Jan. 10, 1903.] 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
29 
>f deer. Said the hunter in reply, "Yes, I began kilhng 
hem in June, and I'm going to kill about a half ton 
nore of them for my winter's supply of meat, and d-^ 
rou, don't you get between me and any deer I want to kill, 
:or I shoot a Savage rifle that'll put a bullet right through 
I man and kill a deer beyond him." 
I do not wish to impug;n the courage of our w^ardens, 
}Ut I cannot help belieAnng that threats like this have 
;omething to do in subjecting sportsmen, who have no 
lesire or intention to violate the law, to the indignity 
md annoyance of search and close surveillance, while 
lotorious violators of the law are let severely alone. 
L. A. J.'s suggestions are so complete that it is un- 
lecessary for me to add anything, further than to point 
:o the obvious fact that the plan he proposes for Maine 
vould work equally well in New York. 
Jos. W. Shurter. 
Puget Sound Ducking. 
SE.A.TTLE, Wash. — The genuine hide-bound, give and 
ake duck hunter is truly a bird of stormy weather. The 
•oar of the wind, the angry tossing of the waves and the 
;reaking of the house have only one significance for 
lim — the ducks will be moving. 
Pressing business and that alone will keep him from 
lonning his old togs, grabbing his gun and hastening 
).way to the flats and marshes. If he is a millionaire 
tc may take his dog along, but out in this country it is 
jetting to be too much of a luxury. Dog transportation 
s a problem that will soon some up for discussion 
imong those who rely upon the electric roads to carry 
hem to and from the hunting grounds._ I am told that 
r costs more to take a dog to any point in the White 
iiver valley than it costs for the transportation of the 
lunter. Perhaps the company has adopted a wise course 
10 far as the convenience of the general public is con- 
;crned because a crowd of hunters with an army of dogs 
s truly a formidable array. 
Every dog in the bunch is the greatest dog_ that ever 
■etrieved a duck. The dogs seem to know this, and all 
icing the "greatest" there is bound to be a disagreemeni 
ibout the place of honor. Up in Alaska, when two dog 
ieams meet they fight for the fun of it; when a mob of 
i'uget Sound hunting dogs meet they tell one another 
nany things that would not look well in print. Some- 
imes they get beyond the strict rules of etiquette and 
irgue in a manner that suggests flying fur, fricasseed 
;ars and bloody noses. This doesn't worry the hunters 
)ecause they haA^e worried so much over the ducks that 
lidn't come that they are beyond reach. As a rule it 
akcs about a minute to stop a political argument between 
jld water-dogs and about thirty seconds to start another. 
Some hunters are pleased to have general attention 
ittracted to the dogs because less is said about the 
jame bags. If there is a lucky man in the bunch you will 
lave no trouble finding him. He always carries his ducks 
right out in sight, and when he rests at the depot or on 
the dock he throws his bag down with an air that tells 
you, "That is the way I do it. Wasn't a very good day, 
but I managed to knock out a few doubles." If anyone 
suggested that it was a good day for pot shooting, every 
other hunter in the crowd would immediately ask for the 
meaning of the word. Going to the blinds and coming 
home everybody shoots on the wing. It is just as easy 
to kill them that way, so long as the other man didn't 
see the shooting, and it sounds so much prettier. 
The matter of fact man who says in a laconic voice 
that he got only one little green-winged teal and potted 
him at that, throws a cloud over the entire party. To be 
in. fashion he should say that he got only one shot; the 
bird came in like a bullet from the left quarter; he never 
did like swinging to the right, but it was up to him_ for 
quick action and he got down to business. If he is given 
to the snap-shooting system he should say that he threw 
the gun to his shoulder and locating the bird just filled 
the air so full of shot that there was no escape for the 
quarry. The man who swings on his bird should say 
that he centered the little fellow^ and then moving the 
h'civrel ahead according to his idea of the speed and dis- 
tance pulled the trigger, and had the inexplicable sensa- 
tion of seeing the wings droop, the head fall back, and 
then he put in another barrel just to make sure. 
Duck hunting, when you get right down to business, 
is like fishing in some respects. If things are coming all 
right the average shot will give the birds a fair chance 
for their lives, but if feathers are scarce a pot shot is 
not to be overlooked. Everything counts on the string 
and the best hunter is the one that brings in the game. 
Just so with the fisherman; he will use the fly if it works, 
but when the pinch comes he is not above using a fresh 
string of salmon eggs. 
Wing-shooting is to the nimrod what flj^-casting is to 
the angler. One equally adept at both games finds it a 
difficult matter to choose between them, but one who 
has more skill in one branch than the other cannot see 
where there is anything approaching an equality in the 
two sports. Judging by the amount of ammunition sold 
I should say that Seattle took more interest in wing- 
shooting than fly-casting, but there is no denying the 
statement that Seattle is fast becoming a home of sports- 
men. Some of them obey the game laws fairly well, but 
in the matter of duck shooting the sport has been so 
uncertain during the past few years that the tendency has 
been to kill beyond the legal limit when the opportunity 
afforded itself. 
A large majority of the hunters in Seattle, and I think 
the same statement applies to all the cities along the 
shores of Puget Sound, do not get more than one or 
two long duck hunts during the j'ear. During the re- 
mainder of the time they are held so close to business 
that they can get out into the marshes only once in a 
while. Most of them go out Sunday. When there is 
no opportunity of selecting a day the chances are that 
the weather will be just opposite to what it should be 
for good shooting. Take for instance the first three 
Sundays in December of the year just passed^ — not a 
breath of air was stirring; hardly a wing showed above 
the horizon after the first flurry at daA^oi until the 
shadows of night had settled. The country fairly swarmed 
with hunters, but they stood in their blinds all day long 
with hardly a chance for the indescribable thrill f^Jt 
^vhen the \yhjstie qf y(\n^s comes to the eajs. 
I have seen as high as twenty guns on one Inter-urban 
car on a Sunday evening, yet there were not enough 
ducks to make one good bag. Human nature is human 
nature, and when a man has hunted week in and week 
out with nothing but bad luck he will_ come pretty near 
taking everything in sight when he strikes a good flight. 
Exasperation often makes a game hog out of a man who 
is ordinarily reasonable and law abiding. 
Optimistic sportsmen of the Puget Sound coimtry try 
to make themselves believe that the duck shooting is as 
good to-day as it was ten or twelve years ago. They 
point to large bags, which are made quite frequently on 
the Nesqually and Swinomish flats, Squak Slough and 
at different points along the White River valley between 
Seattle and Tacoma, as evidence to sustain their views. 
They say that thousands of ducks may be seen on a 
calm, sunny day, floating idly and playing in the salt 
water off the shore from any of the big marshes along 
the shores of the Sound; that the fall and spring migra- 
tions bring immense flocks of mallards, teal, redheads, 
bluebills, widgeon, butterballs, goldeneye and sprigtails; 
that the air is often alive with honking geese and that 
once in a while the beautiful long-necked swan may be 
seen winging its way north or soutli. These statements 
are undoubtedly true, but I know from my own experi- 
ence that I cannot get the same quality of shooting to- 
day that I could ten years ago without going farther or 
taking more time from business. In the last few years 
that I had the right to shoot on McKinley's pond, which 
is located eight or nine miles south of Seattle, I did riot 
kill a handful of ducks; A. E. Greenus, who watched 
weather conditions closer, did well once in a while. Ten 
years ago one could take a Madison street car, ride out 
to Lake Washitigton, take a boat, row around into Union 
Bay and in the course of a day get several good shots. 
I picked out one of the best dttck-weather days this 
year, and despite wind and waves got into Union Bay 
without a inishap. Did I get any sport? Not a bit; I 
saw one little flock, but they did not come near enough 
for me to tell what they were. One year ago I put in 
several days at the head of Hood Canal with L. F. Mur- 
dock and Frank Drolet. We worked hard, but the sum 
total of our efforts was fourteen. Three or four years 
previous Murdock, C. J. Coatsworth, of Buft'alo, N. Y., 
Frank Reed of Buffalo, a Mr. Barnes and myself spent a 
few days at Clifton on Hood Canal, and, despite the 
fact that tide, moon and weather were against us, bagged 
seventj'--six. 
The situation on Puget Sound is fast reducing itself 
down to the point where there is no other way to get 
good shooting than to preserve land. Already the best 
places along the Sound have been leased and now it is 
useless for a htmter to visit the White River valley or 
Squak Slough unless he belongs to some club. Where 
the preserves are managed properly the shooting is limited 
with the result that good sport is had frequently. With- 
out the preserves the ducks would continue their flight 
to the Columbia River, where they are better fed than 
they have been in this part of the country up to a recent 
date. Those who object to the preserve system might 
as well get into the band wagon because it is here to stay. 
The sportsmen spend thousands of dollars every year; 
their benefit comes in the form of recreation and health; 
the farmer, the merchant and the transportation com- 
panies get their benefit in cash, wdiich they in turn pass 
on to other sources. Each duck killed during a season 
figures up a pretty penny, but such sport is not figured on 
that basis. Tortus Baxter. 
With Gun and Dog in Georgia. 
I THINK that the prevailing impression among northern 
sportsmen is that they cannot get good shooting at 
Thomasville, owing to the fact that of late years large 
tracts of land and plantations have been so bought up 
and shooting privileges so leased that there is no place 
left for the "dropper in." While this impression is in a 
degree true, there is still a big lot of land outdoors there 
where birds are plentiful and the shooting good. Thomas- 
ville is a small city, situated in the center of a very 
sparsely settled country; in other words there is no other 
town or city near it, and even if they should go on sell- 
ing plantations for the next ten years, there will still be 
some on the market. Of course, one must drive out 
some distance, and this very drive adds greatly to the 
pleasure of the outing. A one-legged man can shoot 
here. You just keep on driving, and when the dogs find 
the birds you drive up to them, get out and shoot, and 
then drive on. So the day is spent. 
I can imagine no more delightful journey than to 
drive to Monticello and Tallahassee and return, hunting 
all the way there and back again. The trip takes two 
days. HoAvever, this is general or superficial; the de- 
tails for a journey of this kind or for shorter trips can 
be arranged for by the Piney Woods, the Mitchell House 
or the Masury hotels. The Piney Woods stables, of 
which Mr. M. R. Elder is the proprietor, is thoroughly 
equipped w^ith good horses and platform spring wagons 
expressly for this work, and each driver is a pathfinder 
of no small merit. 
It was iriy good fortune to have with me that ebony 
veteran, Jesse Daniels, for many years the woodland 
pilot of Drs. Metcalf and Thompson, and many others 
who will recall their days afield with him with reveretice. 
Jesse has four good dogs that so love the sound of his 
gentle voice that the whip is left at home. (He breaks 
his dogs alone.) In one short day we found a good 
many bcAdes of quail, and I came in at night thoroughly 
refreshed and with sufficient birds to show — well, to show 
that occasionally an accident did happen. Jesse carried 
a gun, his dogs work better that way. 
Dogs afield have always appealed to me, but always 
with a greater intensity should the day supply an "inci- 
dent." The incident may be in the seasoning of the 
gravy, the touch of perfection, or the undoing, the 
lengthening of a pretty sunset, or the upsetting of the 
milk pitcher, and this day among many others is on the 
sunny page. 
Velox was backing Maud in high sedge, both drawn 
otit until it seemed as though they needed another pair of 
legs to support them in the middle, Jesse directed me to 
step in and flush, which I did. Between two pines a 
pair of birds fell tg roy right b&.rr^l; at almost th? sa^ne 
instant two more fell to the left of the little pine, while 
the rest of the big covey passed on beyond the woods. 
We retrieved our birds, and I remarked: "You only 
shot one barrel, Jesse," to which he replied, "Dat's all 
you shot, Mr. Batten, en it did seem as though we shot 
the heart out of dat covey, sure." 
I shall ever bless the fact that confusion restrained 
me from using my second barrel, when a higher instinct 
curbed my friend. We did not follow those birds. 
I owe much to the courtesy extended to me by Mr. 
W. A. Torry, the manager for Harvey and Wood, not- 
withstanding the fact that he is working overtime to get 
the Mitchell House open Jan. i, and The Piney Woods 
Jan. 15. He was of infinite service in having me meet 
Robert Thomas, Jr., and Hon. H. W. Hopkins, both 
sportsmen that I wish all sportsmen could know. In 
the meantime I was comfortably located at the Masury. 
Great interest is felt in Thomasville in the coming of 
the Eastern Field Trials, to be held Feb. i._ Judge Hop- 
kins tells me there are seventy entries in the Derby 
alone. The trials should be very successftd from the 
standpoint of comfort, as well as from a bird point of 
view, as never before in the history -of field trials has 
it been possible for the members to have at their disposal 
such fine hotel accommodations as they will enjoy in 
Thomasville this year. Then, too, I am under the im- 
pression that all grounds are open for this event. 
The Georgia Field Trials' Association, organized Nov. 
25, 1902, for the improvement of the pointer and setter 
by actual field competition, and for the betterment and 
enforcement of the game laws, is, of course, in its in- 
fancy, but bids fair to become a factor in the dog and 
game world, with such men at its foundation as their 
roster will show: President, Hon. H. W. Hopkins; 
First Vice-President, Dr. T. R. Garlington; Second Vice- 
President, F. I. Stone; Secretary and Treasurer, P. 
M. Essig. Governors : C. D. Jordan, FI. N. Mcintosh, 
Dr. Floyd W. McRae, J. E. Miller, S. Grantland, W. 
H. Davis, W. S._ Elkin, Jr. 
This organization proposes some changes in the game 
laws of Georgia, and it wouldn't be surprising if re- 
taliatory measures were to be adopted, although this 
does not suit Georgia's idea of old-fashioned hospitality 
a bit. But Avhen a Georgian has to pay $25 to shoot a 
bird in Minnesota, he thinks the Minnesotian should pay 
something for bagging a bunch of birds in Georgia. 
I was fortunate in being able to present Judge Hop- 
kins with a copy of "Game Laws in Brief" at this par- 
ticular time; from it he hopes to learn how the clever 
man can take advantage of the wise ones, and still 
maintain his dignity as a legislator. 
I should be lacking in nw duty to Forest and Stre.''im: 
and to its readers, if I did not say my only regrets in 
leaving Thomasville are that I can't stay longer. Its 
pretty homes, parks and rivers, club grounds and fine 
hotels ; its balmy climate and Southern hospitality are 
all equally delightful. 
On the journey here it was my good fortune to be at- 
tached to the same train that pulled a chartered sleeper 
containing twelve members of the Chelsea Club of 
Georgia, Avho are now doing their annual two-weeks' 
shooting' on their club grounds. The party consisted of 
Messrs. Nathaniel P. Smith, Tas. B. Baker, W. H. Mc- 
Cord, W. W. Greene, O. M. Eidlitz, W. C. Post, B. E. 
J. Eils, F. K. Gaston and King Smith, of New York; 
Percival Roberts, Jr., and R. A. Hatfield, of Philadelphia, 
and V. J. Hedden, of Newark. 
These club members seem to have solved the problem 
of comfort and success by carr3ring with them all the 
comforts of home. The culinary department and dogs 
had gone on a week ahead, so that housekeeping affairs 
were in order and their numerous "skyscrapers" were 
down to real edge and birds well exercised on their 
arrival. Our train reached Savamiah eight hours late, 
but the side shipment of supplies for the Chelsea Club 
removes the responsibility of delay from them. 
Mr. Nathaniel P. Smith furnished me with many in- 
teresting details of the famous old plantation and man- 
sion now owned by these members ; and I regret not 
being able to visit it on this trip, so that I might tell of 
the changes time has made in the fortunes of one of 
these historical spots. This club is limited to twenty 
members. They own six thousand acres, and lease the 
shooting privilege of eighteen thousand more. On their 
annual outing they appoint a paymaster who settles all 
accounts (except those contracted playing "ping pong" 
and "old maid"), and renders to each member his ac- 
count on the return to New York, thus they "dutch" it 
and buy their own cigars and soda water — stirely an ad- 
mirable scheme. "Gun and Dog" advice was not needed 
on that car, and as in the affairs of the world a good thing 
was quickly recognized. I mentioned the fact that a 
"well worn" sportsman in Delaware would sell his Cin- 
cinnati's Pride dog. In fifteen minutes it was telegraphed 
for; and Mr. Gaston was not sui'e whether they had 
twenty-eight or thirty-two dogs down there. Mr. Baker 
claimed that the sire w^as so good a one that the dam 
didn't make much difference. "When and where to 
shoot" is likewise so well known to these Blooming Grove 
Park Association members that their charter carries with 
it the privilege of making their own laws regarding 
"when to shoot," and their vast preserve giA^es them the 
"where." Among these A'^eterans of outdoor life a mis- 
sionary of shooting ethics would find dry picking. 
T. E. Batten. 
We doubt if any repartee ever surpassed in delicacy 
the reply made by an East Indian serA'ant of Lord 
Dufferin, when he was Viceroy of Lidia. "Well, Avhat 
sort of sport has Lord had?" said Dufferin, one 
day, to his "shikarry," or sporting servant, who had 
attended a young English lord on a shooting excur- 
sion. 
"Oh," replied the scrupulously polite Hindu, "the 
young Sahib shot divinely, but God was very merciful 
to the birds." 
A Roman journal says that tAvo ships, Avhich were 
of the nature of floating palaces, and which have been 
subme'-ged in the lake of Nemi CA'er since the time of 
the old Romans, are to be brought tg the surface by 
artificially draining t^ie lake, 
