A NORTH CAROLINA QUAIL HUNT. 



H. B. H. 



A friend living in North Carolina re- 

 cently gave me a kind invitation to visit 

 him, and shoot quails. With 2 days' leave 

 of absence, I took my Baker hammerless 

 and boarded the train for Battleboro, 

 N. C. There I was met by my friend, Mr. 

 A. J. Hobgood, and his 2 boys. The eld- 

 est, Wilson, 14 years of age, was to accom- 

 pany me on my rambles. After breakfast 

 we started off, and just outside the town 

 both dogs began making game. Ben, the 

 red Irish setter, going in one direction and 

 Jack, the young pointer, in another. I fol- 

 lowed the old dog, but on looking back 

 saw Jack pointing. We hurried to him, 

 but when within 30 yards of him, the birds 

 flushed. I killed with first and missed with 

 second. We marked one down, which Wil- 

 son grassed nicely. On going about 100 

 yards in the direction we thought the birds 

 had flown, both dogs pointed, and instead 

 of a single, a covey arose. I killed with 

 first and missed with second. Wilson 

 knocked his bird down, but we could not 

 find it. The rest flew into a thicket and we 

 left them. Soon Ben hit a scent and fol- 

 lowed it some distance, pointing repeated- 

 ly, he then went back and out of our sight, 

 and in a few minutes flushed the covey. We 

 marked them down. As they arose, Wil- 

 son got one with each barrel and I missed 

 2. Before we finished getting them up, the 

 dogs ran into another covey, 50 or 100 

 yards from us. We marked them down 

 scattered all around. Dash pointed, up the 

 bird went and I tumbled him over. Wilson 

 shot the next and crippled it badly, I fired 

 at it, and we saw it come down. Thinking 

 it so badly crippled that he could catch it, 

 Wilson tried to pick it up; however, it 

 arose and I killed it. Going back to the 

 scattered birds, we got up only one more, 

 which I killed. 



We proceeded some distance, to a wheat 

 stubble field; sure of finding a covey there. 

 Ben went out about 50 yards in this stubble 

 and pointed. With a whirr the birds arose. 

 I killed with first. Wilson also killed one. 

 We did not follow them, as they went into 

 a thicket. Ben struck another covey of 15 

 or 18 birds, and we got 3 on the rise. We 



thought we had them marked down in a 

 clump of bushes, but could start only one, 

 which Wilson missed and I killed. A lit- 

 tle farther on a covey flushed wild, and 

 flew back down a ditch, out of sight. 

 Thinking probably they had gone over a 

 knoll, we went that way. One got up. 

 flew over my head and I scored a clean 

 miss. Over the knoll on the edge of some 

 bushes, both dogs pointed. I looked 

 ahead, saw the covey on the ground, and a 

 beautiful sight it was. Up they went. Two 

 fell to my first, but one recovered suffi- 

 ciently to rise again, when I got him with 

 the remaining barrel. Wilson also bagged 

 his bird. Seeing where they had been 

 scratching, we knew they were not the 

 covey we had started a few minutes before; 

 so we went to where the ditch joined the 

 woods, and there they were. Wilson 

 missed, then tumbled one over, which, with 

 a broken wing, ran in thick briars, where we 

 could not find it. Dash pointed, and a bird 

 rose. I fired and killed it. Dash pointed 

 again, and we both fired simultaneously. 

 Over the bird went, in the thick briars, and 

 no amount of hunting woul^ and it. We 

 then turned our steps homeward, not hav- 

 ing been over a mile from the station, at 

 any time. 



When nearly in the town limits, we 

 started another covey. I missed with both 

 barrels, and Wilson with one. 



After eating dinner and resting awhile. 

 I suggested we get a few more shots be- 

 fore nightfall. Going a short distance, 

 someone flushed a covey which alighted 

 near us. We walked into it. I killed with 

 first and missed with second, but Wilson 

 stopped him for me. It was now getting 

 dark and we started home. When crossing 

 a pea-patch a single got up and I grassed 

 it before Wilson could spring his ~un. 



_ Arriving at the house we counted our 

 birds, and shells brought back. I had shot 

 24 times and had 14 birds. Wilson 15 

 times and had 6 birds, with 2 more that we 

 could not find. 



During the day we started 9 coveys. 

 There are plenty of birds, there, and they 

 are hunted but little. 



ANDREE'S BAD EXAMPLE. 



" What skinned Dickie's nose and chin 

 so dreadfully? " 



" Well he tied himself to a lot of toy bal- 

 loons and jumped off the back porch." 

 269 



