June 12, 1890.] 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



411 



yit runs long fore and aft, to give the pusher room. Its 

 Otal weight is 75 or 801bs. This, or Mr. Douglas's worthy 

 ind not very dissimilar "Waukegan boat," is the boat 

 poet used on the Kankakee marshes of Indiana. It is 



MONITOR MARSH BOAT. 



aad for a long journey up the shallow streams and 

 lyous, and in the covered marsh its well-fashioned bow 

 arts the rushes and rides down the drift about as well 



any boat could do. The Green Bay is no deep-water 

 >at, and is not calculated for sail or sea. 

 There .is a pretty little red cedar boat made at De Pere, 

 fie., which is also the place where the Green Bay boat 



made. This latter boat weighs only 64lbs.. is 15ft. 

 ng, 32in. beam and 9in. deep. The cockpit in this boat 



DE PERE RED CEDAR BOAT. 



not so long, but the craft is a very tidy one. The draw- 

 ls for this boat, as well as for a number of others, were 

 ide by Mr. W. K. Eeed, President of the Dime Savings 

 mk of- Chicago, who is an ardent sportsman and an apt 

 ist. 



Doubtless many readers have perused with pleasure the 

 ges of Mr. W. B. Leffmg well's book. "Wild Fowl Shoot- 

 V and have noted there the remarks about his 

 lissippi Eiver scull boat. It is pleasant to be able to 

 ow a picture of this solid and sturdy craft, from a photo 



MISSISSIPPI SCULL BOAT. 



nt on by the author. The manner of its use is well de- 

 "ibed in the work above mentioned, and the cut will 

 ow how able the boat is to carry the heavy load of brush 

 ice which the erection of the floating blind sometimes 

 tposes upon it. 



A. unique looking "boat" is the Koshkonong (Wis.) "flat- 

 at," but every sinkbox and sneakboat shooter will at 

 ce catch the idea. Twelve feet long and 8ft. across its 



KOSHKONONG FLATBOAT. 



Me "wings," this vehicle lies awash with most of its 

 Ilk beneath the surface. The shooter lies in the box, 



low the level of the water. This is a light cover or 

 [m water boat, and is usually towed to the shooting 



I?he "Koshkonong Monitor" is a businesslike duck boat. 

 I deep canvas covering can be raised or lowered at will, 

 1 forms a protection alike against sea or wind. It is 

 a bad rowing boat and slips easily through the rushes 



KOSHKONONG MONITOR. 



1_ weeds. The rowlocks are shipped in two upright 

 fcions of gaspipe, which offer no entanglements to 

 ss and reeds, and permit of easy unshipping of the 

 '8. The deck of this boat is sometimes made of can- 

 :, though wood or tin may be used. The boat, with 

 load on board, sits low in the water and attracts little 

 j ntion. There are two or three varieties of this boat 

 about Lake Koshkonong, but all conform practi- 

 y to the type shown. They are a heavy boat, usually 

 athed with tin. They are suitable for their use, on a 

 How and not very heavily covered inland lake, 

 he Tolleston Club, whose grounds lie on the marshy 

 tie Calumet, below Chicago, has a light little three or 

 r-boards boat, on rather a simple, home-made model, 

 tas no ribs or knees, and only one thwart, with a seat 

 he stern for a paddler, the latter seat coming pretty 

 1 up flush with the gunwale. This boat paddles easily 

 ■he river and punts well on the marsh. It is a good 

 4 like just a plain boat, but it is a very well made 

 ftp boat. 



The shooters at Grand Calumet Heights Club, on Lake 

 Michigan, sometimes use an odd craft in shooting ducks 

 on the open lake. On a low-lying platform, something 

 like the Koshkonong flatboat, they build a deep cockpit, 

 or roofless cabin, whose walls are about 3ft. high. About 

 the sides of this they arrange brush or material for 

 blind, and anchor the boat out in deep water, the decoys 

 being arranged by means of another boat. This craft is 

 called the "Merganser" boat. It will take a heavy sea, 

 but is unwieldy and unmanageable. 



We should be doing a great injustice to many manu 

 facturers of good boats should we close our list here and 

 claim to have named all the Western sporting boats. It 

 has been the purpose to speak of the odd and unknown 

 boats rather than those well-known to all. Mr. Rush ton's 



TOLLESTON BOAT, 



canoes may sometimes get far enough into Western 

 hardships to enter the field here claimed, and so indeed 

 do Mr. Osgood's and other canvas boats. Mr. Douglas's 

 boat has already been mentioned, nor should we forget 

 the little 8ft. "Still-Hunter" sneakboat put out by Messrs. 

 Thos. Kane & Co. This is a modified Koshkonong flat- 

 boat, with little of the weight or depth left, and wnth the 

 stern a fantail instead of sharp. This boat is propelled 

 by oars. The Racine veneered boats are in use in many 

 fishing and pleasure clubs, and the Spring Lake boat, 

 stiff and staunch, is also popular on the open water. In- 

 deed, there are many types, well-known and popular, 

 which will occur to the mind of almost any Western 

 sportsman. 



Over on the Canada line they have two or three dis- 

 tinct types of boat. The Point Mouille boat is a double- 

 ender, decked, made of three boards, sides and bottom, 

 built light and shallow, and a bird of a boat on the marsh. 

 The open water shooting of the St. Clair Flats is done 

 from a very light and shallow sneak, much like a con- 

 densed and etherealized Koshkonong flat boat. This boat 

 is intended to lie fairly awash in the water, and the 

 shooter lies in it on his back. They call this a "lying-out 

 boat." The fishing and sailing boat most popular on the 

 "flats" is a trim two-master, 18 to 20ft. over all and 5ft. 

 "in. or more in the beam. She has oars, but the long 

 voyages to the bass grounds, ten or fifteen miles, easily 

 suggest the sail. 



There are boats and boats, and to study them is a pleas- 

 ure even in so brief a way. Kank. 



ITALIAN JOE AND "DE PLOW 



LOOK-A! Look-a! Dere goin' to come big flock-a de 

 plov'! " cried Italian Joe. "Sit-a down, sit-a down, 

 an' I whis'l " And then wide over the green pasture field, 

 and audible down wind three-quarters of a mile, to where 

 the flock was swinging across a field of tender wheat, 

 sped the shrill, plaintive plover call. 



'Whit ! whit ! t'wit ! whit-whit-a-whit-whit ! whit, 

 whit, whit-a whit ! wheet, wheet, a-whe-e-e-t, whit, 

 whit !" With marvelous distinctness and accuracy of 

 note the wild call rang out. The moving black specks 

 caught it. A swift turn in their course, and up the wind, 

 bigger and blacker every moment, and now glancing in 

 the bright sun and showing brown and gray and golden 

 yellow, they came rushing on, searching for the source 

 of the call which rang free on the wind. 



'Whit! whit! whit-whit-whit!" called Joe industri- 

 ously, and soon the flock caught the whistle and the de- 

 coys at the same instant, and like a long yellow bolt from 

 the sky dropped and swung straight for the decoys. 



'No ! no ! no shoot-a ! no shoot-a now ! wait, wait-a, I 

 tell. Sit a up. De plov' no look-a on us. he look-a on-a 

 decoy. Now, pull-a de string, make-a de bird jomp I" 



So I pulled the string, and the live decoy napped up 

 and down. And into his mouth of good white teeth Joe 

 jabbed two fingers of each hand and whistled shrilly on. 

 These four fingers of Joe's are always clean and devoid 

 of blood and feathers down to the knuckles. 



The flock swept swiftly by. I could have knocked 

 down at least a few as they passed, but etiquette of the 

 blind made Joe the master, for these were his decoys, this 

 was his blind, and he was shooting for a business. His 

 wisdom was soon apparent. A low, jumbled call of 

 mingled plover voices was met by Joe's false "ok," ap- 

 parently from the flock on the ground. Round came the 

 .ong bolt, glancing again under the sun. They passed 

 the scanty blind unheeded, passed over the decoys down 

 wind like lightning, and nearly drew a shot which Joe 

 frantically whispered me to hold. 



"No shoota-a, I tell! Let-a come! Let-a swing in!" 

 And round and in they swung, and with wings set and 

 heads down, slowly passed over the decoys and dropped 

 as if to alight. 



"Now! Give it! Give it!" cried Joe, Bang! bang! went 

 both barrels of the guest's gun, andboong! went one barrel 

 of Joe's. Merciful powers! what a yellow rain of birds fell 

 out at that deadly assault at thirty yards. Half the flock 

 was down. The rest swept on. "Whit! Whit-a whit 

 whit!" called Joe's plaintive whistle. Could it be? Yes, 

 here they came back again ; and again Joe held my arm 

 till the flock had passed, turned, and come in slowly over 

 the decoys again. Once more two barrels from my gun 

 and one from Joe's, and once more a fearful lessening of 

 the flying ranks. A swift wheel of the remnant of the 

 flock, a longer shot or two, a dropping of two or three 

 more birds, and the work for that flock was done. We 

 picked up more than twenty of the big, plump and beau- 

 tiful birds. 



That is the way Italian Joe shoots golden plover. There 



are plenty of men who will wager that there is no man 

 on this green earth who can compare with him in this 

 one art. That is his business, and has been for twenty- 

 two years, ever since he was old enough to shoot. He 

 sends into the Chicago market more plover than all the 

 other shooters of the State of Illinois. They don't know 

 how to hunt them, and he does. He is the great and un- 

 rivalled plover artist. He has killed 1,500 plover in a 

 week, 300 in a day and thousands in a season. He is the 

 only man in the city of Chicago who seems to thoroughly 

 understand and love the work of plover shooting. Through 

 the winter Joe sells fruit, but he longs for the warm days 

 and the green fields, and April sees him afield early. 

 For twenty years he has shot near Summit, or elsewhere 

 near the Dgs Plaines divide, and never until this spring 

 has he thought of making a change. A bag of 40, 50 or 

 60 birds per day does not suit him, even at $1.50 to $1.75 

 a dozen, which the big hotels pay him for all he can 

 bring in. 



"Italian Joe," or "Plover Joe," as he is interchangeably 

 called, is a character in his way and is worthy of a graphic 

 and a careful pen. His real name is Joseph Paoli, and he 

 may be Italian or Corsican; certainly he is a Napoleon in 

 his art. Of about middle height, and of a straight, spare 

 frame, he is fair in complexion, with light hair, blue eyes, 

 a clear skin and a singularly frank and pleasant expres- 

 sion of countenance. And he is a genuine good fellow, 

 open-hearted and generous. He can kill more plover 

 alone than by the aid of other guns in his blind, yet time 

 and again he has taken eager novices into his blind, when 

 every shot out of their guns meant a dollar out of his 

 pocket. Let us be fair to all men. When we have been , 

 we will be forced to admit that a market-hunter may still 

 be a man. I know this the better from a day out with 

 Joe. At the close of a rather poor flight, in which neither 

 of us knew which gun had killed the most, but in which 

 Joe had certainly always given me the first best chance, 

 he tied a big bunch of birds on my string and utterly re- 

 fused to take any pay for them, although they were the 

 same as money to him. And Joe isn't rich. 



Let me tell something about how Joe shoots plover, for 

 it will be new to many, and especially so to those who 

 have tramped miles trying to "sneak up" on a flock of 

 these wary birds, with result of a light bag at night. A 

 golden plover is like anybody else. It has a blind side. 

 Italian Joe has simply learned the blind side of his bird. 

 Close study of the habits of the plover has taught him 

 that it decoys readily both to the note and to the decoy 

 birds. Given this fact, he invented a system. It is the 

 originator, the genius, whatever be his calling, that com- 

 mands our respect. 



Like other birds, these plover have a resting and a feed- 

 ing ground. The decoys are put out on a flyway, where 

 the birds, moving about on the way to feed, may catch 

 sight of them. The decoys are never put out near the 

 edge of a plowed field, for the birds are then apt to pass 

 them and alight on the plowing. A fresh pasture or a 

 young wheat field is a good place for the blind, and this 

 should be chosen near the top of a ridge or high ground 

 where the birds pass over. The decoys can then be seen 

 further. 



Early in the morning is the best time of the flight. Joe 

 is always in his blind at 5 o'clock. He eats no breakfast 

 but a piece of bread that he carries in his pocket. He 

 has no lunch and eats no meal till supper, after dark. 

 His work is not easy. Between 9 and 10 in the morn- 

 ing the flight is also good, and after that Joe goes to 

 sleep in his blind till about 3 in the afternoon. From 

 then till 5 he may be busy. 



The decoys are not very lifelike. Joe has a dozen of 

 the old time decoys, which open out and fold or nest into 

 each other for packing. These are stuck on tops of 

 sticks. Then he has about as many*rough wooden pro- 

 files stuck up in similar manner. To these he adds a 

 number of dead birds, which he mounts nicely on a stick 

 thrust into the throat. The flock is put out in irregular 

 form, but is always compact, so that when about to 

 alight the plover will huddle together and not string out. 

 The greatest number of birds to the shot is Joe's rule. 



The decoys are put out to one side of the blind, and 

 not up or down the wind. This is so that the plover, 

 which alight against the wind, will not then be coming 

 up or over the blind. The distance is about 25yds. Joe 

 uses a side snap scatter gun. A close-shooting gun 

 would be a nuisance to him. The art of flock shooting 

 he has down fine, and with the same gun he will kill 

 half a dozen birds more to the shot than an inexperi- 

 enced shooter. He always rakes the flock as it comes 

 in, obliquely, and never shoots square through it. He 

 uses No. 7s or 8s and never shoots but one barrel. He 

 says he couldn't kill more than one or two with the 

 second barrel, and besides, the noise would scare the 

 flock more. He usually counts on getting two or three 

 single shots on the same flock, as he calls them back 

 again, and he nearly always drops his birds in about the 

 same place each time. 



The blind is very light and simple. A few weeds or 

 willows, a little hay, and there you have it. The birds 

 seem, indeed, to follow Joe's description and "look-a 

 on-a decoys." 



One original device of Joe's is his live decoy. This is 

 cruel, but effective. He takes a wing-tipped bird and 

 ties it by the bill to the end of a stick about 3ft. long. 

 He says it will not do to tie it by the feet, as it would 

 then hang head down, and therefore not look as if it were 

 alighting. He says also that a bird stuffed, with wings 

 outstretched, would not do at all. "De plov' goin' to 

 say, what a. sort bird like-a dat, he keep-a wing out all-a 

 de time? Den he go 'way." Thus he reasons, and doubt- 

 less from experience. 



To the long stick a second stick is lashed, the two form- 

 ing the legs of a triangle. The ends of these legs are tied 

 to pegs driven down in the ground. The triangle is thus 

 hinged. A string tied to a peg in front keeps it from 

 being pulled clear over when the "flopping" is going on. 

 A long string runs from the top of the stick back to the 

 blind. The bird and the triangle lie flat on the ground 

 till a flock is discovered coming in, and then the triangle 

 is worked, the bird is pulled up into the air, expands its 

 wings instinctively, and again closes them as it is allowed 

 to drop. This gives the appearance of a bird alighting 

 among the others on the ground, and by means of this 

 simple but kdling device the plover are induced to come 

 in again and again, decoying as probably no other bird 

 will do. 



Italian Joe has some imitators now, but none equal 

 him. Much of his success is due to his ability to call the 



