July 8, 1893.] 



FOREST AND STREAM, 



and vastness of His work brings us nearer to Him who 

 controls all things! 



It was this afternoon that my wife shot her first duck 

 of the season; she used a light* 20-bore full choke single- 

 barrel, which she handles at close range as quickly and 

 accurately as many of the stronger sex do their lOs and 

 138, and with as keen an enjoyment as the oldest htmter. 



I wish to say here a word of advice to all sportsmen. If 

 your wives show any interest in your pleasures in this 

 line, encourage them, teach them the use of firearms, get 

 them thoroughly familiar with gun and rod, and take 

 them with you on your trips, you wiU enjoy your vaca- 

 tion a hundred times more, besides giving your wives an 

 outing and adding tmtold treasm-es to her health and 

 Sttength. 



Next morning, our sportsmen desires fully aroused, 

 f ovmd us not laggards, but we were up and had hastily 

 swallowed an impromptu breakfast long before daylight. 

 We had intended to have a go at the geese with Mr. 

 Evans's live decoys, kept for that purpose, but the weather 

 clerk still persisted in sending the wind from the north, 

 whUe it was a southern breeze we were anxiously praying 

 for. Ejaowing there would be no flight until the wind 

 changed, we took otit little cutter for a day with the 

 marsh birds and meadow larks among the islands. 



The first half of the morning gave us great sport among 

 the larks on the higher and drier ground. Keeping our 

 pointer "to heel" and using him only for retrieving^ pur- 

 poses, as the bilrds ^e±e, wild and "flushed at the least 

 fidund, the only successful way was to work them against 

 the wind. The latter part of the morning and early after- 

 noon we spent in the lower end of the island for snipe and 

 sedge hen, the former was rather scarce, the latter quite 

 numerous but hard to raise, owing to the very thick 

 swamp grass, making hard work for both gunner and 

 dog. Frequently the dog Guy woidd stand and before we 

 could raise the birds he would slowly draw upon them for 

 fully 25yds. Considering the dense cover, our score of 

 seven snipe, ten sedge hen and a baker's dozen of larks, 

 satisfied out desii-es in one way and created them in 

 aiiothetj the qUestioh of lunch. 



We were by this time a long distance from our boat, 

 and having sent our guide after it with instructions to 

 meet us at the hfe saving station, about a mile and a half 

 above, we wandered to a near-by fishing camp in search 

 of something to satisfy the inner man. 



The camp in question proved to be a wooden shanty set 

 up about 4ft. from the ground on stakes, rerninding one 

 of the small boy on atilts. As wc approached we noticed 

 a number of men standing, sitting or idly lounging on 

 the side nearest us in the sUn. Seeing us coming, the 

 captain, as the head man or owner of the camp is termed, 

 came to meet us with that courtesy and eajsy manner so 

 apparent and estimable in all the Southern people, from 

 tb.e most humble to the most cultured. A noticeable and 

 vnost praiseworthy trait among these people to us North- 

 erners is their wonderful hospitality. They always invite 

 you into their homes and make you welcdme to all they 

 have, no mattei' how h\imbie their abode or meager their 

 Buppliea. The 'captain was no exception to this rule, and 

 We Wef6 immediately made welcome into his and his 

 Men's temporary quarters, where we had our first chance 

 to see their mode of living while attending their nets. 



Entering the hving room Ave found the floor covered 

 with a thick mass of rushes, one end being partitioned off 

 as the sleeping ajJartment, a glance into which showed us 

 the roilgli blinks, one over another, reminding us in a 

 diminutive way somewhat of the emigrants' quartets 

 on one of our transatlantic steamei^i 



The captain told us that oh acUoUnl of rough weather 

 they had beeh unable to do any fishing for several days, 

 th© sUi-f being too liigh, which explained the idleness of 

 big men. They regretted they could not ofl;er us limch, 

 but on account of it being near the end of the week, and 

 with that and the poor fishing, their supplies were nearly 

 exhausted. The owner of the camp having been an old 

 sea captain for many years, and visited numerous foreign 

 ports, had many interesting stories and jokes to tell, and 

 on leaving about an hour later, with the whole camp's 

 good washes, we felt as if our time had been well spent. 



A tramp of a mile through the loose sand, which 

 seemed to us as if it were two, and without a feather to be 

 Seen except the ever present gull, brought us to Uncle 

 Sam's life-saving station. Hardly replying to the keeper s 

 pleasant good afternoon, our question was "Can you give 

 us a bite to eat?" In about five minutes we were^ making 

 sad havoc with a large plate of the best biscuit we had 

 ever eaten, and with excellent coffee and butter as an 

 aid to digestion, for which our kind host, with the usual 

 hospitaUty, would accept nothing but a thank you and 

 our best wishes, wliich we gave him with a grateful heart, 

 as only a hungry sportsman can fuUy appreciate. This 

 station being similar to all of those places along oUr coast, 

 proved of little interest to us, and after a short rest we 

 walked to the sound side and foUnd olir boatman await- 

 ing us; the wind had Chtirely died out so the oars were 

 GUI' only salvation, and under this slow locomotion we 

 proceeded and finally arrived at Manteo for an 8 o'clock 

 supper^ 



The next day the wind was still stubbornly holdmg to 

 the north, thus upsetting our aiTangement^ of the night 

 before to make an early stai-t for the ^'eese. On going to 

 the window tlie direction of the AVond was soon ascer- 

 tained, and crawling back into bed geese were forgotten 

 in that last enjoyable morning snooze. A tramp for quail 

 proved to be the programme for this day, and we were 

 soon on the ground, with the pointer carefully quartering 

 the field and closely liunting all likely places for this 

 much-prized game bird. We flushed several coveys, but 

 were not very successful, as it required almost entirely 

 snap shooting, the fields and open country being very 

 small, the birds getting into cover in quick order, and 

 such cover entirely impenetrable for man and dog. As 

 regards the hunting of this bird, it was a failure, as it 

 always wiU be here until the country is considerably better 

 cleared. We spent the morning facmg these difiiculties, 

 and had overcome so few by dinner time that we con- 

 cluded to let the quail rest "in peace, as in reahty they 

 were doing at that time. The afternoon was lazily spent 

 in cleanmg our guns, lying in hammocks, and reading 

 or talking of incidents of the previous day, which in that 

 warm climate was thoroughly enjoyable. 



All things come to them who wait, and on the evenincr 

 of our quail hunt the wind shifted to the south. With 

 all arrangements completed for an early start we retired. 

 Long before dayhght we were on our way across the 

 «oi]nd, witb Dm- live geese decoys '-honlpiig,-' ^ fchey 



too were eager to deceive their wild brethren, who little 

 dreamed of the reception they would encounter as they 

 circled to then- calls. Although in the warm country of 

 the balmy South the evenings and mornings are cool and 

 frosty at this season of the year,- so with gum boots, heavy 

 coats and thick gloves, and the pleasant sensation of the 

 hot coffee so lately swallowed, we were in a position to 

 enjoy the calm beauty of the fuU moon shining upon the 

 rippling waters and the sparkling reflection of thousands 

 of diamonds from the frost-covered grass of the numerous 

 islands as the bright rays were gradually hidden by the 

 western horizon upon the approach of the dawn of day. 

 Our little craft dancing merrily over the mirror-like re- 

 flection before a southern breeze, seemed hardly to touch 

 the water except for the widening trail left in the wake. 



A few light streaks in the east warned us our time was 

 growing short, and that we must hurry to get our decoys 

 advantageously placed and ourselves snugly hidden in 

 our blinds before the morning flight began; as we pulled 

 our little craft a point or two nearer the wind, and 

 shaved closer some of the islands,- We heard the flapping 

 of many wings and saw the dark forms of the fowl take 

 flight, as our near approach disturbed them from some 

 choice haven where they had been spending the night. 



After reaching our point, and with much splashing, 

 "honking," flapping of wings, wading and placing of 

 decoys, and water pretty well distributed over us, we took 

 to our blinds and made ourselves comfortable until such a 

 time as the geese and ducks saw fit to honor us with their 

 presence. 



The mariner of using live decoys may prove of some in- 

 terest. The geese are genuine wild ones, taken when 

 young, or possibly hatched and raised by the owner. 

 The birds have the first joint of theif wing taken off, 

 making it impossible for them to fly any great distance; 

 around the leg just above the foot they wear a leather 

 strap, made into a slip-noose; this is never taken off; to 

 this is tied, when using them, a rope 8 or 10ft. long, with 

 a stake attached. When placing tliese decoys we wade, 

 using hip boots of course, to about 2ft. of water, pushing 

 the stake well into the bottom and placing a tuft of sod 

 near by about 6 or Tin. from the surface, so that they may 

 stand on it and not become too wearied from constantly 

 floating or swimming. It is surptising how accustomed 

 these birds get to the gun being fired over them, it is 

 somewhat similar to a hxmting. dog, they knoW what 

 they are there for, do their duty, and never flinch at the 

 report. 



By the time we got ourselves comfortably fixed and a 

 few moments to spare, day was made glorious by old Sol's 

 full rays bursting upon us. A warning word from Mr. 

 Evans told us that that watchful sportsman had seen 

 something to our interest, and a minute later the "honk- 

 ing" of our decoys also proved that something was on the 

 wing. Pretty soon a V-shaped flock put in an appear- 

 ance, but much to our disappointment failed to decoy; a 

 little while and another small bunch headed our way, 

 answered qUr geese and s\vtuig nicely in front of us. Ah I 

 how sure, I at least, was of a goose; if not a pair. How it 

 happened none can tell, but a clean miss with both bar- 

 rels knocked all the conceit out of me. What was it? 

 Something the matter with the gun or ammunition surely; 

 some excuse must be foimd, but I could find none, and 

 could merely say the fault was mine and I was badly 

 rattled. Mr." E. being in another blind had no shot, and 

 my wife thinking the game too large at that distance for 

 her 20-bore, refrained from shooting, so I had it all my 

 own Way and fear I breathed something more expressive 

 than elegant as 



•'Playfully sHe turned tiiat He rdight ged 

 The passing smile her cheek piii o'n ; 

 But when she marked how mournfully 

 His eyes met- hers, that smile was gone." 



The next time our visitors found us at home, and yet it 

 was not fully a success; they swung nicely, but before 

 they w^ere in good range they became suspicious and con- 

 cluded to go further on. Mr. E. opened up and secured 

 his bird, my left broke another's wing and down he came 

 with a great splash. At that moment Mr. E. called the 

 news of another flock arriving. We immediately hid in 

 our blinds. They, however, faded to come near us, and 

 on going to retrieve my wounded goose could not find a 

 feather. With such luck as this I had to content myself, 

 swearing vengeance on those next appearing for this de- 

 feat. Now for a time we had nothing to do, and hearing 

 Mr. E.'s gun occasionally, w^ho had moved further dow^n 

 and put out some wooden stools for the smaller fowl, we 

 joined him. Here we all had good shooting for an hour 

 or so. Sheldrake, black ducks and coots were principally 

 the sufferers. My wife here had great sport, we of course 

 giving her the preference on all close range shots, and I 

 was fortunate in making a double. After this things 

 quieted down and we returned to our former blind to 

 lunch and nap in the warm sun on our coats and wraps 

 and await the afternoon and evening flight. 



In the afternoon we jointly secured three geese and one 

 swan, and all in about a half hom-'s time. After that the 

 flocks seemed further apart and not inclined in the least 

 to decoy. An incident worth mentioning occurred. An 

 unusually large flock passed over us, but out of range, 

 answeied om- decoys, but went on and settled some 500 or 

 600yds. beyond our birds. These also acted as decoys to 

 all those passing within calling distance, and we learned 

 from our host that this is always the case. The birds will 

 invariably go to the largest bunch. We had to get them 

 out of the way or our shooting would have been at an 

 end for that day. By bringing a rifle into play, which 

 we had with us, and shooting among the flock, they were 

 finally raised, giving our birds a chance to further use 

 persuasive powers. 



The bright red glare of the sun 



•'Bathes in deep joy the land and sea," 

 as sinking below the water's edge in the west, he bids the 

 world farewell for the night, and warned us that it was 

 time to take om- departure. The wind had again died 

 out; a row home and a late supper ended the day and also 

 the week. 



Sunday an imusuaUy late nap, a late breakfast and a 

 quiet day spent lounging about the house, reading, lying 

 in hammocks, and a walk among the noble pines in the 

 afternoon proved the history of that day of rest for both 

 man and beast. 



Monday w^as a hot, sultry day, with no breeze whatever. 

 We started across the island thinking to get a little snoot- 

 ing, but found it so warm we were glad tt) return, and 

 stopping at a house for a drink of water were more than 



thankful for a glass of cool, home-made grape Avine. 



In the afternoon, a breeze springing up, we packed our 

 traps and hired a colored man to sad us to CoUington, 

 where we intended stopping with a fisherman, Tom Cronk 

 by name, a place about ten miles from our present loca- 

 tion and also on an island. We got off about 3 o'clock, 

 and the air being light we made slow progress, arriving 

 something after six. 



It was to this place we were recommended through the 

 Forest and Steeaji by the Rev. Thos. Dixon. Jr., of 

 New York, who while stopping at Nag's Head Hotel had 

 Mr. Cronk as his boatman and fisherman. While we do 

 not wish to punish Mr. Dixon too severely for recom- 

 mending a stopping place he knew nothing of, we think 

 it would be only just reti-ibution should circumstances 

 compel him, while on some of his fishing trips, to board 

 a month with Mr. Cronk; we could not but help in our 

 innermost hearts rejoicing a little as we imagine the rev- 

 erend gentleman's discomfitm-e. 



From the foregoing the reader wiU naturally form the 

 wrong conclusion of Tom Cronk. Tom is a whole-souled, 

 poor, ignorant fisherman living in a little frame cabin on 

 the island of Colbngton, with his wife and innumerable 

 children; he is a good-hearted fellow and willing to do 

 anything in his power to please you, but it is the last place 

 on earth to board; he does not know how to do, nor has 

 he anything to do with, which a few of our following ex- 

 periences will show. 



On arriving, it being after dark, om- first caution was 

 "Look out Mr. you don't faU through the pier, it is rather 

 shaky," and indeed was this structure, termed pier, a few 

 stakes driven into the water with boards of different 

 thicknesses nailed crosswise running some fifty feet or so, 

 more than shaky, and we had to use great care or the 

 wabbhng structure would have thrown us, even were we 

 fortunate enough not to fall through. Entering a small 

 barren room, uncarpeted, but the floor sprinkled with 

 sand, We foimd a wood stove and several chairs. Our 

 room consisted of an old bedstead with a hard mattress, a 

 bolster, uncovered, no pillows, one sheet a.nd an old quilt 

 with a hole in the center as big as your head, and a 

 rickety wooden chair completed the furniture, with a bare 

 floor. On asking for more bed clothes we were told they 

 had none. On the porch a tin basin, bucket and ladle, a 

 towel hung on a nail near by, and an old brush and comb 

 completed the toilet articles of the estabhshment. Add 

 to this what they termed the "cook house," a separate 

 building entirely, where we ate- our meals, with stove in 

 one end and table covered with oil cloth at the other, 

 steel knives and forks and not always enough to go round^ 

 coffee, heavy hot biscuit, an a,pology for what we terra 

 corn pone, about as thick as an ordinary buckwheat cake, 

 fried duck, fried bacon, fried fish, everything fried, with 

 quantities of grease, and as a special favor an extra cup 

 occasionally, this for breakfast, dinner and supper, and 

 with no sanitary arrangements whatever, you have a fair 

 idea of our quarters at Colhngton. 



Here we stayed two days, finding the ducks anything 

 but plentiful for shooting purposes; there were quantities 

 of fowl, but on account of the adverse weather they were 

 Unapproachable, as they fed far out on the shoals, and 

 the game lawa of North Carolina prohibited non-residents 

 from shooting on the water. As we saw no signs for a 

 favorable change and our quarters being very undesir- 

 able, Tom's sloop took us to the wharf of the Neuse on 

 Thursday afternoon, where we sat down to what thei*e 

 seemed to us the best home meal at the agent's hotise we 

 had ever eaten of fried fresh bluefish, elegant hot biscuit, 

 with good btitter and coffee that was fit nectar for the 

 gods. 



We took the Neuse at 3:B0 A. M, for home and had an 

 uneventful trip, spending one day in Norfolk, where we 

 got om-selves brushed up in somewhat civilized form, 

 the writer feeUng like a new man in getting rid of a two 

 weeks' beard. 



The night boat for Washington found us on board and 

 the next morning we were in that city, where we spent 

 Sunday with some friends, enjoying a pair of ducks on 

 their table from the small bimch we were taking home. 

 We left Monday morning on the five-hour New York flyer 

 of the "Eoyal Blue Line," arriving home that afternoon, 

 just two weeks from our start, better in every way for 

 our trip, rich in experiences, and having since afforded 

 many an evening's pleasure to both oirrselves and friends 

 as we recount each separate incident. 



As I write our faithful old pointer is lying at my feet, I 

 doubt not anxiously awaiting next fall for a similar trip 

 to some other part of the coimtry, which we are also look- 

 ing forward to with pleasurable anticipation. 



A word regarding our accommodations at Manteo. 

 They were pi-imitive, yet comfortable, and one must not 

 expect to find luxurious apartments on a hunting trip as 

 a rule, and especially in the Southern countiy, nor does 

 he pay the coi-responding luxurious price; but he will, or 

 at least we did, find the most hospitable set of people it 

 was ever otu- good foi-tune to meet, wiflingto do anything 

 in their power for yom* comfort and amusement, and 

 always anxious to act on any suggestion you may make. 

 And while things are not kept in the same manner we are 

 used to at home and the cooking entirely different, it is 

 merely another side of life of our wonderful counti-y. We 

 cannot sjjeak too highly of our host's and hostess's efforts 

 at Manteo to make iis comfortable and give us an enjoy- 

 able time; nor does this merely apply to those with whom 

 we stopped, but to everybody with whom we came in 

 contact on the island. 



As regards shooting, there are quantities of game, and if 

 you are fortunate in having the right kind of weather and 

 wind in the proper direction, you can secure large bags; 

 and then again, if imf ortunate, you may wait many days 

 without much sport to vary the monotony. 



PHn:.ADELPHiA, Pa., June 9. C. H. CtJUlT. 



Did You Hear that QuaU? 



NOBWIOH, N. Y., June 25.— The meeting with old 

 friends after a long absence gives an unspeakable pleasure. 

 Such was my feehngs this morning as I lay half asleep to 

 hear that old familiar call "Bob White." Could it be 

 possible? I got up, raised my window and listened. Then 

 from across a creek which faces my house came that old 

 musical note. I immediately went to the next house to 

 notify my brother-in-law, but just as I put my hand on 

 , the door knob, he opened it with the remark "Did you 

 I hear that quail?" He had never shot any, but I have 

 given him glowing descriptions of days spent with them 

 in the Hoosier State. A quail in Chenango county, N. Y.^ 

 is something I h^ve no^ hea?4 before. R. J. M. 



