294 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



[Oct. i'i, 1895. 



IN VERMONT COVERS. 



Putney, Vfc. — A. successful day with the ruffed grouse 

 — when the frosts of early autumn have painted the leaves 

 of the sumac, maple and .witch hazel with the many 

 varied and beautiful tints of red, yellow and russet, and 

 the apple trees, loaded with luscious burdens of fruit seem 

 to remind us that it is now the most delightful time in the 

 whole year to enjoy an outing — is an event which will be 

 long remembered by those who have been fortunate 

 enough to enjoy a tramp over hills, through valleys and 

 along the banks of the numerous small streams that are 

 usually found in the best covers for this noble game bird. 



It is of such an event, with three companions and a 

 pair of fine pointers, that I shall endeavor to give an ac- 

 count of, trusting that others may have enjoyed similar 

 occasions during the season just past. 



The party consisted of Dr. G. F. Barber, C. A. Harrisj 

 C. B. Willard and myself. We had a couple of liver and 

 white pointers, which would have to turn back only a few 

 pages in the records of the past to find the blood of Sensa- 

 tion and Mainspring, and this should be enough to con- 

 vince any one that as far as the dogs were concerned we 

 were well fixed. 



Oct. 12 was the day we planned to invade the haunts of 

 the game, and the evening before the Doctor and his 

 friend arrived with a good supply of ammunition and the 

 Doctor's dog Don, which is almost the exact counterpart 

 of Mr. Willard's dog and bears the same name. 



Six o'clock found the four of us comfortably seated in 

 an express wagon, with Willard's broncho to furnish the 

 motive power; luncheon for both man and beast and am- 

 munition stowed away beneath the seats, For some rea- 

 son or other the "motive power" seemed inclined to act 

 both ways, as we had hardly got started when the broncho 

 decided to go backward a while, which immediately 

 caused the occupants of our carry-all to "come off their 

 perch" for the sake of their personal safety. After a good 

 laugh everything was made shipshape and we proceeded 

 again, chis time without mishap, until we reached an alder 

 cover which looked likely to contain a woodcock or two. 

 Hitching our horse beside the road, we jumped the wall 

 and sent the dogs along. It was a pretty picture they 

 made in the early morning sunshine as they moved in and 

 out among the alders, and after a few moments of quar- 

 tering their careful movements indicated that the long- 

 bill had selected this place as a hiding place for the day, 

 and in a moment the dogs were making a staunch point 

 near a scrub apple tree. As soon as we were all in readi- 

 ness the bird was flushed, only to drop at the report of 

 my gun. Hardly was bird inside coat pocket before an- 

 other was found, and this time I failed to connect, al- 

 though both barrels were discharged at close range. Bat 

 the poor woodcock was not fated to escape so easily, as 

 Willard, with his little gun, was near at hand, and the 

 stunning report of his 4drs. of soft coal was the cause of 

 this bird's downfall at ten rods' distance, although it re- 

 quired a good piece of work on the part of his dog before 

 the wounded bird was finally placed beside the other. The 

 rest of the cover was drawn blank, and we returned to 

 the team with a pair of exaggerated J ersey mosquitoes as 

 a starter. 



After another spell of going backward on the part of 

 the broncho, we arrived at a cover consisting of a sugar 

 orchard, with scattered pines, hemlocks and apple trees 

 surrounding it, which we knew contained a covey of 

 grouse, or, as commonly called here, partridge. 



We soon found them, four starting out of the hemlock 

 trees above the Doctor's head and going in as many 

 directions. One poor bird undertook to get past myself, 

 Harris and Willard and succeeded in escaping until Wil- 

 lard'a second barrel tipped him over, and even then .as 

 soon as the dogs found him he rose from the ground and 

 made a last determined effort, but only succeeded in 

 going about six or eight rods when he took the last 

 tumble and was placed with the two woodcock in our 

 game bag. Four more fine birds were added to our num- 

 ber before we left the cover, some fine work being done 

 by both dogs, while the work of the men could be classed 

 as good, bad and indifferent. 



Of course the best work was when the Doctor fixed his 

 eagle eye on a little fellow which had sought conceal- 

 ment in the top of a hemlock tree, and without making 

 enough noise even to disturb his slumber, persuaded him 

 to come down. But we are rather apt to follow the 

 example of the old darky who "shot 'em on de wing, on 

 de tail," or anywhere he could hit them, and rarely take 

 the trouble to exercise our Vermont grouse in order to 

 develop their speed before we shoot them. 



On the way to the next cover we brought out our lunch 

 baskets, only to find that the dogs had preceded us and 

 helped themselves, but still we found enough to satisfy 

 hunger, and soon were in an alder swamp, expecting to 

 find woodcock. We beat the cover thoroughly, and 

 succeeded in bagging four mpre partridges, but no wood- 

 cock except one at the extreme edge of the alders. After 

 -wasting three or four shots, I turned it over to the tender 

 mercies of the Doctor, but after six ineffectual trials at 

 medium range and not having started even a feather, he 

 began to think this particular bird bore a charmed life. 

 The next opportunity presented itself to Harris, who 

 succeeded in breaking a wing with his second shot, mak- 

 ing eleven charges in all that we fired at this one bird. 

 But we had lots of fun just the same, and the poor work 

 that the Doctor did caused him to try his gun for pattern 

 at the first opportunity, which presented itself in the 

 shape of a good-sized barn. At thirty paces he found that 

 he could put the most of the charge into one side of it; 

 but he thought that at ten paces further he could hardly 

 do so well as that. As the Doctor is a first-class shot it 

 will be only fair to state that his gun had just been 

 returned from a gunsmith where he had sent it to have 

 the choke removed, and, as the Doctor said, "I guess that 

 fellow minds pretty well." 



We kept at it until we were obliged to stop on account 

 of darkness, when we laid the results of our efforts in a 

 row upon the ground, and gathered together to relate 

 once again just how each bird was brought to bag. 

 Twelve grouse and three woodcock made a fine picture, 

 and we were well satisfied with our day's hunt. We were 

 tired and hungry when we arrived in town that night, 

 but after adjourning to Mr. Willard's dining-room for an 

 hour, where we found a supper of chicken, potatoes, 

 coffee, hot rolls and many other good things awaiting 

 us, which, it is needless to say, we enjoyed as only the 

 true sportsman can after a long tramp, we felt better. 

 The dogs, too, were tired, as they had been on the move 



from sunrise till dark, and it is not to be wondered at. 

 While the above bag may not appear very large to some 

 sportsmen it ought to satisfy any one who cares to be out 

 in the open air and does not go entirely to see how much 

 game he can kill. 



There are many places in southern Vermont where two 

 or three good shots with a good dog can get a dozen or 

 more birds in a day's hunt, and at any time during the 

 open season we are always glad to welcome visiting 

 sportsmen who could be satisfied with a moderate amount 

 of game. During the months of October and November 

 the climate is fine, the mornings being just cool enough 

 to be bracing. As another season rolls around I hope it 

 may be my good fortune to enjoy another day afield with 

 these same companions. W. E. A. 



A DAY WITH THE BLUEBILLS. 



Editor Forest and Stream: 



Sauntering down to our canoe, we were surprised to see 

 a large flock of bluebills come flying low and close to the 

 shore of the ridge on which we were camped, crossing 

 just out of range and dropping out of sight behind the 

 trees to the north. We judged they settled in a slough 

 which makes in from the bay and is accessible from our 

 camp only by water a distance of several miles, or by 

 portage of perhaps 500yds. , there being a well worn trail 

 used by the Indians in their journeyings, at the south end 

 of which we had pulled out our canoe. 



As the flock passed Doc remarked that they must have 

 feeding grounds in the Blough mentioned, and that it was 

 too bad we could not without too great difficulty get over 

 and pay them a visit, to which I replied, "Why not make 

 the portage?" The result of our talk was that in a few 

 moments Doc was leading the way with guns, shell cases 

 and coats, and the writer bringing up the rear with the 

 canoe bottom side up on his head and shoulders. 



We accomplished the portage much more quickly and 

 with less difficulty than one unused to such undertakings 

 could imagine, and 3 o'clock saw us again afloat, paddling 

 very quietly, and keeping a sharp lookout into all the 

 branches of the main slough for our victims. 



About one-half mile east from where the launch was 

 made we reached the point where the slough we were fol- 

 lowing branches. One branch continues east a number 

 of mileB and finally makes out to the lake; the other 

 branch follows a northerly direction for a short distance 

 and merges into numerous narrow slits of water running 

 up into a sand bank which walls out the main lake. 



The wind was blowing a stiff breeze from the northeast, 

 and as we turned into one of the narrow runs and drew 

 up near the bank we could hear the breakers rolling in 

 on the beach across the ridge. The strip of water we 

 were following turned to the east close to the ridge, and a 

 few rods beyond widened out into quite a respectable 

 pond. 



As we were about to make the turn which would bring 

 this sheet of water into view there was a sound of wings, 

 fleeting shadows on the water, and a bunch of bluebills 

 passed just ahead of us, and dropped out of sight in the 

 pond. 



"We've struck it," says Doc, and he steered for the 

 bank just before making the turn which would bring us 

 in sight of the pond. 



Getting on shore we crept cautiously behind a fringe 

 of willows and alders which skirted the bank to a point 

 which we calculated would afford a view of the whole 

 pond; and such a sight as was presented to our gaze as 

 we peered through those bushes! It is perhaps best not 

 to state our estimate of the number of ducks in that 

 pond. Doc says now that there were a million, but he is 

 easily excited and that fact should be considered in pass- 

 ing judgment on his statement. But there they were; 

 feeding, some asleep, some evidently bent on a frolic, 

 chasing, splashing, diving, all in fancied security. 



We expected to bag about a dozen each from that 

 bunch of ducks, and set about deliberately to accomplish 

 that end. A whispered consultation ended in our decid- 

 ing to shoot each one barrel as near together as possible 

 into the thickest bunches and do the best we could with 

 the second barrel when they rose, but in getting into 

 position to shoot we in some way aroused the suspicions 

 of the dncks nearest to us, and they commenced to get 

 up, This rather rattled me; and, thinking they were all 

 going to fly, I jumped up, and as they rose with a swish 

 and roar, cut loose, and one poor little duck fell in the 

 water. Doc was not far behind, but somehow after I had 

 shot both barrels and Doc one, there was still on the 

 water only that one lone victim. I was wondering in a 

 vague sort of way how we could possibly miss that whole 

 cloud of ducks, when up flew the one we had dropped, 

 and but for Doc's left, which he used beautifully and 

 brought the bird down stone dead, we would have been 

 left without a feather. 



We got into good cover and waited for them to come 

 back, which they did in bunches of four or five to a 

 dozen, and when it came time to start for camp we felt 

 quite well satisfied with the size of our bag. 



Getting back to our tent just as night had closed in 

 we found a party of hunters from H. camped near us' 

 they having come up that afternoon. 



They had several skiffs, and had brought along an In- 

 dian to pole and paddle and make himself generally use- 

 ful, but they seemed in a fair way to meet with disap- 

 pointment, for it was apparent at first sight that this 

 particular Indian was thoroughly intoxicated. We learned 

 on investigation that in making camp the sight of a jug 

 of whisky had proven too much for his good inclinations. 

 Indian and jug both mysteriously disappeared. Nothing 

 more was seen of him until just as we returned to camp 

 he put in an appearance in the condition described. The 

 whole party were engaged in the endeavor to persuade 

 him to reveal the whereabouts of the jug when he came 

 up, but all to no purpose. He seemed hopelessly stupid 

 and could not seem to comprehend in the least anything 

 that was said. Being thoroughly disgusted, one of the 

 party took him out to the trail— distant from camp about 

 ten rods — which led to the Indian village, and giving 

 him the direction, told him to "git." Doc and myself 

 were interested spectators of the whole proceedings. 



The day had been warm, but after sunset it turned sud- 

 denly very cold and, as I struck a match to light our fire 

 preparatory to cooking supper, I noticed that frost had 

 formed on our cooking utensils. Doc at the same time 

 remarked that "those fellows must have lots of faith in 

 that Indian's luck if they expected him to reach camp on 

 a dark night a distance several miles over a trail a novic 



could scarcely follow in daylight, and that he would hate 

 to assume the responsibility of sending him off in that 

 way, especially as he had no coat, and the absence of 

 other warm clothing was very much in evidence. How- 

 ever," he concluded, "it was no concern of us." 



We brought out some blankets, spread them before the 

 fire, and reclining thereon just rested and smoked and 

 chatted until about 9:30, when I went into the tent and 

 proceeded to arrange our bed for the night. I had every- 

 thing fixed when Doc, who had remained outside to 

 finish a final pipe, called out to me to come outside, that 

 some one down on the point was in trouble. Stepping out 

 and listening a moment, there came very faintly, yet 

 distinctly, the unmistakable call of a person in distress. 

 Our first thought was of some belated hunter who had 

 lost his way in the swamps and thickets which covered 

 the ridge between our camp and the bay for a distance of 

 two or three miles, and we hurried over to our neighbors* 

 tent to inquire if any of their party were missing, to 

 which they replied no, and all tumbled out to listen to 

 the call, which came every few moments. We were 

 speculating as. to who could be out at that time of night, 

 when some one in their party mentioned the drunken 

 Indian. "That's him!'' we all cried in chorus, and it 

 dawned upon us that some one was destined to take a long 

 tramp through thick brush, over cranberry bogs, and in 

 some places in water over the knee, or there would be a 

 dead Indian down on that point before morning. 



About this time some one suggested that we ought to 

 answer the call, which we did nearly in chorus, and one 

 need not be surprised to learn that an owl dropped dead 

 from his perch in a nearby jack-pine at the sound when 

 we state that the writer had not been permitted an old- 

 time yell for the space of fifteen years, and judging from 

 the way the rest of the party went about it, their voices 

 had been jugged for the same length of time. However, 

 after the first few trials some of us improved and set up a 

 howl in reply every time that weird, uncanny call came 

 floating to our ears through the tree tops. 



Doc was getting excited and declared he would not go 

 to bed with that man lost out there, and in a few moments 

 he, with lantern in hand, myself and one member of our 

 neighbors' party, were picking our way in the direction 

 of the sound. 



Once away from camp we found it a difficult matter to 

 keep our course, so dense was the undergrowth taken 

 with scattered windfalls over which we stumbled every 

 few steps. Presently we came to a bog and passed 

 through about 18in, of moss and water, then more brush 

 and windfalls, until with so much tramping after a hard 

 day's work we were tired enough. At last, however, we 

 came to the edge of a marsh, apparently larger than any 

 we had yet encountered, and stopped to yell and listen. 

 The reply came quite near, and in a few moments more 

 we could hear splash, splash, regularly out on the marsh, 

 and judged we had found our man, W^e kept calling and 

 swinging our lantern, and presently a shadowy form hove 

 in sight and the next moment sank exhausted on the firm 

 ground at our feet. A sorry sight he presented. Hatless, 

 clothing torn to ribbons, moccasins gone from his feet, 

 which were bruised and bleeding, streams of icy water 

 trickling down his bare legs and ankles from the soaked 

 remnant of clothing he still retained, it was a picture of 

 misery sufficient to move the most hardened to pity his 

 forlorn condition. 



By dint of much prodding over the smooth places and 

 some help over the rough, we managed to get him back 

 to camp and were preparing to strip him for bed in some 

 warm blankets the members of the party had prepared for 

 him when he seemed suddenly to acquire new life and 

 said: "HoF on, me get you boys somethin' good," at the 

 same time striking out over the ridge. We followed 

 thinking him gone daft from exposure and purposing to 

 catch him and bring him back by main force if we could 

 not induce him to come without. 



He led us a chase to a dense growth of scrub oak about 

 20 rods from camp and disappeared. A moment later he 

 came out with the jug of whisky and invited us all to take 

 a drink. It is not within the province of this article to 

 state how many of us refused. Our man hunt over, the 

 reader can imagine with what feelings we crept into our 

 blankets and whether or not our sleep was sound that 

 night. 



We found good bluebill shooting on our way to meet 

 the Hazel next morning, the noise she made coming 

 into the mouth of the slough stirring them up and giving 

 us several fine flock shots. Arrived at our office at 9 A. 

 M. , feeling refreshed and recuperated by our trip despite 

 the hard work and long night tramp to save a poor wretch 

 of humanity from perishing in the wilds of Kakagon. 



George W. Miars. 



TEXAS AND THE SOUTHWEST. 



Birds on the Move. 

 That game will be plentiful this winter there can be no 

 doubt, as from every section comes the word that quail 

 are much more plentiful than for years past. Our lakes 

 are filled with water, which insures good snipe and duck 

 shooting, while the deer and turkey are reported in 

 abundance throughout the Southwest. 



The Texas Pigeon. 



This season marks an epoch in the history of flight 

 shooting. The Texas pigeon, or dove, has swarmed all 

 over the country. For three miles on the Pieasanton 

 road, south of San Antonio, there has been such a flight 

 as never has been seen before, thus affording our local 

 cracks a fiae chance for practice at swift-flying feathered 

 targets, which will undoubtedly prove a great benefit to 

 them in the future. 



It is the most pleasant shooting of my experience. The 

 usual outfit consists of a strong two-seated, covered 

 wagon (ambulance), a pair of canteens of our fine spring 

 water, a cake of ice, a stool for each man and 100 shells 

 for each shooter, and a more pleasant shoot under these 

 circumstances is hard to find. The bags of course are 

 large when the hunter takes the advantage of picking 

 out a pass where the birds fly slowly. That is generally 

 found near a fresh-water pond. The birds hover over 

 the water, take a drink and, if they are lucky enough to 

 escape the contents of the guns that are hunting them, 

 they are off again on their swift migration to their roost. 



But if the hunter, as most of our crack shots do, takes 

 his stand where the Texas pigeon cleaves the air at a 75- 

 mile-an-hour gait, and at a height of 30 to 50yds., th . 



