



Sept i . 

 sept. I .I 

 Sept. l . 

 Aug. I... 



sept I . proired 



Aug. 



Aug. IS 



bl 6V. I . 



An- I". 



Sept I. 



Sept.. 1. 



1'ioh-d. 



tssa 

 sept i. 



Nov. 1 . 

 •luly I . 

 Oct. 1 . . 



Sept. 1 



Oct I.. Oct 1.. 



Sl-1,1. l 



A -|'.\ 1- Sl-pl. !. 



Sept l. Nnv. i. 



Aug. 1:->Oct 1.. 



Sept'i! Hept'i! 



.... sept i. 



sept, l 



Dot l,. 



sept. IB 

 Oct 1.. 



ft pt I. 

 All- I., 



Sept I 

 Sept I 



srpt. :;, 

 Sept. 1. 



sept l. 



■.-.—Ala., Aug. l ; <'al.,.iul.\ i : <;a.,oet 1; Kan., Aug, 1 ; Miss., 

 I.i : Mo.. Aug. ! : N <_'., Oct 1 ; S. < .. Oct 15. 

 -Colo.,S'-pi. t; Idaho, Aug I; Minn., Nov. 1: Neb.. Oct. 1 ; 

 Aug. I; N. Mes., Sept 1'; Or-, July 1; I'tah, Aug. 1; Wyo., 



ei..,;, s/!.. .';': New', Aug. 1; N. Mex., 



--. p. C., Sept'i; Me'.',Au&l; Mo., Aug. I; Nev., Sept. 1 ; N. 



.— Del.. sV-i'iu ':. ; N. J ', s'.'-pt. T I'll., sept 1. 



hi,-:. -Del., Sept. .'.; II. l'., Srpi. 1 - N. .,'.. Aug. 25; Pa., Sept. 1. 



8.— Dakota, Aug. XS; I), c, sept I; Nov., sept 1 ; N. C, Qct IB. 



WILD TURKEY HUNTING. 



OF the numerous articles under this head, appearing at 

 intervals in the PoKftBT and Stream:, one published, 

 a short time ago, over the notit (fe phitue of "Splasher," 

 accurately detailed tlio method of successful turkey hunting, 

 so far at least, as the Houtfi is concerned. It was interesting 

 to all who are fond or the pursuit of this noble bird ; and as 

 I arrogate to myself the title Of an adept in the art, I -will 

 venture a few suggestions and incidents of my sporting ad- 

 ventures when wild turkey hunting, which will probably in- 

 1 t-r Bt " Splasher," rt id uuine. geniW. 



la the part of the South in which I reside Ibe flocks are 

 lew and fur between, seldom containing more than twenty 

 individuals: tint within the last few years there has been a 

 manifest increase, partly owing' lo salutary game laws, and 

 partly to the growing up of old field pines in the worn-out 

 fields. These pine forests are favorite resorts of the turkey, 

 and afford them, at all seasons of the year, more secure 

 roosting and hiding places than forests of oak and other de- 

 ciduous trees. The rapidity of growth of the old field pine 

 here is something wonderful, and has undoubtedly been of 

 great advantage to many parts of Ihe country. Districts are 

 frequently seen densely eovored with this growth, the trees 

 in many instance- -:- . i :.; a foot or eighteen, inches in 

 diameter at the stump, which fori}' years ago were in 

 cultivation. 



When Hushed in ppetl fields or oak woods, in the hunting 



season, the turkeys 

 uf settling then lv" 

 fectly screened i rum 

 try the open season I 

 February, and after J 

 wary, and it require? 

 to bag them where 1 1 

 in the latter part of Nt 



Ittaight to the pines, and have 

 n the lofiy tree tops, so as to be per- 

 iservation" In this part of the ooun- 

 cudsfrom October 10th to the 1st of 

 vember the birds become exceedingly 

 i the nrisof an experienced huntsman 

 ' have been hunted. P,ut one turkey, 

 id in December, is worm 



more than two or three in October, and to kill them, as a 

 rule, requires len times the practice and skill requisite when 

 they are young. It is considered as decidedly unsportsmanlike 

 to "'bail" or Iran turkeys, and no one but "euflee" or a 

 tvhite pot-hunter ever does anything of the kind. Turkey 

 hunting here lequires such skill, patience and knowledge of 

 the habits of the bird that few pportsmea indulge in it; but 

 this spi Tt possesses such ai tractions thai, when once initiated 

 into the mysteries thereof, it discovers a fascination uu- 

 equaled by any other sport to be bad in the old Southern 

 States. It is grntilyiug, too, to ihosc fportsmen who, like 

 the writer, dwell in a sparsely settled region, win-re the negro 

 has a numerical superiority of two to one over the whites, to 

 perceive that Sambo seldom develops any taste for this 

 sport. He is expert at hare and squirrel hunting, and it, is 

 his especial prerogative lo bunt "de 'possum and de 'coon :" 

 but partridge and turkey hunting are not in his Hue. Hence 

 about all the harm he does to turkeys is bis propensity to 

 build a log cabin in the pines, and squat in the midst of the 

 old turkey ranges, which has the effect of driving the game 

 frixn Ihe-ir accustomed haunts. 

 A flock of turkeys will frequently have a range, the ter- 



mini of which may be fen or more miles apart, and conse- 

 quently they nru honied most frequently on horseback. A 

 well-trained dog is a qu i B071 Of the sport. In October, 



when the turkeys are young, they are easily killed ; but later 

 on, when they have become fully matured and have been 

 hunted, is the time when skill, patience and caution are re- 

 quired. The best method of hunting and calling turkeys 

 may be most satisfactorily described by relating a little of my 

 experience, and I have bunted llieni in company with some 

 of the most skillful and successful sportsmen in the South, 

 and have killed within the last l.en years not less than an 

 average of ten a Season, 



Thccall which is superior to all others, wheu in experienced 

 hands, is the larger bone of the second joint of a turkey's 

 wing. This hone is first trimmed at each end, uud then 

 cleaned of all particles of tlesh and marrow. One end is 

 then inserted into a tube of cedar or elder, about, as long and 

 but litllc larger than a man's middle finger. The other end, 

 to make the call, is placed between the lips and the air 

 drawn in. 



About the first of December your corespondent'' and a 

 compauion started at early dawn on a turkey html. After 

 proceeding a few miles from home wc entered upon an old 

 and extensive turkey range, and for several hours rode 

 through oak woods and dense pine forests, over rugged hills 

 and through swamps. Our dog, a well-trained Irish setter, 

 knew as well as we did what wc were after, and he paid no 

 attention to smaller game, but all the while ranged in our 

 front and to the right and left, frequently a half-mile away. 

 It was mid-day before we saw any fresh signs of turkeys. 

 Soon after eadug our lunch, however, we saw tracks, evi- 

 dently made very recently. Carefully noliug the direction 

 in which the flock bad gone, we pushed forward, cautiously 

 scanning every opening and listening for the bark of out- 

 dog, which had disappeared in our front. At length we 

 heard him bark, and toon saw above the tree tops several 

 turkeys flying in different directions. The dog continued to 

 bark, and we sawat intervals several other turkeys flying off. 

 Ad this showed that the Hock was a good one, and "that the 

 dog had performed his duty well and had scattered the fl ok 

 so that they could not get together without yelping. Se- 

 curely fastening our horses hi a .low dell, we cautiously ad- 

 vanced on foot, and were met by the dog, who instinctively 

 retraced his steps to the spot where he had Hushed the flock". 

 We then proceeded to bunt around, within a radius of a 

 quarter of a mile, lo sec that the Hock were well scattered. 

 After proceeding a short distance a fine young gobbler flew 

 out of a tree over our heads, and, both firing, we brought 

 him di nvn. We saw and heard several others fly, but beyond 

 the range of our guns. Wo then called in our dog, and, 

 selecting proper places, built our blinds. The location and 

 construction of a blind requires as much skill and experi- 

 ence, as well as knowledge of the habits of the game, as any 

 other part of turkey hunting. Both depend so much upon 

 the nature and features of the ground that it is almost im- 

 possible to lay down any general rule. Other things being 

 equal, the location must be near the spot where the flock 

 wi s scattered, and the blind must be as like nature as possi- 

 ble. An inexperienced hunter may place his blind near the 

 spot where the fleck was scattered but in such a position 

 that he will not see a turkey, while an old hunter would 

 place the blind fifty yards away and be eminently sue- 



Wc made our blinds of small cedars which were abundant, 

 selecting such as were not over three feet in height, sticking 

 tbein in the ground iu a circle about five feet in diameter, so 

 as to resemble some natural clumps near by, and on a slight 

 elevation. Mine was near the spot where the dog first flushed 

 the flock, and my companion's some quarter of a mile away, 

 in the direction we supposed most oil the turkeys had gone. 

 Having completed my blind, in which the dug had already 

 curled up, I crept in and remained perfectly quiet for an 

 hour. I then, with my yelp, gave three loud and distinct 

 calls. For fully half an hour I wailed, intently listening, 

 only to be occasionally startled by some of the sylvan sounds 

 with which woodsmen are familiar, but nothing fell upon 

 my ear denotinir. the presence or approach of the game. I 

 then gave another call— three notes as before— but in a low 

 tone. The In ne find scarcely been takeu from my lips, when 

 a slight- sound caused me to I urn my bead cautiously, and 

 there, within twenty steps of my blind, was a turkey, standing 

 as straight as an arrow. Quickly throwing my gun to my 

 shoulder I shot it through the head and neck. Restraining 

 n for fully thirty or forty minutes, ami 

 r cad. This time I received an answer 

 . Knowing I hat both turkeys would 

 instinct to the place whence they bad 

 lyeail, I kept perfectly still. Again and again 1 bey 

 each time uearer, those on one side nearer than those 

 ither, and soon two came up together, and as they 

 issing the blind I shot one, but was unable to get a shot 

 at the other as it flew off. Fully another hour elapsed before 

 I ventured another call, but iu the interval I beard two shots 

 freiu my friend in quick succession, I again yelped, and 

 after listening for sonic lime f heard a low cluck, the note 

 frequently made by an old gobbler. He came up lo a spot 

 about one hundred yards from my blind, and stood for smc 

 time perfecdy erect, wilh every feather of bis beautiful plu- 

 mage in place, and with a bean;! fully 'ten inches long. There 

 1 remained iTuf-lied and immovable, with one hand on the 

 dog and the other on the gun for a long time, and there he 

 stood, occasionally walking off a few paces and then coming 

 back. As the sun was getting low and I saw he would come 

 no nearer, 1 made a similar dud; to his own. He immediate 

 ly started toward me in a run, and I thought 1 had him, but he 

 suddenly Stoppi d about sevcuty-fivc ya^ds away as if he bad 

 discovered something wrong. 1 was in a state of breathless 

 excitement, afraid to move hand or foot. I was debating 

 whether f should live and risk killing him with a chance shoi 

 win n, as if struck by a suddeu thought, he crouched down, 

 and stealthily crept away. I watched and waited sometime 

 longer, but at length gfi ally chagrined, and thinking he had 

 taken alalia nt something about the blind, I drew along 

 breath and stretched out in the blind, making some little 

 stir. As I did 60 1 was ,-tanledby the well-known , it be 

 hind me, and, glfti cing around, I saw that lie had come up 

 behind the blind:, and ivli.n within ten steps bad seen me 

 without my discovering him. I sprang up with the gun to 

 my shoulder, but as I did so he ran behind a tree, and kept 

 the tree between himself and me, until beyond gunshot, 

 when I heard him Uy. Gathering up tin- dea'd game I then 

 repaired t > our horses, where I was soon joined by my com- 

 panion who had also secured two. 



Much has been said in regard to l he number of notes to be 

 made in calling. Willi any but young turkeys you should 

 never make more than three notes at a lime, and at iutcrvals 



my dog 1 1 



' • ' ■ ' 



from two dii 

 come with jro 

 heard my call, 

 yelped, 



eps 



of from thirty minutes to an hour. Old gobblers are more 

 successfully brought within range by a dw.k than auy other 

 note, except in the spring, when they will come to the yelp 

 -if the hen. The duck is never made by the hen, but only by 

 Ihe gobblers, two or more, of whom generally go together. 

 It is a noie that cannot be made by the hunter, except after 

 careful observation and practice. 



It has been said that calls maybe made as tame, turkeys 

 make their call* ; but this does not accord with my experi- 

 ence or observation, and you must only iiui'ate the wild 

 tm key's call with certain restrictions. I am not speaking as 

 to young lurkeys, which are easily deceived, but of old and 

 wary birds, the bagging of which does credit to the sports- 

 man. Wilh the latter the hunter must, never undertake to 

 five as many calls or notes even as the wild turkey frequent- 

 ly makes. If he does he will get no turkey for bis pains, 

 unless he has stumbled upon an inexperienced flock. One 

 evening in the month of December a friend and I scattered a 

 flock of eight or teu turkeys. It being late, we did not suc- 

 ceed in getiing one to answer. So by light the next morn- 

 ing we were again in our blinds, which were some distance 

 apart. By agreement I was to do all the yelping, ihe blinds 

 being so situated that some of the flock would pass my 

 friend in coming to my call. My first call was answered by 

 the old hen, who came within sevenly-flve yards of my 

 blind, in plain view, and commenced yelping loudly and 

 frequently. She would sometimes make a dozen or more 

 notes at. a time that might have been heard a mile. Olhers 

 answered, and I heard my friend shoot, once or twice. The 

 report of Ihe gun would startle her at first, but it was too 

 distant to frighten her away. I then understood the situa- 

 tinn, that my friend's blind was directly between her and 

 the rest of the flock, and she was between him and me, thus 

 none of her flock could reach her. She started off several 

 times, but I succeeded finally in bringing her within a few 

 feet of my blind and killed her. Her beard, the longest I 

 ever saw on a hen, was at least eight inches m length. 

 Had any one attempted to make half the number of calls 

 or notes in a call that this old hen did, they would have 

 frightened off all the turkeys. Something artificial in the 

 notes would certaiu'y have caused alarm. h\ my early days 

 as a turkey hunter I frequently lost fair opportunities of 

 bagging old turkeys by yelping too frequently and making 

 loo many notes at a call, and have always succeeded best 

 when observing the cautioDS I have indicated. M. 



Norbhmie, Ya. 



THE DECREASE of GAME BIRDS. 1 



PiDTLAND, Vt, Oct. 12. 



Editor Forest and Stream: 



In reply to your suggestion that the scarcity of ruffed 

 grouse, mentioned in my letter of a recent date, mieht be 

 attributed to the destructive work of the partridge "fly, or 

 the snares and traps of the pot hunters. 



I must say that the partridge fly is unkuown to me. T have 

 read of it and of its work, but never saw one, and never heard 

 of one except through your paper, and I never saw a grouse 

 that appeared to mc to be infected with any fly, bug or 

 other vermin, at least to the extent of injury to its health or 

 strength. I have made some inquiry among our sportsmen 

 and never found one who had ever seeu one, or noticed its 

 work. 1 must confess that I have been inclined to regard 

 Ihe stories of its ravages as somewhat sensational. Is it not 

 a new, or eompiratively recent, discovery? I never beard 

 of it until within two or three years, I think, and yet 1 have 

 been snooting these birds for many years, more years than I - 

 like to tell, or even to think of. I do not believe that the 

 fly can be charged, in this State at least, with the scarcity of 

 which I complain. Nor can I believe that the snaring has 

 much to do wiih it. Some five or six years aao a consider- 

 able number of birds w T ere brought into cur markets which 

 had been scared, perhaps fifty in all, and all in one season ; 

 since that time I have no reason to believe that any birds 

 have taken in this way in this vicinity. 1 have heard of no 

 instances, nor have I seen or heard of, a hedge, or the re- 

 mains of one, for years. My walks over the grounds most 

 likely to be haunted by suarers have been quite extensive, 

 and I have also made inquiries of olhers, and can learn of no 

 offences in this line. Some other reason must, in my opin- 

 ion, be sought. 



Since i wrote last, inviting your correspondents to 

 give us the average weight of their birds, woodcock 

 and grouse, 1 have shot eight woodcock, Ihe average 

 weight of which was six and one fourth ounces, making the 

 average weight of eighteen October birds five and eight- 

 tenths ounces. I am surprised to find them so small and am 

 desirous to know if ihe lack of avoirdupois is peculiar to this 

 section. The grouse I have shot during Ibis month average a 

 fraction less than eighteen ounces, which is also a surprise 

 to me, for I thought they would have been heavier. 



VrciiOE Month. 



[We did not attempt, in our note appended to "Verde 

 Mon'e's" previous letter, to explain why the birds are 

 scarce in his particular section. It would lie impos-ible to 

 do Ibis without knowing more fully than we do the. condi- 

 tions which prevail Ihere ; and even if we were familiar with 

 the ground, and had all Ihe information possible to be ob- 

 tained, it is very likely that we should be unable to give 

 satisfactory reasons for the scarcity. Under the circum- 

 stances we could only suggest possible causes, which we have 

 known in other localities, to make barren covers once 

 abounding in grouse. We are somewhat, surprised that our 

 correspondent should be ignorant of a parasite so abundant 

 as the partridge fly, which infests Ir-ib grouse and quail. 



That Ibis pes'— Offers/a amerimua, Leach— is not a creature 

 of the imagination, we can sorrowfully ai test ; we have re- 

 peatedly seen Ihem, and can bear witness to their very destruc- 

 tive onslaughts upon the grouse. Their deadly work is ac- 

 complished yvhile the birds are loo young and weak io 

 recover from the loss of blood which these leeches exact. 

 We do not imagine that the fly, in us mature state, works 

 any serious harm, but the larva- or tick, as they are called, 

 as 'soon as they are produced, bury their heads "m the neck 

 of the grouse," and do not remove it until liny arc lull- 

 grown. A grown bird can generally survive the drain upon 

 its vitality, all hough we have more than once brought ffl bag 

 old birds that were reduced to mere skeletons by these pests. 

 We cannot define the geographical limits i if "the partridge 

 fly, but presume that if "Verde Monte" will carefully ex- 

 amine each bird as soon as killed, he will soon be convinced 

 of their existence.] 



I cannot fail observing the many anxious expressions of 

 regret and disappointment of sportsmen throughout, the 



