FOREST AND STREAM.^ 



OUR WASHINGTON LETTER. 



Woodcock Shootino— Coi.rMiuA Lonr-Ranc4e Rifi.e Omit: 

 —Bass Fishing— Shooting and Fishing at the Vir- 

 ginia Springs, Et& 



I FliOM OFTI SPECIAL CODTJKSrONDENTl 



Washington, D. C, Aug. 18, 1877. 



AMERICAN woodcock (Philomela minor), the most deli- 

 cious of all game birds, is now quite abundant in this vi- 

 cinity, and many have been killed within the past two or three 

 weeks. It must be remembered, however, that woodcock shoot- 

 ing though a beautiful is, at times, a very laborious sport, and the 

 excessively hot weather has prevented many of our sportsmen 

 from its enjoyment. Just now when the weather is close and 

 BOlfcry, the birds are found iu the covered swamp, there being 

 many such places within an hour's drive of Washington afford- 

 ing 1 hem excellent shelter. I have known of a few instances 

 where six or eight have been killed in an afternoon, but they are 

 not so plentiful as they were in the days of Audubon, when 

 he wrote of the woodcock as follows : 



"It is, however, killed in almost incredible numbers from 

 the beginning of July until lateiti the winter, in different parts 

 of the Union, and our markets are amply supplied with it dur- 

 ing its season. You may at times see gunners returning from 

 their sports with a load of woodcocks, composed of several 

 dozens; nay, adepts in the sport have been known to kill up- 

 ward of a hundred in the course of a day, being assisted by 

 relays of dogs, and perhaps a change of guns." 



No doubtlthey were very plentiful in some sections of the 

 country at the time when he wrote, but the gameness of the 

 bird, and its standing as a delicious morsel only served to 

 make the persecutions against it the more persevering. The 

 Tesultis that they are rapidly decreasing in numbers. Wood- 

 cock, it must be remembered, raise but one brood of young 

 a, nnually, and rarely more than four in a brood. I have heard 

 of nests being found witli five eggs therein, but this is not 

 a frequent occurrence. The young birds begin to look out 

 for themselves within a few hours after their appearance in 

 the world, though they are not able to fly to any extent before 

 three or four weeks. When about six weeks of age, however, 

 although not fully fledged, they can fly with great rapidity, 

 and it requires as much dexterity to kill them then as it does 

 to drop an old bird. There has been a disagreement among 

 ornithologists, I believe, as to the technical name for this bird, 

 some classing it as scolopax, and others as Philohela minor, but 

 the dissension is not limited to these learned gentlemen. A 

 short time ago a gentleman from this city while on a visit in 

 one of the neighboring counties of Virginia, went out one 

 afternoon for woodcock, having noticed many places where 

 they might be found. Upon inquiry of his farmer friend 

 he was told the birds were plentiful, and a piece of woods was 

 pointed out which it was said they frequented. Further in 

 quiry developed the fact that his granger friend called our 

 common woodpecker "woodcock." Soon, however, our city 

 sportsman found the genuine bird, and bagged several before 

 sundown. Upon his return he displayed the birds with the 

 remark " Here is a true woodcock," but his country friend, 

 with a look of scorn, denied it, declaring "that bird is a seven 

 whistler, and it is no use to call it anything else." 



Woodcock, like the snipe, see best at night, but I believe the 

 former are more noctural in their habits. They f eed principally 

 at night, and are a more gentle bird than the snipe ; besides 

 snipe often take long and elevated flights during the day, while 

 woodcock never fly, except at night, unless forced to do so to 

 elude their enemies, and even then fly but a short distance. 

 As before stated, they are found at this season in closely cover- 

 ed swamps, but in this locality it does not inhabit such places 

 exclusively. At some seasons it is no uncommon occurence 

 to find the bird in corn fields and other cultivated tracts in the 

 vicinity of swampy ground, and it often betakes itself to the 

 woods to rustle among the dry leaves and feed upon the insects 

 and worms found under them. A few remain here during the 

 winter unless the season is unusally severe. Most of them, how- 

 ever, are off for the South as soon as the ground begins to 

 freeze, but return in early spring to breed. Their nest is care- 

 fully concealed in a secluded place in low, thick, swampy woods 

 or brakes, on the ground at the foot of a bush or sometimeson a 

 fallen log or decayed stump. It is formed of a few dry leaves or a 

 little grass, just enough to keep the eggs from the cold or moist 

 ground, and in this latitude the eggs generally are laid in March. 

 The female bird is considerably larger than the male, but 

 they fly with such rapidity that it requires great dexterity to 

 kill them, It is well known that they feed principally on 

 earth worms and insects : and it is said that a single bird will 

 swallow more in the course of a night than will equal its own 

 weight, its digestive powers, however, are great accordingly. 

 Mr. Charles II. Laird is the fortunate winner of the 

 Buruside badge presented to the Columbia Long-Bange Rifle 

 Club by Col. J. O. I'. Burnside, the President of the Organi- 

 zation. There were four contests for the prize, participated 

 in by Messrs Chas. H. Laird, James E. Bell, P. J. Laurit.zen, 

 Prof. Wm. Harkness and Col. Burnside. The badge is a 

 beautiful piece of workmanship and attracts much attention. 

 It is of gold, with enamelled face representing the target. On 

 the reverse is the inscription 



" 1877 

 BnasiBE Badge 



won by 



CnAFO.ES H. Laird. 



Score, 180 177 184—541. 



Distance, 1050 yards." 



The length of the badge is \\ inches and width f of an inch. 



JtisBtirinoimtc-dby the monogram of the Qlub, C, L.R. G., in 



-r 



gold tastefully interwoven, to which letters the pin is attached. 

 Col. Burnside, the President of the Club, takes a lively interest 

 in the welfare thereof, and the badge was gotten up by him to 

 be contested for, the terms being that one Of the contestants 

 must win it three times before it became his personal property. 

 Each contestant had two sighting and forty-five scoring shots 

 over the extraordinary distance of 1,050 yards, and at the first 

 contest Mr. Laird was the winner : at the second Mr. Lauritzen 

 was successful ; at the third Mr. Laird again won, and at the 

 founb he took the prize. The Club meets for practice at the 

 range near Benning's Station on the Baltimore and Potomac 

 R. R.every Friday afternoon, and there are frequently many in- 

 terested spectators. The organization is now affiliated with the 

 National Rifle Association, having recently received the affilia- 

 tion papers, and it is in a very flourishing condition. 



There is a peculiarity about the black bass fishing in the 

 Potomac near Washington noticed by many intelligent anglers 

 during the past lew years, and that is, that but few large fish 

 are taken from the waters near the city. Three or four years 

 ago it was a common thing to catch bass above and in the 

 neighborhood of the Little Falls weighing from two to three 

 pounds. Now small ones are frequently taken, but it is not 

 often that a fish weighing over a pound and a half is caught. 

 Mauy who have noticed this express the opinion that the large 

 fish ascend the stream to spawn and there remain, as fine ones 

 are frequently taken in the headwaters of the Potomac, Shen- 

 andoah and branches of those rivers. 



Letters from the Virginia Springs show that but few people 

 are at those popular watering-places this season, hut the vis- 

 itors to the Springs in the neighborhood of the Shenandoah 

 River and its branches are enjoying excellent bass fishing, 

 while at other places the trout streams in the mountains afford 

 rare sport. There is no lack of variety as far as fishing is con- 

 cerned ; all can take a hand, from the small boy of the hotel 

 who successfully dangles the lively worm in a neighboring- 

 brook to the experienced angler who casts his fly for trout, 

 or tempts the bass with a fat minnow. The mountains arc 

 full of wild turkeys and deer, and an occasional bear is met 

 with. The young turkeys now are in good order and often 

 afford good sport. 



■*•» 



Notice to Sportsmen,— Having received so many communications 

 asking ns for information in regard to our six-section bamboo trout, 

 black bass, grilse and salmon rods, we have prepared a circular on tlie 

 subject, winch we shall take pleasure in forwarding to any address. 

 We keep on hand all grades, the prices of which range from $15 to $150. 

 We put our stamp only on the best, in order to protect our customers 

 »nd our reputation, for we are unwilling to sell a poor rod with a false 

 enamel (made by burning and staining, to imitate the genuine article) 

 without letting our customers know just what they are getting. 

 P. 0. Box, 1,294.— [Adv. Abbey & Imbkie, 4S Maiden lane. 



Total. 

 214 

 20! I 

 5}0G 

 200 



Ceeedmooe, Aug. 18.— The Parker gun match at Creed- 

 moor on Saturday last, gave the long-range men an opportu- 

 nity for 1,000 yds. practice, the conditions requiring 30 shots 

 at 1,000 yds. Out of a possible 150 the scores ran : 



C E Blydenburgh 133 H Fisher ..120 



F Hvde 132 F. P. Milton 115 



ib, Jr ^. 127 E Rathboiie 114 



I L Allen ......126 CH Madison 11?, 



VV Gunn 128 WM Farrow m? 



J P Waters 123 R H Keene I6'a 



TSDakin 121 J A Hotry 94 



FADugro 120 



Tuesday, Aug. SI.— The first regular practice of the Ameri- 

 can team and reserve at Creedmoor, on Saturday last, was 

 certainly encouraging, despite an accident to Gen. Dakin's 

 piece, which prevented him from taking his usual high place. 

 The scores stood : 



800 yds. flOG yds. 1,000 yds. 



FHyde 74 71 69 



IsaacLAllen 68 73 68 



C E Blydenburgh 53 72 71 



LWelier 74 70 62 



W H Jackson..-. - 72 65 66 



L L Hepburn 72 69 fil 203 



LC Bruce 69 66 6-5 yio 



HSJewel] 73 64 62 199 



TLamb, Jr 70 lis 58 133 



The Crescent City Rifle Club team from New Oilcans were 

 also down, and for the first time fired over the Creedmoor 

 ranges. These scores are certainly very fair, and fairer than 

 all is Belph's 75 at 800 yards; a very good initial effort 

 indeed. The scores stood : 



800 yds. 900 yds. 1.000 vds. Total. 



Dudley Selph 75 61 65 201 



Wm Arras 65 68 65 [98 



RGEyrich 64 168 53 i 



John M Kmaud 67 66 50 | 



BTManning m ci 47 173 



John Glyuu, Jr 68 47 56 171 



The Irish American Rifle Club have decided to meet 

 the Greenwich, Conn., Irish American Rifle Club in answer 

 to the challenge published in our columns, and on Saturday 

 last the following team was chosen: J. I. C. Clark, J. E. 

 Irwin, N. D. Ward, Corporal Cavanagh, II. L. Hover, Ed. 

 Duffy, P. Farrelly, M. M. Maltby. Keserves— W. II. Mur- 

 phy, J. F. McHugh, Sergeant Burns. 



The visit to the Connecticut Irishmen will take place Wed- 

 nesday, Aug. 29— the shooting to be at 200 yds. only. 



— For trains to Creedmoor Ltifle Range, see time-table in 

 advertising columns. We trust this will answer the numer- 

 ous inquiries as to how to get to Creedmoor. 



The Crack City Shots.— It is a curious fact, observes the 

 Graphic, that the crack shots chosen to make up the Ameri- 

 can rifle team are natives of our larger cities. The Leather- 

 stockings and Deer-slayers of the forest, of marvelous 

 skill in drawing a bead, have disappeared. They are 

 eclipsed by the man of the town, who doubles himself upon 

 the ground like a patient suddenly stiffened in the writhings 

 of cholera, and makes a central shot at 1,000 yards, put the 



man of the town has the most practice. He is stimulated 

 by the prospect of a world-wide fame and high stakes. He 

 has a greater variety of targets and practice. T hero ore 

 targets and practices at the butts on the plain, and occa- 

 sionally, in troubled times, targets and practice on rioters in 

 the metropolitan streets. Fur the country marksman the 

 wild turkey, deer and bear have nearly disappeared. Nor 

 do rioters fill their places. An occasional tramp, it is true, 

 invites a shot, but does not come often enough to make the 

 practice regular. For such reasons does the country marks- 

 man lag behind his compeer of the town. 



The New Haven Ranoe.— Several informal meetings 

 on the question of a reorganization for rifle shooting effort 

 in New Haven have been held. On the evening of the 14th 

 a final meeting was held at the office of Col. Smith, and a 

 full organization effected. The name of the association was 

 finally fixed upon as the "New Haven Rifle Association." 

 Its objects are to provide and maintain a suitable range for 

 military and long-range target practice, and to encourage 

 and promote the interests of this art. The annual fee was 

 fixed at $3, to be payable in advance. The fee for life mem- 

 bership was fixed at $10. The regular monthly meetings of 

 the Board of Directors on the first Friday evening of each 

 month. No liquors or intoxicating drinks can be sold or 

 offered as prizes on the grounds at any shoot of the assooia, 

 tion. The association starts off with some sixty mm 

 having absorbed all the rifie associations in the city. The 

 property of the old New Haven Rifle Association will soon 

 be made over to it formally. The price has already been 

 agreed upon, and new ranges have been constructed in ad- 

 vance. The grounds are cast of the Hartford railroad track 

 in the rear of the Schutzcn Park. Ranges ftoin 200 yards 

 up to 1,000 yards have been provided, but not. furnished yet. 

 They will be furnished with targets and other appurten 

 at once, and will have three 200-yards, three 50ll-vard ■ 

 800, one 900, and one 1,000-yards target, Officer, 

 chosen as follows: President. Col. 8. R. Smith ; Vice-Presi- 

 dent, Capt. Frank Tiesing ; Recording Secretary, Col. S. J. 

 Fox; Treasurer, Lieutenant Andrew Allen; Directors, 

 Capt. Doerschuck, Captain J. E. Stetson, J. M. Marlin and 

 Major VV. H. Layne, Jr. O. M. Winchester, James M. Mar- 

 lin, E. M. Reed and Eli Whitney were chosen honorary 

 members. The range will be formally opened next week. 



New Haven.— On August 8 a match with military rifles 

 was fought on the New Haven range between teams of the 

 Government Foot-Guards and the New Haven Light-Guards, 

 resulting in a victory for the latter, the scores standing : 

 New Haven Light-Guards. 



-4, , 200 yards. 



L J Kennedy, Captain of team 3 3 4 4 5—19 



Private J TJcroy 3 343 3 _i 6 



Corp EM Walker 4 444 4_j>o 



Private B F Lewis g 4 4 a 4—18 



Private K FolKimi g 044 3—19 



Private G Nichols 5 5 44 4—22 



Private PUBiouson 3 4 4 3 4— is 



Total ijfc 



Government Foot-Guards. 

 200 yards". 



A Allen, Captain of team 3 2 3 3 4—15 



Corp A Johnson 3 3 3 3—12 



Private J Bradnock 4 5 3 5—17 



Sergt Demming 2 4 4 4 4-18 



Private Andrews 4 5 4 4 4—21 



Private Shepard 2 4 4 4 2—16 



Sergt E Morse 4 2 3 4 3—16 



Total lis To Vo 



WiUoiobrook Range, Conn.— The regular semi monthly shoot 

 of the Connecticut Rifle Association, at Willowbrook Range, 

 Berlin, on Saturday, the 11 inst,, was a very pleasant and 

 satisfactory one. The long-range champion badge 

 shots each at 800, 900 and 1,000 yards) was won by George 

 T. Judd, of Middletown, this being the second fall score at 

 800, 900 and 1,000 yards he has ever shot. The following 

 were the leading scores in the long-range match : 



800 yds. 900 yds. 1,000 yds. Total. 



GTJudd, Middletown 17 40 HS 131 



F Wessel, New B'n 14 46 38 128 



Orange Judd, Middletown 38 45 43 ] w, 



W Parker, New B'n 43 38 it 



WHBinns, H'fd 40 41 41 122 



The mid-range champion badge was won by F. T. Stud- 

 ley of Hartford on a perfect score of ten straight bull's 

 The All-Comers trophy, open to any rifle of .40 cal. 01 

 under, and any trigger pull, was won by J. L. Woodbridge 

 of Manchester. All the badges must be won three times to 

 become the property of the winner. The mid-range cham- 

 pion badge has been won twice by II. P. King of New 

 Britain. It is proposed to arrange a "ladies' day" on the 

 range. 



Massachusetts— WahvUt JUll.—M the third match for 

 the Sharps' mid-range rifie on the 14th inst., but few 

 petitors appeared. The distances were 200, 800 and 500 

 yards ; position standing at each distance ; five rounds 

 Mr. N. W. Arnold had led in the contest on a previous day, 

 and Mr. J. B. Osborn also led in a previous competition. 

 Mr. L. W. Farrar led on this occasion, making 60 out of a 

 possible 75. The following were the leading scores : 



500 yards. 



T*l 



-1 i 3 r— 11 



3D 



2 6 5 5 4-21 



47 



S 4 4 4 4—19 



39 



8 8 2 r— 8 



■!.. 



T T 8 2 4— 8 



27 



4 ft 4 1 1-21 



43 



3 5 4 a— 24 



32 







102 



234 



5O0 yard?. 



T'l 



4 4 5 S— 18 



:::; 



;-: s 3 4—13 



as 



8 8 T II 4-10 



-1 



4 a 3 2—11 



w» 



3 2 'J 2— 7 



•M 



3 4 3 « 3—15 



31 



3 5 T 5 3—10 



32 



200 yards. 3no yards. 



LWParrar 4 4 4 5 5-22 3 3 4 4 5—19 



KER'ng 4 4 4 4 4—20 4 4 4 2 4—18 



J H Osborn 4 3 5 8 4—19 4 4 4 5 4—21 



500 yards. T'l 



2 i 5 4 4—19 60 



4 4 2 5 4—19 57 



4 2 3 2 5—10 56 



Mabtiand— BaUmwre.— The first prize shooting for a 

 Whitney 45-calibre rifle took place at the Patapsco liifle 

 Range, Baltimore and Ohio Railroad near Baltimore on Sat. 

 ii. The conditions were seven shots each man 200 

 yards, open to all comers, any rifle, Creedmoor rules' the 

 member having the highest score in the aggregate of three 

 trials to become the winner. The scores were as follows : 



FH Hack 5 



11 B Coulson 



JB Armstrong 2 



\v 3 DavidBon 4 



Ewd Melenior 



Gill Smith 4 



J J Turner, Jr 4 



E W Davidson 



A V i.'anfleld. Jr 4 



W R Cunningham 2 



FF Vlokers 



G H Keraan 2 



LDetrisli 8 



4 4 



3 2 2 



3 3 



3 



3 3 



4 5-23 



4 3-23 



2 3-23 



3 4—23 



i 3-22 



2 3—22 



4 0—1!) 



2 3—19 

 a 2—14 



3 2—13 



4 0—13 



Fkogmoor, New Orleans. — The last day's SLooting of £the 

 New Orleans experts of the Crescent Cityub -was done in 



