1891.
Oct. 29
Concord, Massachusetts.
Carlisle & Acton. - A superb day, very cold in the early
morning (thm.19 [degrees] at sunrise) the temperature rising rapidly
the middle of the day deliciously warm. There was scarce
a cloud in the sky from early morning to late afternoon
and practically no wind until afternoon when a soft
breeze started from the S.W.
[margin]Woodcock shooting (A day with Humphrey Buttrick)[/margin]
  George brought the horse at 8.30 and Humphrey
Buttrick came with him having made an appointment 
to shoot with us to-day. We started on our way
at once driving directly to Farrar's hill over roads from
as hard as asphalt. The small ponds and even many
of the pools in the more sluggish brooks were skimmed
over. Nevertheless the air was so still and the sun so
warm that we scarcely felt a sensation of cold.
  We started in at the further end of Farrar's hill
and had gone only a little way into the lower
belt of birches when I started a Woodcock. It
rose within ten feet of me and mounting to the
tops of the birches shot off at marvellous speed
whistling shrilly. So fast did it fly that it
was nearly thirty yards away before I could fire
my first barrel and almost out of range when
I discharged the second, both vainly, although, as
I afterwards found, one or other of these shots
broke a leg and perhaps did the bird some
further slight injury. After a long search Don
started it a second time. It got up
rather slowly and feebly, but went off again at
great speed and I killed it with my second
barrel after missing with my first. I have
seldome if ever seen a Woodcock fly so swiftly before