342 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



[Not. 26, 1885. 



Mish- 



Address comwunicatii 

 ing Co. rr, 



V ■ W ^ 



A MlSStSSlPPl QUAIL Ht)NT. 



UP to the present autumn my acquaintance -with quail 

 had been wholly of a post mortem character. It had 

 been confined to those which hang in festoons at market 

 stalls, or those which are daintily served d pain {irille upon 

 the snow-white restaurant cloth.' with the ^'mellerin" accom-; 

 paniment of Sauterne or Cbablis. 



I had never stood gun in hand, and seen "from the brake 

 the whirring partridge spring." 



llere at home our hunting ground provided us Tvitk wood- 

 cock, grouse and snipe, but the Oii^x ifPrffimanus .w&s a 

 thing of ITie past, which onlv tlae oldest" settler dimly re- 

 called. • - J . . ■ 



I had planned various excursions after qnail, but for 

 different reasons they had come to naught, until my good 

 friend W., who had owned a couple of plantations in Missis- 

 sippi since the war, prnposed that we should take a trip 

 thither after birds, which were represented to be unusually 

 plentiful this year. 



In the month of October we turned our backs upon the 

 richly-hued foliage of Northern Pennsylvania for the distant 

 "land of cotton," leaving the half dozen unshot woodcock 

 that stiQ probed the rich mold of our hunting precincts to 

 the tender mercies of our hunting confrere*:, the sporting editor 

 and the "knight of the burning pesile " 



We stopped one day at Cincinnati, where all was wild 

 excitement over the election just held; ihe question at issue, 

 as near as we could make it out, being whether King 

 Halstead or King McLean should be sovereign-regnant in 

 the Buckeye dominions. We threaded the eyes of the 

 Kentucky and Tennessee Mountains by night, and in the 

 morning rattled across the Tennessee River with the eastern 

 sun peeping over Missionary Ridpe, and Lookout Mountain 

 ahead, frowning abov.3 the' bu^thng, thrifty city of Chat- 

 tanooga. In due course of time we arrived at a .station on 

 the Mobile <fc Ohio R. R from which a twelve mile ride 

 overhind found us at our destination, a thriving little village 

 brought' into being by the courage and enterprise of Col. A , 

 a half owner in W.'s east Mississippi property, whose guests 

 we are, and whose fine new brick residence faces the open 

 square. Here he is surrounded by his well tilled acres, his 

 flourishing flocks and herds, and his dusky retainers, like a 

 feudal baron of uld. 



The day after our arrival, as our dogs which we had 

 shipped by express had not come, we borrowed a native dog 

 of its clever owner, and taking our guns we made a recon- 

 noisance of the gi ound in the immediate neighborhood of 

 the house. As this was mostly planted in corn, and chiefly 

 chicken corn, which forms an almost impenetrable maze 

 (no pun intended), it afforded poor opportunity for success- 

 ful work. A bevy flushed on the outskirts would iuconii- 

 nenlly take to its sheltir, and <jnce there the mircurial litlle 

 featbtred scamps were perfectly safe. Guy, our borrowed 

 dog, pOiSessed a good nose, worked carefully and would 

 retrieve. But he was firm in the belief, out of which no 

 a priori or a posteriori arguments could move him, that u 

 dead l>ii-d Was not in c<m<Jitioa for tlie bag until he had im- 

 printed two or three indelible impressions of his teeth upon 

 it. We stajfd out but an hour or so under such disadvan- 

 tageous circ:umstances. 



That evening as we sat around the pine-knot fire, which 

 even in the "sunny South" the close of an October day sug- 

 gests for bodily comfort, a wagon drove up outside. The 

 cheery voice of "bhick George" and sundry sharp barks 

 were heard, and we ran out to find our dogs anuved in good 

 condition, and glad enough to terminate their four days' 

 imprisonment. 



1 may say here that my dog Thorn is a Laverack settet-, 

 five years old, Ijroken by the late James Chubb, of Cleve- 

 land; that I have hunted for nearly four years. My friend 

 W.'s dog is a pointer pup less than a year old, a grandson of 

 Vandevort's Don and finely derived through the maternal 

 line. While his j edigree is unimpeachable, he is raw and 

 untrained ; and all the brilliant qualities which his superior 

 breading pre-supposes are as yet in posse. 



On the morrow, after bnaKfast, a spring wagon drove up 

 to the ddor, and with dogs, commissary stores, water keg, 

 etc., we start with pleasant anticipations of the day's sport. 

 All conditions are favorable. A brisk shov/er during the 

 night has wet down the weeds and grass, and the scent will 

 lie well. And the sun is shining now from a clear sky with 

 a fervency which promises discomfort at mid-day. 



In a half -hour's time we are in the midst of a cliaracteristic 

 Mississippi scene; a broad sweep of prairie land, mostly un- 

 der cultivation, but streaked with small belts of timber. 



Autumn, as yet, has dealt kindly with the landscape. 

 There is a faint "blush of crimson on the oak leaves, and a 

 tinge of yellow on the branches of the cottonwoods. Here 

 and there a China tree looks fairly fresh. The willows 

 alone show brightly green along the margin of the ditches. 

 The golden rod sways its slender stems in the morning air, 

 its earlier splendor somewhat dimmed; the sumac leaves 

 blaze from the edges of the scrub oak copses, and the golden 

 spheres of the osage orange lie thickly strewn beneath the 

 hedgerows. Amid the sedge gi'ass the dog fennel still shows 

 its purple clusters, mingled with other wild flowers in full 

 bloom. Between stretches of meadow lie the cotton fields 

 flecked with their white-fleeced bolls, and the cornfields, 

 where the stalks stand gaunt and brown, with their heavy 

 ears dangling in the crispy husks. Yonder in a field are 

 dark stacks of something resembling buckwheat, but which 

 our sable attendant says are "goobers." It takes coufcider- 

 able cross-questioning before I finally recognize under this 

 outre appeJlalion the toothsome solace of my youth, the 

 crackling peanut. The lark's joyous notes are heard on all 

 sides as they flutter up from the tall grass. Flocks of doves 

 fly from thicket to thicket, while, continually in sight, the 

 turkey buzzards high up in the heavens soar with slow, 

 majestic motion. 



Our dogs hiive been cast off and are ranging industriously 

 ahead; Thorn, with the rapidity which characterizes his 

 field work, well to the fore. He has never hunted quail, his 

 education having been entirely in the line of woodcock and 

 grou-e. We watch hiui admiringly as he nicely quarters the 

 ground. Suddenly he slackens up his rattling pace as he 

 approaches a wild plum thicket, and trails cautiously up, 

 stretches his neck and gives several preliminary sniffs m the 

 direction of the bushes. He whisks his tail friskily for a few 

 seconds, and then curls it up over his back in the shape of a 

 nota of interrogation (?), as if to say, "What's this? Here 



is something new!" But the moment of doubt and uncer- 

 tainty is soon past, a few steps forward and he has assumed 

 •!« figid point. Don advances and makes an awkward, but 

 }weII-intentioned back. 

 , We hasten to the spot and are hardly well ranged behind 

 Ihe dogs when the hirds, to the number of a dozen, rise. 

 "Csed as 1 have been to the whirr of the ruffed grouse, the 

 noise which the flushed bevy makes startles me, and 1 ner- 

 vously and fruitlessly fire one barrel. My friend W., better 

 ■seasoned and experienced, coolly picks off a bird with his 

 right, and would undoubtedly have scored a double but for 

 a little mishap. He had gone out this morning with his 

 wide, baggy hunting pants, and neglected to stuff the bot- 

 toms of them into his boots. He had just fairly covered his 

 Second bird when a grasshopper about four and a half inches 

 long (a young and partially grown one), which had surrep- 

 titiously meandered up his trousers' leg, with a possible in- 

 tention of establishing himself in winter quarters in the 

 roomy posterior portion of his garment, called his attention 

 quickly from the front to the rear. In clutching wildly at 

 the ' invading insect he ingloriously lost the second bird. 

 Meantime the birds have taken a long flight and settled in a 

 large patch of corn, whither we do not think worth while to 

 follow. 



Further along at the edge of a scrub oak thicket the dogs 

 begin to make game, but before they steady down to a point 

 a bevy takes flight and is distinctly marked down at a short 

 distance away in the open, among the weeds and grass. 

 "Here's richness" at last. And now the real treat which 

 belongs to successful quail hunting presents itself. It was 

 for this we had biaved the perils of twelve hundred miles of 

 railroad travel ; had bolted sodden sandwiches and apocry- 

 phal ccffee at wayside eating places; and been patronized 

 and overawed by sleeping car porters. 



Among the tall, dry blood weeds, with close tufted grass 

 beneath, the dogs work slowly and cautiously. The birds 

 are flushed singly, and if we do not acquit ourselves well the 

 fault is all with us. 



So we go on with varying fortune. Every now and then 

 the dogs stop and give an inquisitorial sniff at a bunch of 

 weeds thicker than usual, and a flash of gray fur is seen as a 

 rabbit swiftly shuttles through the grass. 



W"e halt for lunch in a grove of cottonwoods on the crest 

 of a slight rise of ground, within stone's throw of a darky's 

 cabin. In the doorway the master of the mansion, his 

 epigastric region filled with corn bread and sorghum, is 

 takmg his nooning, with his ebony feet planted against the 

 door jam away above his head. We soon finish our pro- 

 vender, and a lusty shake of a neighboring persimmon tree 

 provides us a desert of luscious fruit. . • 



It would exceed the limits of an article of this sort to 

 attempt to give the details of seven days' continuous sport. 

 It was replete with incident and experiences. While we 

 found quail in great abundance, our trip was timed a month 

 loo soon to get the best shooting. After the cattle are turned 

 into the cornfields and the stalks are cropped down close, 

 and the frost and rain kills and beats down the weeds, the 

 opportunites for concealment are reduced to a minimum, 

 and the largest bags then reward the sportsman. 



In the direction of personal knowledge of the quail and its 

 habits I made important advances. 1 discovered that for 

 agility in getting away they have no equal. They are as 

 elusive as globules of quicksilver. Out of twenty which are 

 seen to go into a piece of corn, it is rare good luck to raise 

 two. I found that dropping a quail with what was appar- 

 ently a killing shot, and accurately marking it down, was 

 by no means equivalent to having it safely in bag. A care- 

 ful inspection ot the place it fell in might disclose a feather or 

 two, but the bird itself would frequently fail to materialize. 

 Upon flushing a bevy en masse, I Kept in mind the caution 

 to single one bird ; hat I'embarras des ricJiesaes was usually 

 too much for me, and I either hesitated too long, or like the 

 Irishman in a similar predicament, I found when I had 

 covered one bird two or three other meddling ones would 

 get in the way and bother me. 



A word about wood powder, apropos of the controversy 

 as to its merits. In my right barrel I used caitridges of 

 wood powder primed with black, and so far as effectiveness 

 was concerned I could see no difference between wood powder 

 and black powder. Three cartridges, however, out of one 

 hundred, hung fire. Wliat this was due to I cannot say. 



I have not undertaken to give the number of birds we 

 killed, either per day or total, although I know it would 

 gratify a natural inquiry in many. While I appreciate the 

 human weakness which prompts a desire to know, I believe 

 it better repressed than encouraged. An ambition to make 

 the biggest bag should be the "last infirmity" of a true sportp- 

 inan. For us, we have come to the "years that bring the 

 philosophic mind." We thank the chaste Diana that we shoot 

 neither like professionals nor like louts, but like gentlemen- 

 missing a due percentage of shots. We follow the dogs afield 

 primarily for the pleasures of the chase, but scarcely in less 

 degree, because we are brought in constant contact with 

 nature and can taste the keen delights of outdoor life. If 

 fortune be propitious and our game bag furnishes us a few 

 choice bits for the table, we are pleased and grateful. May 

 the spirit of moderation and content possess all lovers of dog 

 and gun. 



I had never before seen the plantation darky on his "na- 

 tive heath." As regards him as an element in the future 

 indastrial and social problem of Southern civilization I have 

 no opinion to offer. But I found him a source of perpetual 

 amusement. His peculiarities of speech, inveterate good 

 nature, and readiness of retort were especially noticeable. 



On our way from the railroad station we overtook a colored 

 couple with their household gods loaded on a tumble-down 

 wagon drawn by a lazy, plodding ox team. As we passed, 

 Col. A. hailed them with "Hello! taking your bridal trip, 

 eh?" The darkey widened his mouth in a portentous 

 grin, until nothing but a slender cervical isthmus connected 

 his upper head and shoulders, and replied, "Yes, sah." 



"Pretty slow business, isn't it?" 



"Yes, boss; but we'll git dar all de same!" 



One day out hunting we had a colored boy for driver who 

 had recently returned from Arkansas with the "shakes," 

 and who was taken with a chill while we were out. He 

 muffled himself up in the wagon and his teeth played a reg- 

 ular castinet solo. Upon returning to the wagon some time 

 after we found him still looking the picture of suffering and 

 despair. In my most sympathetic way I asked, "Andy, 

 aren't you any better?" He rolled his eyes around wildly in 

 their orbits two or three times, and dismally rephed, "Ef I 

 is, I doesn't know it." 



Uncle Lem, an aged relic of the ante-bellum days, came to 

 the house one Sunday night fresh from a love feast or some 

 kindred affair at their church. He was bareheaded and liad 

 a woe-begone face. "Missus," he says to our hostess in a 



lugubrious tone, "dey've done stole dat bang up new hat de 

 Co'nel gabe me, up to de meetin' to-night." 



"Why, who could have done that," replied Mrs. A. ' 'Some 

 one of de brudders," was the emphatic response. "Oh no. 

 Uncle Lem, it couldn't have been one of the brethen, surely." 

 "Yes, shuah, kase we locked out all de sinners ''fore de 

 meetin' began." 



Our trip was thoroughly enjoyable. Upon all hands we 

 met the friendliest reception. We can freely commend the 

 "Mississippi plan" of treating strangers and visitors. Col. 

 and Mrs. A.'s bountiful hospitality makes us their debtors 

 for all time. And I can even find it in my heart to charita- 

 bly forgive him for "wiping my eye" on that right quarter- 

 ing shot on a certain occasion. QuiiiP. 

 November 9, 1885. 



Address all communications to the Forest and Stream Publish- 

 ing Co. 



ANNUAL MEETING OF THE A. O. U. 



THE annual meeting of the American Ornithologists' 

 Union took place last week at the American Museum 

 of Natural History, at Seventy-eighth street and Eighth 

 avenue, in this city. The session opened on Tuesday, Nov. 

 17, and lasted two days. Among the members present were 

 Messrs. J. A. Allen, R. Ridgway, VV. Brewster, W. W. 

 Cooke, 0. Widmann, Dr. C. H. Merriam, A. K. Fisher, H. 

 A. Purdie and E. P. Bicknell. A number of papers of very 

 great interest were read, and there was much discussion of 

 knotty points in ornithology. One of the most interesting 

 features of the meeting was the account by Mr. Brewster of 

 his observations carried on at lighthouses during the season 

 of migration. By means of these observations the speaker 

 had penetrated deeper into some of the secrets in the life of 

 the small night migrating birds than any one else has yet done. 

 His account of what he saw was most entertaining and 

 valuable, and opens a new chapter in the history of our birds. 

 After a very interesting meeting, an adjournment was taken 

 on Wednesday, Nov. 18, it having been determined to hold 

 the next annual meeting in Washington, D. C. 



THE VIRGINIA BLACKSNAKE. 



Editoi' Foi'cst and Stream: 



I always read Forest and Stream with pleasure, and 

 am charmed with "Catamount's" tribute to the lovely quaU- 

 ties of the blacksnake. His modest merit is doubtless the 

 secret of the neglect he has suffered. What a pity the 

 fathers of young families don't stock their nurseries with 

 them to show their liitle girls the poetry of motion. 



I would earrestly suggest to "Catamount" that he establish 

 a blacksnake farm and go largely into the business. As hard 

 as the Virginians are to "catch on" to a new idea, yet I am 

 sure that in a few years ' 'Catamount" could cultivate among 

 them an ardent taste for blacksnake fricassee, blacksnake 

 chowder and any number of other fancy dishes concocted 

 from the delicious reptile. And then if the proprietor of the 

 White Sulphur Springs and Phcebus of the "Hygeia" will 

 only introduce these dishes upon their tables, of course Sara- 

 toga and Long Branch will follow suit, and "Catamount's" 

 fortune is made! But I would advise him to start a poultry 

 farm at the same time, so as to give his pets full rations of 

 chickens and eggs, for while, as the friend of the sportsman, 

 he may eschew partridge eggs, I know the blacksnake can 

 get away with a nest of hen's eggs in quicker time than a 

 half-starved hound purp, and there is no better judge of a 

 fat chicken in the world. 



I have been told by mountaineers that the flesh of the 

 rattlesnake is more juicy and gamy than that of the black, 

 but he is voted by nearly every one east of the Alleghanies 

 a very disagreeaole member of the community. Neverthe- 

 less, I have seen many a pet rattlesnake, and in West Vir- 

 ginia he is highly esteemed as an antidote to whisky. 



^ Copperhead. 



TucKAHOE, Nov. 17. 



M. PASTEUR ON HYDROPHOBIA. 



AT a recent meeting of the Acadamie de Medicine, in 

 Paris, M. Pasteur presented a report of his latest ex- 

 periment^ in the cure of hydrophobia, of which the follow- 

 ing is a translation : 



M. PASTEUR'S REPORT. 



The discoveries which I reported on at one of your previous 

 meetings constituted, no doubt, a real advance in the study 

 of rabies, but it was an advance more scientific than practi- 

 cal. The application of the remedy was not absolutely cer- 

 tain, as out of twenty dogs treated I could not be certain of 

 rendering more than fifteen or sixteen safe from contracting 

 the disease. It was desirable, moreover, to conclude the 

 course of treatment by a final inoculation of great virulence, 

 in order to confirm and strengthen the immunity of the sub- 

 ject. This being done, it was necessary to keep the dogs 

 under inspection for a period of time exceeding the duration 

 of the inoculation of the disease produced by the direct in- 

 oculation of this final virus. This 'was tantamount to keep- 

 ing them under watch for three or four months before being 

 sure that they were incapable of contracting rabies. This 

 would have reduced to very narrow limits the application of 

 my method. Moreover, the process was one which could 

 not be put in operation at a very short notice — which is all- 

 important in cases of hydrophobia. 



It was necassary, therefore, to arrive at some more rapid, 

 and, if I may so call it, absolutely safe method, before ex- 

 perimenting upon human beings. After an almost countless 

 number of experiments T have arrived at a prophylactic, prac- 

 tical and prompt method, which has been in so many cases 

 tried successfully upon animals, that I feel the utmost confi- 

 dence in its being generally applieable to all kinds of animals 

 and to man himself. This method is based upon the follow- 

 ing facts: The inoculation of the rabbit by trepanning 

 underneath the dura-mater with the rabical marrow of a 

 mad dog always communicates rabies to the rabbit after a 

 mean period of incubation of a fortnight. If the virus of 

 this first rabbit is passed on to a second, from the second to 

 a third, and so on, bv the same mode of inoculation as above, 

 there is a gradually increasing tendency for the period of in- 

 cubation to grow shorter, so that after about twenty-five 

 transmissions from rabbit to rabbit have taken place the 

 period of incubation has dropped to eight days. After an- 

 other twenty-five transmissions have been made the period of 



