184 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



[Sept. 34, 1891. 



ON LITTLE PETE'S POINT. 



IT was November and the time had come at last for 

 starting upon our long anticipated trip. Many had 

 been the evenings that Frank and I had talked and 

 planned about this shoot; the discussions as to charges, 

 sizes of shot and number of shells to take had been in- 

 numerable, for I know of no greater field for discussion 

 than ammunition for wildfowl shooting. We had decided , 

 however, to take some 500 shells apiece, with our heavy 

 10 and light 12-bores. 



Eighteen hours by rail with the customary waits, nine 

 more on the water, found us just at dark located at one 

 of the numerous clubs on Currituck Sound, N. C. We 

 found the prospect for making a big bag was not very en- 

 couraging, as the weather had not been sharp enough in 

 the north to send the fowl down in great numbers. 



At 4 the next morning with our man Billy we are off 

 in the dark, huddled up in the skiff, decoys and all, while 

 Billy sends us along nicely. Three-quarters of an hour 

 later finds us settled in the blind, and jiast discernible 

 about {30yds. off, bobbing up and down on the water, are 

 three swan, a dozen geese, and some sixty odd duck de- 

 coys of differenfkinds from canvasback to teal. It is a 

 bit chilly sitting here in the 

 blind, but we don't have much 

 time to think of the cold. The 

 dawn is just coming, and we 

 ai-e beginning to locate the con- 

 stant swish and whistle of fowl 

 which we have been hearing 

 over our heads. Bang ! right 

 over my head. Splash ! The 

 fun has commenced, and Frank 

 has scored first blood. Out 

 goes Billy after the bird: but 

 what is this? "Down, Billy!" 

 Too late. Five geese, coming 

 straight at us and seeing our 

 man, sheer off in the dusk just 

 too soon. It is no use to call 

 now; they have seen too much. 

 Our first game proves to be a 

 sprigtail. 



Frank is bemoaning our luck 

 with the geese when Billy's 

 quick ear has caught the sound 

 of some honker and answers. 

 Sm-e enough three geese are 

 coming in and are not oOyds. 

 away now, "Let them have 

 it, Frank, Now for your first 

 goose." His two barrels are 

 followed a little later by mine. 

 Never a feather touched, and 

 with an affrighted honk the 

 geese are off, Billy says noth- 

 ing, but I can see that he is 

 wondering whether we expect 

 them to light on our guns. 

 "Too big, wern't they, Frank ? 

 First ones, you know, but 

 never — " My remark is cut 

 short by Billy's "Mark left 

 quick ! black duck !" We each 

 succeed in dropping one out of 

 a flock, missing with our 

 second, as they do not come in 

 well and the shots ai"e long 

 ones. 



It is getting quite light now 

 and we can see many flocks of 

 mallards, sprigs, black duck, 

 teal, widgeon, and occasionally 

 canvasback and redheads scur- 

 rying down the sound; and we 

 hear the booming of the bat- 

 tery men's guns away out. 

 Now comes a flock of sprig, 

 well in this time, and three go 

 down; give that wounded one 

 another barrel: that's it; let 

 them be; down. A couple of 

 widgeon right and left fall to 

 Frank and both are killed 

 clean. AVe are getting quite a 

 respectable pile now, and have 

 all we can do for they are com- 

 ing thick and fast. I just suc- 

 ceed in dropping a couple of 

 teal, when a lone honker comes 

 in and Frank redeems himself 

 by fiUing him fuU, and right 

 after comes a flock of a dozen 

 with Billy just di'awing them 

 in with his goose music. Talk 

 about your baritones, tenors 

 and sweet-voiced sopranos. 

 Give me Billy's goose yoedel. 

 Look at them come. That fel- 

 low leading does not suspect 



the reception awaiting him. Now softly, gluck! gluck ! 

 They are setting their wings. They look as big as houses. 

 You take the head ones, Frank. Our first discharge is 

 instantly followed by the second. Three are down. See 

 that other fellow; he has separated from the flock. Is he 

 going down? No. Yes, sir. There he goes all in a heap 

 stone dead. How could he go so far ? Four of them. 

 This rather beats the shooting up our way with the ther- 

 mometer at 10" or 15% eh, Frank? 



Numerous flocks of swan have from time to time been 

 passing over, long gunshot off, and we have let go TT's 

 at them backed by 5drs., with the result of having the 

 shot bring up against them with a tlir-r-up, and seeing 

 them shake themselves and keep right on. 



We stay till 4 o'clock with varying success, making 

 many misses and some good shots. Counting up we find 

 our bag for the day shows seven geese, six black ducks, 

 ten sprigs, three shovellers, seven widgeon, four teal— a 

 total of thirty-seven birds. Not such a big bag, you will 

 say, but big enough, we think, and the best we have yet 

 done in duck shooting. By dark we are at our landing 

 again.^ After supper we adjourn to the room with an 

 open fire, our pipes are lighted and we give ourselves to 

 that comfortable sorb of drowsiness which comes over one 

 after a day's work of this kind, nodding in front of the 

 fire with an occasional eomment as to bow we might 



have shot this one, and why we did not get that one- 

 Bedtime, which soon comes, and with it Billy, to find out 

 the morrow's plans, or as he puts it, "What'youse gem- 

 mens was wantiu' to do to-morrer."' We decide to try 

 Little Pete's Point again in the morning, with the fore- 

 most idea of securing that beautiful and majestic bird 

 the swan. In the afternoon we will try the Broad Creek, 

 where we may expect some mallard and teal, and so it is 

 arranged. 



We take the sneak boat this morning, for there is a fan- 

 wind. The sail is up and we are off dowm the creek with 

 its intricate turnings, grounding now and then, but mak- 

 ing good time. Our decoys are soon out and the fun 

 commences again. Sprigs, widgeons, shovellers, black 

 duck and four geese, perhaps twenty birds have fallen to 

 our guns, and we have shot some half-dozen shots at the 

 swan with the same result as yesterday, when Billy says, 

 "Mark south !" Wuf-tvoo-ooo-ivitf-ooo comes the plain- 

 tive call to our ears, and Billy answers with truly won- 

 derful imitation (for he can call swan to deceive the 

 wariest of the flock). They are coming this time, and 

 now if they do not sheer off just out of range as they 

 always have before we shall get a shot. Fifty yards high, 

 straight as an arrow, they come for our decoys. Nearer 



mallard, teal, widgeon and two geese. We made a 

 mistake though in not taking our light guns, for those 

 little greenwings would come in like bullets, take a shy 

 at the decoys and dart off before we could swing our big 

 guns on to them. What we did stop made it the more 

 gratifying though, for with their erratic flight we would 

 have to be pretty lively with our light guns. 



We reached the house a little after dark, well satisfied 

 with our second day's sport. I might go on and teU you 

 how we spent the two remaining days after snipe and bay 

 bu-ds, but I have now made a long story. We shot dur- 

 ing our stay the following varieties; Swan, geese, read- 

 head, canvasback, mallard, teal, black duck, widgeon, 

 sprigtail, shovefler, blue peter, shell drake, jacksnipe, 

 beetle-head plover, yellow-leg, marsh quail, besides 

 several varieties of shore birds, and I will ventm-e to re- 

 mark that one does not often get in four days' shooting in 

 one place such a various collection as the above. The 

 result of our trip was more than satisfactory, and fulfilled 

 all our expectations. Sippican. 



Phovit)ENCE, Rhode Island. 



Utah Wakes Up.— Last Monday Game Commissioner 

 Barrett had J. H, Oliver and I. W. Little arrested for 

 killing ducks out of season. 

 The game law expired on Tues- 

 day, but it seems that these 

 sportsmen anticipated it by one 

 day, with the result stated. 

 They were taken before Com- 

 missioner Piatt and pleaded 

 guilty, and a fine of $50 each 

 and costs was imposed. The 

 gentlemen thought this was 

 pretty steep, and stood the 

 judgment off for a few days, 

 but finally settled up yesterday. 

 Commissioner Barrett is no re- 

 specter of person, and says that 

 the game law must be obeyed 

 so long as he is commissioner. 

 Salt Lake Herald, Sept 6. 



The Adirondacks League 

 Club, it is said, has commenced 

 an action for trespass against 

 Supervisor M. M, May hew, of 

 Marcy. The club posted notices 

 on its preserve of 150,000 acres 

 in the wilderness some time 

 ago warning the public against 

 trespassing thereon, but this 

 had only a temporary effect, 

 and for the last two months 

 people have been fishing or 

 hunting on the club's lands 

 without any apparent regard 

 to the possible consequences. 

 , About Sept. 1, the date when 

 the season for iiunting deer be- 

 gan, Mr. May hew and party 

 visited North Lake with a 

 number of dogs, presumably 

 with the intention of hunting. 

 It is not known that they killed 

 any deer, but the act of tres- 

 pass under the existing law 

 was evidently considered suffi- 

 cient cause "for action. It is 

 understood that the club pro- 

 poses to make this a test case. 

 — Boonville Herald. 



AMOm THE WILDFOWL.— lY. 



Black Duck. See him Jump! Quick! Hold about thpvEe feet ahead axd he is yours. 



they ceme, seven of them — 80, 60, 50yds. from us, and 

 our guns roar. The leader drops, whirls a few times and 

 strikes the water with a tremendous splash, a confused 

 mass of neck and wings. Our first swan. I say our, for 

 we both singled him otit in our anxiety to make a sure 

 thing of it. It is a beautiful specimen, weighing 231bs. 

 He is carefully put away, for Frank is to have him 

 mounted to grace his billiard room. We now feel satis- 

 fied with our morning's work, and conclude to puU up 

 and get back to the house for some lunch in order to reach 

 Broad Creek by 2:30. 



We got to the blind on the creek by 3 o'clock, but on 

 our way down I had an expf rience which made me any- 

 thing but comfortable. Seeing some ducks drop into a 

 slough on one of the islands we attempted to stalk them, 

 but found the land very swampy and the reeds high. We 

 located them at last, and saw some fifty or more mallards 

 and black ducks bunched in a little pond-hole not 30yds. 

 across. As I was getting into position to shoot I stepped 

 into a soft place, and down I went full length into the 

 mud and water. Frank was so rattled at my sudden dis- 

 appearance that be succeeded in dropping only one as 

 they rose. I did pull myself together in time to get one 

 too? but to finish our luck we could not find either of the 

 dead birds in the thick reeds. We were somewhat con- 

 soled, however, by ow work on the creek, killing severa-l 



This Rescued Eooster 

 Lived to Crow. — ^A peculiar 

 incident was described to me a 

 few days ago by the actor Mr. 

 Murr Brown, of Camptown, Pa. 

 In his way I give it: "Coming 

 home from Wyalusing with my 

 gun, a few days ago. I came 

 across the woods back ' of Elli- 

 ott's. I saw a motion on the 

 ground in a thicket, and made 

 out that it was a hawk picking 

 at something. I shot the hawk, 

 and found he was picking at a 

 large rooster. As I approached 

 the fowl seemed to move its 

 eye, and 1 found that it was 

 warm. I concluded that it 

 , might be good to eat and took 

 it along homeward. It soon 

 began to revive, and by the 

 time I got home it was right 

 lively, and now it is out yonder 

 with the rest of my fowls as 

 well as any of them. It was a 

 brown leghorn, just what I had 

 been wanting to get. " It seems 

 to me that it would be well to call the progeny of that 

 rooster Brown's Hawkeyes. Only to bear in mind that 

 this suggestion is counting chickens before they are 

 hatched.— Geo. W. Litbg. 



Canada Moose.— On a recent trip to the Ottawa River 

 we heard of one hunter who last spring killed forty- 

 seven moose and used the carcases as bear bait. There is 

 stiU good moose hunting at almost any point on the 

 Quebec side of the upper Ottawa. Steamers run from 

 Mattawa to the head of Lake Temiscamingue, 125 miles 

 further north. Half a day from the steamer will take 

 the hunter into good territory for moose, and by three or 

 four days' canoeing from the head of the lake good cari- 

 bou hunting may be obtained. Ruffed grouse are plenti- 

 ful everywhere. In addition to all this the scenery of 

 the upper Ottawa, particularly of the Seven League 

 Lake, traversed by the steamer, and of Lake Temisca- 

 mingue is very fine. Parties desiring as a trophy of skill 

 and prowess a head of the moose will make no mistake in 

 seeking the upper Ottawa.— S. R. Clarke. 



Connecticut Rail Bird Shooting is reported to be 

 poor this year. 



