Feb. 26, 1898.] 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
163 
sient. The next morning when you again wake at day- 
break you will hastily snuggle down with another sense 
of "fer\-ent content" that you don't have to go into the 
woods, but can sleep, 
The woods does not wake to life like the fields; it is 
gentle and quiet in the woods at daybreak. Birds call 
softly, as thougk.Joath to disturb the profound stillness. 
The insect army seems but half awake and droning in 
whispers. The rollicking rowdy squirrel, who at the first 
bright ray of sunshine will be threshing down a shower 
of nuts from the top of a hickory, or barking shrill de- 
fiance at a rival a quarter of a mile distant, will be as 
quiet as the proverbial mouse when he steals through 
the woods at early dawn. Turn out the first bright morn- 
ing you wake early and get into the nearest woods for a 
personal test of this pleasure; you will then see how much 
the reality exceeds the word picture, even when drawn 
by an enthusiast. 
In plenty of time I made my way down among the tall 
hickories, where the first stand was to be made, for it 
was to be a "still-hunt," as the' natives call hunting with- 
out a dog. 
The first faint sounds of woods life were beginning to 
be heard, and there was what woodsmen call the smell 
of day in the air. 
The trees were dark and spectral low down, but get- 
ting quite distinct higher up against the sky. 
In a few moments I lieard the "swish" of a limb that 
for the telltale fall of a nut or "swisli" of a. limb, ap- 
parently coming from a tall hickory about 50yds. ahead. 
Working up cautiously, I took a position that gave 
me a clear view, and found that I had treed. 
A shower of chips was falling through the lower 
limbs of ihe tree, showing that at least one hungry fdU 
low was hard at work high up in the hickory shelling a 
breakfast. When a hungry, unsuspicious squirrel is 
breakfasting in a nut tree that has thick leaves on it, 
you never know how many are there. One will make 
such a fuss and keep the air so full of chips you are 
ready to believe that you have half a dozen treed, 
Growing near the hickory was a poplar tree, whose 
symmetrical top pushed well up close under its higliest 
limbs. 
Cuttitigs seemed to be falling from the poplar, and I 
concluded that my squirrel had gotten his breakfast 
in the hickory and carried it to the poplar to eat. But 
now on closer inspection it seemed that another stream 
of cuttings was pouring from the hickory, and I con- 
gratulated myself on having two squirrels within range. 
I have often heard hunters tell about eight or ten 
squirrels up one tree, but have thought — charitably 
speaking — it probably was where trees were very scarce, 
or squirrels unusually plentiful. 
From an experience dating from early 3'outh, when 
too young to be trusted with a gun, 1 used to wheedle 
old Uncle Peter into lending me his "armah cyarbine," 
ately with their hijidfeet, growling and spitting furiously, 
I could easily have dropped them both with one shot 
while in this position, but it was the first genuine mill 
of this kind I had ever seen, and altogether too spicy an 
entertainment to interrupt, Finally one broke away 
and retreated up the tree, while the other, seemingly 
victorious and fully satisfied, crawled up and sat upon 
the limb, master of the situation, but considerably dis- 
figured. 
Concluding that it was about time for foreign interven- 
tion, T drew on the retreating pugilist and dropped him, 
clean killed, with the right-hand barrel of the t6-gauge; 
then turning my attention to the other one found that 
he had not moved, further than to crane his neck over 
the limb to peer down to the ground, where lay his late 
antagonist, With the left barrel I laid him quiet within 
a few feet of the other. 
At tlie last shot I heard a rustle, and looking up saw 
another squirrel making down a long limb of the hickory 
toward the poplar, and shoving in fresh shells opened 
iire on liim as he ran. 
Hard hit at the first shot, he fell, but caught with his 
forepaws on a limb half way down and began trying to 
swing back on to the limb, with lots of climb left in him. 
Giving him the second barrel, I had the satisfaction of 
seeing him drop quietly down by the two already shot. 
Just then another squirrel jumped from the hickory to 
the poplar, and from there — before I could look — ^into a 
A VISTA FROM THE TRITON CLUB HOUSE. See page 168. 
told of a squirrel making for his breakfast in a near hick- 
ory. Then came the rattle of nails as he rushed down the 
scaly bark of a white oak; another faint "swish" and he 
is safe in some near-by hickory without ever showing 
fur. But this is no cause for discouragement, for so 
soon as his toilet is complete, and the tattoo of the wood- 
pecker's ivory on a dead limb announces the near ap- 
proach of the "king of day," he will begin to shell and 
cut nuts with a greedy abandon that will quickly lead 
to his detection. The first squirrel actually located re- 
sulted in a most disgusting fumble, as it took four shots 
to bring them to bag. This will occasionally occur with 
the best shots, and is hard to explain satisfactorily, but 
is probably most often due to the thick leaves on the 
tree hiding the exact location, or else shooting at the 
squirrel's tail when his body is safely protected. 
These are the reasons with which I have always sat- 
isfied myself for such fumbles when I made them, but 
after fifteen years of patient effort I have yet to evolve 
a reason that fully satisfies my shooting companion when 
he sees me do it. 
After this poor beginning, as misfortunes never travel 
singly, a handicap appeared on the scene in the person 
of a little darky — Isaac Suh — and the invariable compan- 
ion, a cur dog. 
"He's a fiset, suh! I jes hear you shoot an' cum to see 
what you had got treed, an' to see if my dawg c'uldn't 
git him fur you. O, yas, suh, he is a good squwl dawg 
— he good fur all varmints too." 
With good intentions, but poor judgment, Isaac and 
the "fiset" followed me about, making noise enough 
for "beaters" instead of "stalkers," until we had found 
and killed two very unwary squirrels, then to his sincere 
regret he found that he "Mus' be gittin' 'long down to 
de pea patch to pick peas." 
Left thus dependent upon my own resources, I fol- 
lowed a fence row for some distance, listening intently 
and run ofif hunting, to the present time, when I am using 
my second hammerless, I have yet to find a greater num- 
ber of squirrels than five in one tree. 
In those dear old carbine days of long ago, when after 
tramping for many weary miles I sometimes returned 
successful and triumphant with one poor little half-starved 
old squirrel (probably an escaped pet) and proudly car- 
ried him the full length of the main street, the admira- 
tion and envy of all the other boys, I did then occasion- 
ally tell about six or seven or ten that I found in one 
tree, and fit each one with a fearful and wonderful nar- 
row escape from my deadly gun, but now apologize for 
any of those stories, unforgotten and unforgiven. 
I had made out my squirrel in the top of the poplar, 
and was proceeding to draw on him, when his companion 
in the hickory, incensed by some insult, real or fancied, 
dropped the nut he was cutting on, sprang into the pop- 
lar and assaulted him in the most vicious and apparently 
unexpected manner. 
. I instantly lowered my gun, as a game fight is better, 
than any game to me. 
There was some very loud and seemingly profane con- 
versation for a few moments, and a terrible threshing 
in the leaves in the tree top, then the fray took shape as 
one, feeling that he was not holding his own, started 
to retreat down the tree, with the other in close pursuit. 
Down they came with a rush that sounded like scraping 
a bushy limb down a tree trunk until they were almost 
to the ground. Circling the tree, they flew back up about 
half way to the top, when the pursuer overtook the pur- 
sued and they clinched. 
Such a fight I never miagined possible for anything 
less wicked than a pair of dissolute tomcats.- They plied 
tooth and nail, and the fur flew. They lost their balance 
and fell, close clinched, to a limb loft. below the one they 
had been fighting on, and over this they hung, one on 
either side, gripping each other's head, clawing desper- 
tall white oak. He was evidently desperately homesick 
and losing no time. 
This was more than I bargained for, and it rattled me 
considerably; but after a little time lost by trying to 
crowd both shells into one barrel I got loaded and 
opened fire, making a beautiful clean miss with both 
barrels. ITe was too far away for safe shooting and 
rapidly increasing the distance, but as quickly as pos- 
sible I reloaded and threw two more loads of shot after 
him, with no other result than to make him jump about 
twice as far as usual each shot. 
Waiting for a few moments to see if the old hickory 
concealed any more surprises, I gathered up my game 
and made my way to the house in time for breakfast. 
I had been out less than two hours; had bagged six 
squirrels; umpired a game fight; done some fast shoot- 
ing, and developed an extraordinary appetite. Alto- 
gether, created a red-letter day for hours of reminis- 
cence. Lewis Hopkins. 
Mowingf Machines and Nestmg Quail. 
Central City, W. Va. — A land-owning sportsman 
living about four miles from this city has a good and per- 
haps novel plan for keeping up a fair supply of game. 
The mowing machines, as is quite well known, are the 
cause of much destruction of the nests of quail. 
Durinp- the incubating season he takes his dog to the 
fields which are to. be reaped, and by the dog's points 
discovers the nests of the birds. Near every nest he 
drives a stake. So at mowing time he leaves the quail 
undisturbed, with the grass still waving over and shield- 
ing her pretty little head, while the dear maternal heart 
throbs in glad expectation of the first "peep" of a prison- 
freed birdie, and no doubt with a hearty "thank you" 
for the kind consideration by the man so merciful — 
pro teni, N. D. Elting. 
