Aug. 16, 1888.] 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



65 



to my own place, changed my costume and drove with 

 him to the railway station. 



We reached Metari about 11 o'clock; the horses had 

 come in, the station master had provided a couple of 

 charpoys with pillows, and after a pipe and a chat we 

 lay down in our clothes, first arranging with the station 

 master's cook to bring us a cup of coffee and a slice of 

 toast at daybreak. 



We were in our saddles at gray dawn and trotting away 

 merrily toward Serai Amanat Khan, the site of a Govern- 

 ment plantation, much frequented by black buck. The 

 country we rode through was a broad, level plain, half 

 cultivated, half fallow, the monotony broken only by 

 little villages at two or three miles apart, with clump* of 

 Acacia arabica about the village wells. At this season 

 the only crop visible was an occasional small patch of 

 sugar cane near a village. There were no fences to inter- 

 cept one's passage, and although pathways generally ran 

 from village to village, we took no heed of them, but 

 made for our destination guided by familiar landmarks, 

 and by the sun when it rose above the horizon. 



Less than an hour's ride brought us to the forester's hut, 

 where we dismounted and gave up our horses; and giving 

 Von Billow his line of march through the plantation, 

 about a hundred and lifty yards from the water's edge, and 

 telling him to stalk warily, I took the outer edge along 

 the canal; and the trees being laid out in straight lines at 

 right angle to our course. I was able to command a good 

 deal of ground. I kept along a hundred yards or more in 

 advance of Von Billow, and had walked nearly half a 

 mile when I sighted a buck and three does, only about 

 eighty yards off. They were all attention listening for 

 some sound in Von Bfiiow's direction, and evidently hear- 

 ing his footsteps, trotted quietly away without seeing me. 



The buck's jet black back, contrasted with his snow 

 white belly, offered a very tempting mark, but being 

 anxious to reserve the shot for Von Billow, I trotted along 

 and kept back of them until they came to a break in the 

 forest, a piece of two acres or less of low ground, covered 

 with coarse grass three or four feet high. They were now 

 about 150yds. from me and standing on the edge of the 

 grass. They paused a moment to listen, and then walked 

 quietly in. 



Retracing my steps I soon came on Von Billow stalking 

 warily right in the back's tracks, told him what I had 

 seen, and led him to the edge of the grass plot, while I 

 went round to the other side and began to beat it up 

 toward him. About the middle of the plot I started 

 them, the does going in one direction, and the buck mak- 

 ing straight for Von Billow" in a direct line between us. 

 He got within twenty yards of Von Biilow before he saw 

 him, and then turning sharp off offered a splendid shot 

 as he bounded along with his feet clear of the tops of the 

 grass at every bound. Von Billow fired and missed, but 

 at his second shot the buck dropped like a log, -with a 

 hindleg broken well above the hock. He scrambled up 

 on his three legs without loss of time, and as he stood 

 trembling I got in a shot high up the shoulder that fin- 

 ished him, leaving it only for Von Biilow to give him the 

 coup de grace with his hunting knife. 



My friend was exultant over his success, and after a 

 party of coolies had been summoned and the carcass dis- 

 patched to the railway station, he was eager for another 

 hunt; he said he owed his buck to me, and now he 

 w anted to help me to get one. I told him there was a 

 possible chance of finding one on the plains, and that if 

 successful we could ride him down; he was astonished 

 at the suggestion, and said he did not think it possible 

 that a horse could run down a buck, but when I told 

 him I had done it several times, and shot my buck stand- 

 ing at fifty yards or less, he was more eager for the 

 chase than for another still-hunt in the forest. So get- 

 ting our horses, we walked along quietly in the direction 

 of Arnritsur, as on that side the land was less cultivated, 

 had more clumps of zizyphus bushes and no villages. 



After riding about two miles we came to a clump of 

 these zizyphus bushes, which we rode round, and had 

 nearly cleared them when, at about five hundred yards 

 distant, I saw a black buck standing on top of a sand 

 hill some eight or ten feet above the level of the plain. 

 I saw him but an instant, the next moment he had sunk 

 quietly to earth and was no longer visible. 



A council of war was quickly held, I gave Von Biilow 

 a bee line for Metari, told him to canter on a mile or 

 more, and look for cover, and that after ten minutes or 

 more I would ride round, start the buck in his direction, 

 and give him a mile's hard burst, after which he might 

 push him at a good steady pace until he ran him down 

 or should be able to turn him back to me. 



I gave him a good ten minutes before I moved from my 

 post, then rode on quietly ahead, and turning back upon 

 the buck, came within about 150yds. of them, when they 

 all sprung to their feet, and as I cantered up went straight 

 away from me as I intended. There were about twenty 

 of them, two or three young bucks under three years old, 

 and not yet black in the back, and the old black fellow 

 on the mound inclining to be a little gray, the rest were 

 does and yearlings. 



I went at the buck with a dash, he left the herd, which 

 swerved to one side and let me pass them within the first 

 half mile; so close indeed that I might have shot one as 

 I passed without bringing my rifle to the shoulder. 

 There was now about eighty yards between us, horse 

 and buck both going at a rattling pace, and after little 

 more than a mile run I caught sight of Von Biilow can- 

 tering away ahead. Before we came up to him, the 

 buck came to some newlvploughed ground too heavy for 

 his liking and swerved off toward the railway line, and 

 I had to ride parallel to him to keep him from doubling 

 upon his tracks, but once round the ploughed land he 

 struck off on his old course, and made almost straight for 

 Von Billow, who was waiting for hi m to come up. He had 

 got within a hundred yards of Von Billow, when the 

 latter sprung from his horse and prepared for a shot, but 

 the buck saw the motion and swerved toward the rail- 

 way line. By the time I had headed liim off Von Billow 

 was in the saddle again and after instructing him to 

 push the buck hard for two miles and then try to head 

 him back toward me. keeping close to his tail, I dropped 

 quietly behind and produced my smoking apparatus. 



By the time I had lighted up Von Billow was but a 

 dim speck in the distance, making straight for the Metaru 

 station, a course which brought them nearer to the rail- 

 way fence at every stride. I walked on quietly in his 

 wake, and had gone perhaps half a mile, when I heard 

 two distant shots following each other in quick succes- 

 sion. Another half mile and I caught sight of Von 



Billow in the distance, evidently returning upon his 

 tracks, but half a mile nearer the railway line than I 

 was. Putting my horse's head about I cantered off 

 toward a distant clump of bushes, and getting into their 

 cover 1 saw the buck about a quarter of a mile off, head- 

 ing straight for me and Von Biilow following close at 

 his tail. As they drew nearer I dismounted after motion- 

 ing to Von Billow to do the same. Looking through the 

 bushes I saw the panting buck struggling on not 50yds, 

 from me and raised my ride. 



At that, instant he came to a halt, and the next instant 

 Von Billow's bullet struck the ground close ahead of him, 

 a second bullet whistled by in quick succession, and then 

 as the poor beast walked quietly away, I raised my rifle 

 and dropped him. 



"That was a splendid chase," said Von Biilow, as he 

 came up. "but, mein Gott, how I shall shoot straight 

 after I shall gallop ten miles with the rifle jumping in my 

 hands! No, that was not possible; I can catch up to him 

 every time, but I cannot shoot him when he stand still!" 



The buck was soon strapped to my saddle; a few miles' 

 walk brought us to Metari station, where the horses were 

 taken in charge, and well groomed and cared tor: and 

 when the midday train came along, we got our venison 

 aboard, and reached Lahore in time for a substantial one 

 o'clock breakfast. 



Von Biilow started for Vienna the same night, vowing 

 eternal friendship, and taking the two bucks' heads with 

 him, and "the first venison of the season" was sent 

 round to my friends. Shikaree. 



NAMES OF GAME BIRDS.— II. 



WE have already expressed in general terms our high 

 appreciation of Mi-. Trumbull's admirable book, 

 just published, under the title "Names and Portraits of 

 Birds which Interest Gunners." While those who are 

 interested in game birds will gain from that review of 

 the volume a general idea of its character, something- 

 more detailed and specific is necessary to convey to such 

 of our readers as may not have seen the work an under- 

 standing of its scope! This, it seems, may best be dune 

 by taking up one of the birds mentioned in the book and 

 giving quite fully Mr. Trumbull's description of it and 

 most of the names which he has found applied to it. 



One of the best examples for tins purpose is the ruddy 

 duck, a species which is generally distributed over this 

 continent, is everywhere more or less abundant, and is 

 known to almost every one. This duck, Erismatura 

 rubida, is number 31 in Mr. Trumbull's list. His de- 

 scription of it is as follows: "Body broad and flat; neck, 

 wings and legs short; feet large; bill almost as noticeably 

 broad at end as shoveller's, No. 14; tail of stiff, pointed 

 feathers, wedge-shaped, and often cocked up comically 

 in the air. The full dressed male very showy; sides of 

 head below eyes white to throat; top of head and the 

 nape bright black; upper parts of body, with sides and 

 neck, rich brownish red or mahogany color; wings and 

 tail brownish black; lower plumage silver white, waved 

 with dusky gray. Feet bluish gray, with dark web. Bill 

 blue. 



"As usually found, however, the bill and feet are 

 darker, and the pluniage practically that of the female, 

 viz. : Upper parts blackish, intermingled with dull red- 

 dish brown; the lower and lighter part of head (see pic- 

 ture) grayish white with a dusky bar running back from 

 bill. Lower parts of body similar to plumage first de- 

 scribed, but very much duller in tone. Indeed in this 

 more common dress the species has a cheap, soiled and 

 'shopworn' appearance." 



"Length about 16in., extent 22in. to 23in." 



Two excellent figures of the bird are given. 



As all who are familiar with the species know, and as 

 many of its names— to be given further on— indicate, the 

 little ruddy duck is usually very fat, and on this point 

 Mr. Trumbull says: 



"Though this duck is a gourmand and greatly inclined 

 to obesity, it is as quick a diver as any known species. 

 When wounded it pluckily tries to escape to the last 

 gasp, bleeding all the time like a prize pig. I hear of its 

 being sometimes undone by a too bountiful food supply. 

 Gunners near the mouth of the Maumee Eiver tell of 

 finding these self-indulgent little creatures floundering 

 helplessly fat on the water, and in certain seasons float- 

 ing about in a dying condition, or dead, in considerable 

 numbers." 



But however interesting the habits of this species, the 

 names which are applied to it in various localities are to 

 our mind still more so. Ruddy duck is the book name of 

 this species, given to it by Wilson as long ago as 1814, 

 and this, though very expressive of the character of the 

 full plumaged male, yet conveys but little notion of the 

 bird as we usually see it. Much more characteristic are 

 the names stifftail (Philadelphia, Somers Point, N. J., 

 Washington and Savannah, Ga,), quilltail coot (Tucker- 

 ton, N. J.), bristletail (St. George's, Del.) and spinetail 

 (Turnbuirs "Birds of Eastern Pennsylvania"). 



At Machiasport, Me., this species is called bluebill, a 

 name applied also to several other species in various local- 

 ities. Other New England names are broadbill (New- 

 port, R. I.), broadbill dipper (Fairhaven, Mass.), hard- 

 headed broadbill (Stonington, Conn.), dipper, cfopperand 

 dapper (Provincctown, Mass.), bumble bee coot (Ports- 

 mouth, N. H), creek coot (Cohasset, Mass.), spoonbill 

 (Plymouth, Mass.), sleepyhead (Cohasset, Mass., and New- 

 berne, N. C.), daub duck (Rangeley, Me.), goose widgeon 

 (Plymouth, Mass.), widgeon coot or simply ividgeon(West 

 Barnstable, Mass!), hardhead (Falmouth and Martha's 

 Vineyard, Mass., and Stonington, East Haddam and mouth 

 of Connecticut River, Conn.), tough head (Martha's Vine- 

 yard, Mass.), booby (Newport, R. I., Stratford, Conn., and 

 on Long Island and in Virginia). But this is only a be- 

 ginning. In New Jersey this bird is called sleepy broad- 

 bill at Barnegat, Tuckerton and Atlantic City; at Pleas- 

 antville sleepy duck; at Somers Point sleepy coot and stiff- 

 tail; at Red Bank salt-water teal; and at Manasquan 

 hickory head. 



Proceeding down the coast, we have some of the names 

 already given and a number of others, as mud dipper 

 (Eastville, Va.), coot (Baltimore, Md.), butterball (Havre 

 de Grace, Md., Norfolk, Va., Newberne, N. C, Savannah. 

 Ga., Golden City, Mo., Palatka and Sanford, Fla.). At 

 Norfolk the bird is also called butter duck, butter bowl, 

 batter scoot, blather scoot, blather skite and bladder scoot, 

 the last four names perhaps having reference to its habit 

 of fluttering along the water in its efforts to take wing. 



In the books this bird is called heavy-tailed duck in 



Doughty's "Cabinet," sticktail in the index to Giraud's 

 "Birds of Long Island," dun diver in DeKay's "Zoology 

 of "New York," ruddy diver in Samuels's "Birds of New 

 England," and dun bird in Nuttall's "Manual." 



Three Maryland names are greaser (Havre de Grace), 

 water partridge and steel head ( Pafcuxent River). "In 

 the markets of Washington the ruddy is known as rook. 

 Just think of it, a duck called a rook under the very 

 shadow of the Smithsonian." 



All along the coast of the Southern States these birds 

 are very abundant in winter, and a number of very ex- 

 pressive names have been applied to them. At Newberne, 

 N. C, the ruddy duck is called paddy and noddy, names 

 which are expressive of the unsuspicious nature of the 

 species, and also light ivood knot, something very hard. 

 Near Morehead, N. C, paddywhack is used, and at Wil- 

 mington dinkey and dickey; at Charleston, S. C, leather- 

 back, in Georgia., on the Savannah River, dumpling duck, 

 and on the Ogeechee hard tack. Near Detroit, and on 

 the St. Clair Flats gunners call the ruddy fool duck, deaf 

 duck, shot pouch, this last a capital name. In Chicago 

 and on the Illinois River in Putnam county, it is called 

 bullneek and stiib ttnd twist. 



Other names Mr. Trumbidl gives, but these are enough 

 examples to give at present. The list here enumerated 

 shows very well how much territory the author has 

 covered in gathering together the material for his book. 

 A thorough sportsman — perhaps he would call himself a 

 gunner — Mr. Trumbull has thrown himself heart and sold 

 into this work, and.has admirably accomplished it. 



With this book in his hand the gunner need never be 

 at a loss to name the birds which he shoots, and as the 

 work becomes better known it must become more and 

 more popular. It is only necessary to let the shooting 

 public know that such a work exists to insure a very con- 

 siderable sale for it, and we recommend every duck 

 shooter to provide himself with a copy of "Names and 

 Portraits" beforo he starts out on his fall campaign. 



CONNECTICUT FARMERS AND SPORTS- 

 MEN. 



Editor Forest and Stream: 



Farmers and sportsmen throughout Connecticut are 

 cordially invited to attend an adjourned meeting of the 

 Connecticut Association of Farmers and Sportsmen for 

 the Protection of Game and Fish, Aug. 17, to adopt con- 

 stitution and by-laws and the election of officers for the 

 ensuing year. I beg to submit the following as the policy 

 of said association: 



To protect game and fish within this State to the reason- 

 able, legitimate and equal benefit and use of the commu- 

 nity for the purpose of food and enjoyment, sport and 

 recreation, and in that behalf to promote the due and 

 speedy enforcement of all laws relating to such protec- 

 tion. 



To protect the farmers against those persons who muti- 

 late stock, tear down fences or walls and do shooting on 

 Sunday. 



To prevent all violations possible of such laws as relate 

 to fish and game within the State. 



To make and prefer information against violators of 

 such laws, and to detect, prosecute and bring to justice all 

 offenders against such laws, and punish them according 

 to law, and supervise such prosecution. 



The territory over which this association will exercise 

 supervision and. influence shall be the State of Con- 

 necticut. 



Each member is bound to observe the game or fish laws. 



To use all consistent efforts to detect violation of such 

 laws, and report to the officers of the association, or to 

 the public authorities in that behalf, all violations of such 

 laws coming to his knowledge or information, to the end 

 that the offenders may be prosecuted and brought to 

 justice. 



Last Friday afternoon the organizing meeting was 

 held in Senator McLean's office, Hartford, and was 

 largely attended, considering the slight prominence 

 given the call for the meeting. A large number of 

 prominent gentlemen from this city and several other 

 cities were present, and all took hold of the plan of a 

 State game and fish protective association with great 

 zeal. 



Dr. William M. Hudson was called to the chair and 

 Mr. A. C. Collins acted as secretary. The need of and 

 possibilities of the association was thoroughly discussed 

 by Messrs. Lyman Jewell, Dr. Hudson, Mr. Wkitlock, of 

 the Waterbury Game Club; Mr. A. C. Collins, S. J. Bes- 

 tor, Allen Willey, Senator McLean, Mr. Nichols and 

 several others. 



The membership fee will be one dollar, and any one can 

 take as many memberships as he chooses by paying one 

 dollar each. The money will be used in sending special 

 agents through the State where we are convinced that 

 the game and fish laws are being violated, to collect evi- 

 dence and prosecute the offenders. 



Every officer will work without pay, ouly special agents 

 will be paid any salary. It is hoped that every gun club 

 and game club will co-operate with, us, and we f eel as- 

 sured that we can do them good. The headquarters will 

 be at Hartford, Conn., where all subscriptions for mem- 

 bership and complaints are to be made. Farmers and 

 sportsmen attend the meeting called Aug. 17, Hartford, 

 Conn. In case you cannot attend, write" the secretary 

 signifying your willingness to aid the association. 



A. C. Collins, Secretary pro tern. 



Hartford, Conn., Aug. 18. 



The Yellowstone Park. — At the recent meeting of 

 the Missouri State Sportsmen's Association this resolution 

 was offered by Capt. H. 0. West, of St. Louis, Mo., and 

 unanimously adopted: "Whereas a bill has been intro- 

 duced in the Senate of the United States by the Hon. G. 

 G. Vest for the better protection of the game and fish 

 that abound in the Yellowstone Park, known as Senate 

 Bill 288, and whereas a petition is now in circulation set- 

 ting forth clearly why the Yellowstone Park should be 

 protected; therefore be it resolved by the Missouri State 

 Sportsmen's Association in convention assembled in the 

 city of St. Louis, that this Association expresses itself as 

 being heartily in accord with the provisions of the Vest 

 bill, and hereby respectfully request the members in 

 Congress from Missouri to support said bill, and that all 

 sportsmen in attendance at this convention agree to sign 

 the petition aforesaid for the purpose mentioned therein,' 



