July 18, 1889.] 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



629 



ing wings, and suddenly, as lightly as a feather, a 

 woodcock alighted on the knoll where I sat, not six feet 

 from me. I remained absolutely motionless, permitting 

 the insatiable mosquitoes to drive their suction pipes into 

 all the exposed portions of my body. The woodcock 

 stood for a moment perfectly still, as if listening. Then 

 it began to strut around like a barnyard cock, its pert 

 little head nodding and its great bright eyes glistening 

 like beads. It evidently had no notion of my presence, 

 though, between the mosquitoes and a strong impulse to 

 laugh at what looked like a little old wood witch hobbling 

 about with a, very long black cane, I could hardly keep 

 still. Suddenly a stick cracked, and as quickly and 

 lightly as she came, the wood witch with her long black 

 cane was gone. 



I slapped myself frantically, and sent at least a dozen 

 half -gorged mosquitoes out of the world. Then, jump- 

 ing up I "took a walk through the covert. Near the edge 

 a woodcock flushed, flew a few feet only and then came 

 down and fluttered along - the ground as if wounded. I 

 knew her young were near and stopped where I was. 

 Seeing that her counterfeit agony had no effect upon me 

 the mother bird returned, picked up one of her con- 

 cealed fledglings with her feet and flew away with it. 

 She barely rose above the alders with her burden; but in 

 a minute or two she returned and curried off another of 

 the young birds iu the same way. This time I tried to 

 follow her, as she seemed to fly very slowly, but she suc- 

 ceeded in giving me the slip. 



I now proceeded to test another of my theories, with 

 the aid of the metal whistle aforementioned— the theory, 

 namely, that the woodcock, in common with many other 

 wild creatures, has considerable of a bump of curiosity. 

 Placing myself in the vicinity of a spot where I had 

 flushed a bird I kept perfectly still for about fifteen min- 

 utes and then began to blow a succession of soft notes at 

 regular intervals on the whistle. In less than four min- 

 utes Master Cock, stepping very daintily and stopping to 

 listen at almost every step, emerged from his hiding 

 place and came toward me. Having previously taken 

 the opera glass from its case, I watched to the best of 

 advantage every motion of my little friend, whose actions 

 were exceedingly amusing. Every now and then he 

 would stop, rest his long bill on the ground and close his 

 eyes as if going to sleep. Then he would start up, strut 

 in a circle, trail one wing and cock his head, as if trying 

 to locate the sound. I am of the opinion that he was 

 actuated, not only by curiosity, but by some vague 

 association of the note of the whistle with the note of 

 the female. At last an inadvertent movement on my part 

 startled him, and away he flew. 



From what I observed on this occasion, and at other 

 times, I am convinced that the woodcock is only a semi- 

 nocturnal bird, and perhaps feeds and moves about as 

 much in the daytime as at night in retired spots. In 

 the course of the afternoon I flushed six or eight different 

 woodcock from the banks of the little brook I have men- 

 tioned, and in every instance fresh borings in the soil 

 proved to me that the birds had been feeding when dis- 

 turbed. 



Just at dusk, however, there was a veritable uprising 

 among the woodcock. Standing on tne edge of the swale 

 I saw cock after cock leave the cover and fly out into the 

 open meadow. In fact they darted around me on all 

 sides, with flight almost as erratic as bats. Whether these 

 excursions w T ere merely for exercise and amusement, or 

 whether the birds visited and returned from other feed- 

 ing grounds, or whether (actually) they were in pursuit 

 of insects in the air, I am sure I cannot say. At all 

 events this peculiar activity did not last above half an 

 hour. My theory is that these flights of the woodcock, 

 just at dusk, are mere playful ebullitions of bird spirits — 

 explosions of nerve-energy, if you choose. All birds are 

 vivacious and joyful by nature. They are the optimists of 

 the animal creation. What more natural, then, than that 

 the woodcock (which, I am almost confident, has a song, 

 and which most certainly has a bright eye and coquettish 

 little ways) should break over its hermit habits once a 

 day and enjoy a mad, merry whirl in the air ? 



I remember that once when I was camping on the east 

 shore of MaTett's Bay, in Lake Cham plain, as we were 

 lying outstretched, four of us, in the glow T of the camp- 

 fire, after supper, right in the middle of us there dropped 

 down an audacious woodcock. The bird stood within 

 3ft. of the blaze and 2ft. of the dog's nose, a mischievous, 

 alert, playful adventurer, which could have had no 

 reason under the sun — or. more correctly speaking, under 

 the moon — for floating down into our midst, except to 

 give us a surprise and enjoy our amazement. It was a 

 maneuver "just for fun." I could see it in the bird's 

 eye. There the woodcock stood for ten or fifteen seconds, 

 and the dog was so completely taken aback that he 

 simply stared, like the rest of us. Suddenly, as if at the 

 wave of a magician's handkerchief, the bird was gone. 

 Up jumped our cocker spaniel, and with furious yelps 

 rushed up the trunk of a leaning tree into the very 

 branches, over which the woodcock had disappeared, and 

 there stood shivering and whining, wondering where the 

 bird had gone, and how he himself should, get dowm 

 again. That woodcock, I am sure, was out on a frolic. 



To return to the swale by the river. When the moon 

 rose I took a position near one of the moist places along 

 the brook, where the borings were freshest and most 

 plentiful, and awaited developments. For a long time 

 the bright light of the moon fell full upon the spot I 

 wished to observe, and I could see everything with the 

 utmost jdainness. At about 8 o'clock a woodcock 

 dropped down silently beside the brook. Presently 

 another bird walked out of the shadow and joined it. 

 Both began to "bore"' for worms — an operation I had 

 never seen before, and a curious performance it was. 

 The birds would rest their bills upon the mud and stand 

 in this position for several seconds, as if listening. Then, 

 with a sudden, swift movement, they would drive the 

 bill its entire length in the soil, hold it so for a second, 

 and then as swiftly withdraw it. Though I watched the 

 birds carefully with the glass, I could not detect the 

 presence of a worm in their bills when they were with- 

 drawn. But a subsequent process gave me the clew to 

 their method of feeding. After having bored over a con- 

 siderable piece of ground— a square foot or more — they 

 proceeded to execute what looked comically like a war 

 dance upon the perforated territory. They also occasion- 

 ally tapped the ground with the tips of their wings. 



My intense curiosity to know the possible utility of this 

 process was at length gratified by seeing a worm crawl, 

 half-length, from one of the borings, when it was imme- 



diately pounced upon and devoured by one of the wood- 

 cock. Presently another worm made its appearance, 

 and so on until the two woodcock had devoured as many 

 as a dozen of them. Then the "vein" seemed exhausted, 

 and the birds took their leave. 



I have subsequently studied the philosophy of this 

 method of digging bait, and have come to the conclusion 

 that certain birds are a great deal wiser than certain 

 bipeds without feathers. If you will take a sharpened 

 stick and drive it into the ground a number of times, in 

 a spot which is prolific with worms, and then tap on the 

 ground with the stick for a few minutes, you will find 

 that the worms will come to the surface, and that they 

 will come up through the holes which you have made. 

 I account for it by the supposition that the tapping of the 

 stick somehow affects the worms the same as the patter 

 of rain, and it is a well-known fact that worms come to 

 the surface of the ground when it rains. The antics of 

 the woodcocks after they had made their borings, then, 

 were simply mimetic, and intended to delude the worms 

 into the belief that it was raining in the upper world. 

 The worms, being deceived, came up and were devoured. 

 All this may seem ridiculous, but if it is not true, will 

 some naturalist please state how a woodcock can grasp 

 and devour a worm when its bill is confined in a solid, 

 tight-fitting tunnel of soil, and also how it is enabled to 

 know the exact spot where it may sink its bill and strike 

 a worm? And further, of all those who have seen a 

 woodcock feeding, how many ever saw it withdraw a 

 worm from the ground with its bill ? 



After the pair of birds I have mentioned flew away, I 

 found another open place by the brook, where the light 

 of the moon poured in, and after watching for perhaps 

 an hour, saw a solitary cock alight and go through ex- 

 actly the same process of feeding which has been already 

 described. When the woodcock left, I went to the spot 

 and examined the borings. They were very close to- 

 gether, and, of course, it was impossible that the bird 

 should have found a worm for every boring. I do not 

 think that the woodcock is able to determine anything 

 with respect to the presence of worms before it thrusts its 

 bill into the mud, except that the spot which it has chosen 

 is a "likely place." 



' Although I remained in the cover until the moon went 

 down, I saw only the three birds feeding which I have 

 mentioned. There were some low and mysterious sounds 

 in the swale during the night, which may or may not 

 have been the conversation of the little community I have 

 been describing. 



About midnight a small black animal passed through 

 the covert, and I crept forward to see what it was. Judge 

 of my surprise and consternation when, instead of flee- 

 ing, the animal turned upon me in the most threatening 

 manner. I lingered only long enough to perceive that it 

 was a skunk, and then quitted the vicinity in the short- 

 est time possible. Skunks are oftentimes amazingly bold, 

 especially in the summer. They seem to realize that they 

 are held in universal respect. Evidently the same motive 

 had brought this particular skunk to the woodcock covert 

 which had brought me— namely, a scientific interest in 

 the habits of the birds, reinforced in the skunk's case 

 by the pleasing possibility of a woodcock chick for break- 

 fast. No wonder the four-legged scientist was indignant 

 at the meddling impertinence of his two-legged brother! 



I left the covert immediately after the moon eet and 

 made my way homeward, sleepy, but satisfied that I knew 

 more of the woodcock than I had ever known before. 

 But I shall probably live a good many years yet before I 

 discover all I want to know about this hermit bird. 



Paul Pastnor. 



A MUZZLE LOADER. 



Editor Forest and Stream: 



A dear old friend and ardent sportsman having, in his 

 will, bequeathed all his firearms to me, I send you the 

 following description of one of them, a double muzzle- 

 loading rifle by Purdey. thinking that some of your 

 readers may perhaps be interested by an account of the 

 kind of weapon preferred by many of the best deer- 

 stalkers on this side of the Atlantic, in the days before 

 express rifles were invented or efficient breechloaders 

 known. 



The Purdey rifle has barrels of Damascus twist, 29in. 

 long, and weighing 51bs. li-oz. They are of 30-bore (about 

 .54-gauge), rifled with two grooves, each of which is -ft in. 

 broad. The rate of twist is one turn in five feet. The 

 fore sight is of dark steel in the form of a strong elon- 

 gated bead, and is dovetailed in the central rib length- 

 wise, so that it cannot be moved side wise by a blow. 

 There is a fixed hind sight for 100yds., and there are also 

 folding leaf sights for 150, 200 and 250yds. Each of these 

 has a very broad V with a semi-circle notch in the center 

 and a perpendicular line of platina underneath. When ' 

 aiming, the bead of the foresight has very much the same 

 appearance in this notch as it woidd have if viewed 

 through the hole of the peep sight. The weight of the 

 rifle with ramrod is 81bs. 4oz. 



Each barrel has a round piece of platina let into the 

 breech just behind the nipple, with a very minute slit in 

 it to act as a vent and allow the air to escape when ram- 

 ming down the bullet. The locks are exquisitely made 

 and have safety bolts in front, to fix the hammers at half 

 cock if desired. On the left side of the comb of the stock 

 is a projection for the cheek to rest against when aiming, 

 and near the butt is a steel patch-box like those often 

 seen on American muzzleloaders. The ramrod is very 

 stout and on one of its pipes, and also at the back of the 

 stock, are a couple of strong iron loops, to which a leather 

 sling can be attached. 



Being by Purdy, the rifle is, of course, perfect in finish, 

 balance and in handiness, for bringing quickly and ac- 

 curately to the shoulder. And it ought to be so, consider- 

 ing that, until within the last few years, Purdey made 

 only one quality, charging £36 for a single and £78 for a 

 double muzzleloader. 



The bullets are of a sugarloaf shape with rounded base, 

 like those made twenty-five years ago for American 

 muzzleloaders. They have two wings fitting the grooves 

 and weigh 417 grains. The flask in the case has a 

 charger holding 63 grains, but as powder when the rifle 

 was made was of very fine grain, having a sharp recoil, 

 a much larger quantity of the coarse grain now in use 

 would be required to make the barrels carry parallel. 

 With these light large-bore rifles an increase or decrease 

 in the strength of the charge causes them to either throw 

 apart from or across each other. 



1 have not yet had time to lind out the proper quantity 

 of Curtis & Harvey's No 5, but tried 70 grams with the 

 following results, using a chair for resting my < dhows 

 but without any rest for the rifle. The target was in 

 shade and a strong freezing wind was blowing across the 

 range from 8 o'clock. I fired 4 shots at 50yds. l|in. wide 

 by li deep, aiming at the intersection of the cross lines, 

 5 'at 100yds. in IQi wide and 14 deep, 5 at 150yds. in 10 J 

 wide and 2-J deep. In all these the bullets of the right 

 and left hands crossed each other considerably, showing 

 that more powder was required. I ought to have men- 

 tioned that I placed thick lubricating cloth wads next 

 the powder, because they allow of easy loading for any 

 number of shots, and so are useful at target practice, but 

 they diminish the recoil and thus necessitate more pow- 

 der' than when the bullets are used with patches only. 

 Without the wads they begin to be difficult to ram home 

 after six or eight shots from the barrel, owing to the 

 fouling at the breech. This is one disadvantage of 

 mechanically fitting bullets, but they posters the advan- 

 tage of much greater accuracy than the easy-loading ex- 

 panding bullets used in the old Enfi. Id aud Springfield 

 muzzleloaders. 



Last week I tried the Purdey again, with 82grs. of 

 powder and the scat of a chair for resting mv elbows. 

 Weather calm, light gloomy, slight snow falling occa- 

 sionally. I fired six shots at 100yds., the right in 3£in. 

 deep and fin. wide, left in 3.iin. deep, ±in. wide. The 

 whole group in Hiin. wide and 3^ deep. Average height 

 above lower edge of horizontal line 5 gin. and |in. over. 

 Four shots at 50yds., with same sight, in 4jrin."wide and 

 2^in. deep. Average above line Gfin. and Jin, over. Five at 

 150yds. in 12in. wide and 12Jin. deep. The upp< rmosl shot 

 being evidently wild, owing to my bad holding or some 

 defect in the bullet, I only measured the height of the 

 other four above the lower edge of the line. This aver- 

 aged 2£in. and ft in. Four shots at 70yds., with same 

 sight, in 5-£in. wide and If in. deep. Average above lower 

 edge of line 7-frin. 



The rifle being provided with two moulds, I have had 

 a plunger made for one, in order to cast hollow bullets. 

 These weigh 376grs. Having no more of the solid left I 

 now tried five of the hollow, all I had brought. The 

 same charge of powder, 82grs., was used, but without 

 wads, which brought the bullets mucli closer together. 

 I fired at a 4in. bullseye at 150yds. with this result: The 

 lower left fin. from edge of bullseye, the upper Uin. 

 The three right in 4-iin. wide by 4in. deep. 



It will be seen that in these last shots the right and left 

 barrels have thrown very little across each other, although 

 the bullets weighed 40 grains less than the solid. It is 

 therefore probable that the latter would go practically 

 in the same bullseye with the 82-grain charge if loaded 

 without wads, and that the hollow bullets would do the 

 same with about 90 grains. I hope to try this on some 

 future occasion, but will be too busy for six or einht 

 weeks to come. The heights given for the bullets above 

 the horizontal lines will enable a rough idea to he found 

 of the allowance necessary when firing at game. The 

 trajectory is doubtless flat for the proportion of powder 

 to lead, in consequence of the shape of the bullet causing 

 very little friction. The portion actually pressing ageinst 

 the barrel when loading is only ^in. from the base up- 

 ward. 



After rifles of this kind had been in use a short time, 

 Purdey reduced the gauge to about .50, with bullets of 20 

 to the pound and (3idrs.)88 grains of powder, the grooves 

 having one turn in 6ft. A further reduction to .41 was 

 made about the year 1865. I have two of the bullets used 

 in that bore, the weight being 200 grains. 



The charge of powder was at first 62 grains, but was 

 increased until, as stated by the late Mr. Walsh, editor of 

 the London Field, in his book on rifles, it reached 4 di a ms. 

 Mr. Purdey used to show visitors to his shop some of the 

 bullets of these small-bores taken from the carcasses of 

 deer. Although cast solid, they had been flattened to 

 the shape of a mushroom by the velocity ^iven by the 

 heavy powder charges. They were all of the original 

 sugarloaf-shape with wings fitting the two grooves,"'ynd 

 Mr. Purdey adhered to this system of rifling until breech- 

 loaders came into use. About three years ago he told 

 me that he had found none superior in accuracy up to 

 200 yards. 



My old friend, to whom the above described rifle be- 

 longed, always insisted that although a breechloader 

 might be useful for some kinds of shooting, nothing was 

 better than a double muzzleloader for fab stalking on 

 foot, or what is called "still-hunting" in America; and it 

 is a fact that during four seasons' stalking with muzzle- 

 loading rifles, during which I bagged eighty-two head of 

 large game, I am aware of having lost only one wounded 

 animal with a doublebarrcl, and that would have been 

 lost even with a breechloader. With a singlebarrel 

 many wounded escaped, but with fched< uble I invariably, 

 except on that one occasion, killed with the first or sec- 

 ond shot or else missed with both. 



I only determined upon adopting breechloaders after 

 the native who carried my spare gun ran away with it 

 on one occasion when we suddenly met a tiger, and on 

 another when we came across a herd of wild elephants in 

 the Sewaliks, a range of hills near the foot of the Him- 

 alaya Mountains. 



I wish a good American geologist would thoroughly 

 explore those hills. Some granel discoveries would prob- 

 ably be made. Many interesting fossils have been found, 

 among which are those of the sivatheriuni and an ex- 

 tinct species of hippopotamus. These were in the 

 museum of the Government Botanic Gardens at Sahar- 

 unpore when I was there. J. J. M. 



Dublin. 



Dayton, Ohio, July 15.— The woodcock season opened 

 to-day, and a number of hunters were in the marshes 

 before daylight. Young birds are abundant and fat, 

 and fair bags are being made. Drouth through the 

 hatching season has resulted in plenty of birds. Ashton 

 Webb on Saturday bagged 41 doves. Phil Wenz killed 

 29 the evening before. The birds have been left undis- 

 turbed until now and are very plenty. 



Vermont Gbouse.— Waterbury. Vt., July 12.— Game 

 prospects for the coming season look better than for sev- 

 eral years. Grouse — our only game bird — have not been 

 plenty for many years, but they are showing up better 

 this season, and young birds are more numerous than 

 I for many years,— F, E. A. 



