886 
tNov. 15, 1902. 
room, and lifting him out of bed carried him to my room 
and into my bed and bade him wake up and listen to 
the calling quail, Cohee! Cohee! 
His mother waking, asked what all this fuss was 
about, and remarked Avhat a shame it was to awaken that 
boy. But my only reply was that it was a part of the 
boy's education as a hunter. 
The evening train took us south to Norwood, and 
at midway between eight and nine o'clock we reached 
our destination. Little time was lost getting located 
at the hotel and getting the boy into his bed. Admonish- 
ing him to snuggle down into the bed clothes and go 
speedily to sleep I left him and joined Mr. Fullerton 
in arranging for the team, etc., for the morning. 
Mr. Fullerton had brought his meat dog with him, 
unexcelled on chickens, but, because of his tremendous 
ranging powers, dubious on quail. We counted upon a 
pair of unexceptional quail dogs, but they were else- 
where when we arrived, and we made shift by getting a 
dog here and another one there. And finishing all 
details by a little after ten. we went to bed, leaving a 
call for six in the morning. And when I opened the 
room door I was greeted with "Hello, pa, is that you?" 
which I met with, "I thought I told you to go to 
■sleep." And if I remember rightly, twice that boy 
jammed me in the ribs during the night and told me to 
quit snoring, and when the freight went through the town 
at four he was awake and remarked that he had heard 
three other trains go by during the night. There was 
no need of the Swede watchman informing us that "It 
was six o'clock already yet," as he thumped on our door. 
We knew that better than he did. 
In no time that boy was rigged for the fray and was 
about to fill his pockets with shells from the case before 
he went in to breakfast, so as to be all in shape. 
We were at last in our rig, the lunch box, water and 
cofifee jugs being stored away under the rear seat. Mr. 
Fullerton and myself took the rear seat, and Harold and 
the driver sat in front. We took in the quail dogs, but 
the meat dog was left to follow the wagon with a view 
of steadying him down a bit. 
Away we went past farm after farm, until we neared 
the brush and woody farming district, where wheat and 
corn fields interlarded strips of woodland and brush lots. 
Getting out we entered a wood. The hard rain of the 
night before had wet everything down, and we realized 
that our shooting would be circumscribed mainly to 
snap shots as the birds first got up— and it so turned 
The first bevv got up wild and went sailing out of the 
woods across a' plowed field to another strip of woods. 
Mr. Fullerton and I warmed our gun barrels on them— - 
that's all We began to work out through the tangle of 
brijsh and brier toward the open, when just ahead ot 
Harold a quail flushed, going straight away._ Harold 
was between us, and we watched him bring his gun to 
shoulder, aim and pull. There was a cloud of feathers, 
and Mr. Fullerton yelled at the top of his lungs, Uot 
him by thunder! Good shot! His first shot and his 
first' qiiail." Harold walked forward and picked up his 
bird. He had never handled a quail before. He studied 
it all over and smoothing down the feathers, put it 
snugly into' his coat pocket. He certainly was a pleased 
boy. ' 
We worked the edge of the woods, and on turning a 
corner with Harold by my side, another quail broke 
cover and sailed away in the open. In cocking his gun 
and getting it to his shoulder the time was going and 
so was the quail. I was covering him with my gun, and 
when I thought him too far for the boy to reach, 1 
pulled— and shot behind him; I moved my left barrel 
up a peg or two and pulled again, Harold shooting at 
the same time. The quail dropped. I claim Harold 
killed him and he claims I killed him, and there the 
mRttcr J'^sts 
It was proving a poor day for quail. Where they went 
• I know not. When they broke and pitched, the dogs 
and no amount of kicking could dislodge them out of 
their wet cover. They seemed to shoot into some place 
like a bullet and disappear. It was exasperating Final- 
ly in a meadow was a small brush patch, and here the 
dogs pointed a bevy. We walked up close and could 
see the birds scurrying here and there through the 
leaves. Finally they got up and- were ofiE._ Harold, 1 am 
afraid tried to kill the whole flock m raid air, and got 
none 'Mr. Fullerton and myself getting one each. We 
marked them down as best we could, but saw them no 
more We quit for lunch. Harold began to look like 
a veteran, his leggings deep in black mud and his face 
showing contact with the briers. We buflt a fire, boiled 
our coffee a second time, and. ate our noonday lunch 
with a relish— inwardly bewailing the fact that things 
were wet and that the quail would not run. , - , , 
But we were again in the rig and away to fresh helds. 
Up went a Wilson snipe from a pond close by the road, 
only to fly a few yards and again alight. Harold and 
Mr Fullerton walked it up— and as it zig-zagged away 
Harold fired and Mr. Fullerton right after him— so close- 
ly that it appeared like one report— and the snipe tell. 
It is yet a question who killed that snipe, because Mr. 
Fullerton asserts that the bird was already faflrag as he 
pressed the trigger. And soon darkness set in and we 
turned the team toward home with a snipe and six 
quail in the wagon box. The boy blamed himself for 
his bad shooting, etc., etc. 
We reached the hotel and found more boys down for 
a Sunday shoot. We having had such poor luck also 
decided to stay over, and we all went to bed hoping 
for a clear, sunny day on the morrow, and felt sure ot 
such a day because the weatherman so predicted. 
The boy was soon under the covers and sound asleep. 
At six the next morning the Swede made the rounds 
iilce the crier of old, and remarked for the benefit of 
the whole house that ",It had been raimng already yet 
since four o'clock." I found that out at four m the 
morning myself, when I arose to shut the window and 
then listened two hours to the ram as it came down m 
sheets and all but blew in the glass. 
But the boy slept on, and only awoke when the crier 
passed down the hall. At first he spoke derisively of 
?he hunter who could not "stand a little rain,' but as 
he listened to the pelting storm he agreed that his home 
was the best place on such a day, and we ate our break- 
fast made our belongings snug and took the train for 
home. We made the boy march ahead of us going 
through the depot carrying the bunch of birds, and we 
disclaimed any proprietorship, gladly giving him all the 
credit. 
But Mr. Fullerton insists that we will yet have an 
other go at the quail and perhaps at the ducks, too. 
He and the boy have entered into some bond that 
means further quest for game whether I go or not. and 
I can only agree with the boy that he is lucky to have 
such a friend as Mr. Fullerton, who already ha-S done 
so much to m: ' . Minnesota what it is to--day in the 
way of a fish and game State. 
Charles Gkistadoro. 
Carrying Game Through New Jersey 
New York, Nov. S.— Editor Forest and Stream: Dur- 
ing a recent hunting trip through Orange county, some 
discussion arose regarding our homecoming, which would 
necessitate our traveling through the State of Ne%y Jer- 
sey. Our game consisted of rabbits, squirrels, quail and 
partridge, and it was up to us to get these home some way 
or other. One of our party spoke of an amendnient made 
in New Jersey's laws proh biting residents of New York 
bringing game exposed through New Jersey,' during the 
closed season. There seems to be quite a great deal of 
uncertainty regarding these points. ^ J^- 
[The New Jersey law on this point, as given m Game 
Lazvs in Brief, reads as follows: 
Sec. 26. It shall be unlawful to remove or lu attempt to reinove 
from this State any quail, rulTed grouse, pinnated grouse, wood- 
cock, hare, squirrel, English iibeasant or ring-necked pheasant ; 
Provided, however. That this section shall not apply to common 
carriers carrying from beyond the confines of this State in^unbr.;ken 
packages to some point beyond the confines of this State such 
quail, ruffed grouse pinnated grouse, woodcock, hare, squnrel or 
pheasant; any person guilty of any violation of this section shall 
be liable to a penalty of $20 for every quail, rutTcd grouse, p.n- 
nated grouse, woodcock, hare, squirrel or pheasant remuved or 
soucht to be removed: Provided, however. That this section shall 
not^apply to English or ring-necked pheasants killed en preserves 
at present established. 
The New Jersey authorities construe th's as aptilicablc 
to game brought into the State for transportation through 
it and out of the State again, even when the game is car- 
ried by sportsmen passing from New York State to New- 
York State. An exception is made in favor of common 
carriers, that is to say, railroads, express companies, etc. 
Hence, if the game taken in Orange county, N. Y., be 
turned over to the express company for transportation to 
and delivery in New York, it will pass through New 
Jersey without molestation. 
But the New York law provides with respect to the 
shipment of game: 
Sec. 29. Woodcock, grouse and quail shall not be transported 
within this State or into the State from a point without the State 
less than twenty-five miles from the State line, unless accompanied 
by the actual owner thereof, and no person shall transport or 
accompany more than thirty-six grouse or thirty-six woodcock in 
any calendar year, or more than twelve of either kind at one time. 
No common carrier or person in its employ shsill transport such 
birds as owner. 
This means that the game must be carried by the ex- 
press company on the same train that the owner of the 
game travels on; i. e., must be "accompanied by the actual 
owner thereof." 
There is also a provision in the New York law whicn 
forbids the export of game from the State; but this is 
held not to apply to game which is exported from one part 
of the State to be received in another part, as in this case 
of export front Orange county through New Jersey into 
New York again.] 
Some Sportsmen's Letters* 
Mr. W. B. Mershon, of Saginaw, Mich., writes: 
I inclose a letter from Mr. William Held. He is a 
naturaHst sportsman, and he is as fond of flowers as he is 
of birds, and we enjoy swapping experiences on both sub- 
jects. A year ago, Field promised to take me wood- 
cock sljooting, for I have not had time for a good many 
>ears to look up the woodcock country, so I am entirely 
out of it. But from his letter, it seems we will have to 
wait another year. We have had so much rain in this 
part of the country that it is impossible to get into the 
covers now, and I think the young broods were about 
exterminated in June— that is, the quail and rufifed grouse. 
No one reports very good luck, though I stole away for 
a few hours Saturday and got three ruffed grouse and a 
pair of good wet, blistered feet, for I wore rubber boots 
and I never could tramp in them. 
Mr, Held writes to Mr. Mershon: 
I am sorry to' say that there will be no woodcock shoot- 
ing this fall around here. I believe the birds passed 
through during the two weeks before the season opened. 
Oct. 20. I was out on opening day and bagged five wood- 
cock, and I could see that the grounds were exhausted 
and finished for the season. The last two seasons were 
exceptionally late, which made good shooting after Oct. 
20. The continuous rain during the past summer and 
early fall rushed the grounds through earlier than usual. 
The same cause applies to the snipe grounds. This is the 
poorest season for snipe I have ever seen, and all on 
account of the grounds not being in condition when the 
birds are moving on their southern flight. The little sora, 
or rice bird, was also scarce on opening day, Oct. i. The 
evening before I must have flushed at least 200 in going 
with a boat half a mile. They all went south wnth the 
storm that came up shortly after dark. Quail and par- 
tridge also seem to be very scarce around here, I think 
owing to the extreme wet weather during the breeding 
season. 
I see that some of the Forest and Stream writers are 
advocating a five-year close se"ason on woodcock. One 
of them says they are so, easily found. I can't agree with 
him there; as I think they are the most difficult of all 
game birds to keep track of. I think there are very few 
killed in the North in comparison with the numbers which 
are slaughtered in the South. The woodcock is far from 
extinction, owing to its migrating at night and change- 
able habits. Once in a while a fellow will write that 
he has hunted some old woodcock cover a whole season 
and never found a bird. We have the same thing here. I 
know a number of places that used to be good covers for 
woodcock, and they have not contained a bird in three or 
four years ; but that does not show that the bird is becom- 
ing extinct, because there are other places not far from 
the old ones, which have formed within the past few years 
and contain numbers of birds every fall, 
J saw a passenger pigeon last week near the Cass River. 
It was with a little bunch of mourning doves, and it is 
the second one I have ever seen. 
I hope next season will be a better one for woodcock, 
.so that I may take you along and let you familiarize your- 
self with this strange bird. 
Wm. C. Held. 
Here are some paragraphs in the letter of one sportsman 
to another, so full of good sense and suggestion that 
we have asked permission to put them into print: 
"You have been Avriting about what a grand thing it is 
to take the boy fishing or teach the youngster to shoot, and 
I cotdd plainly see the way the little fellow acted; there 
had been a complete famine of handling a gun or squint- 
ing at a bird. Teach the young idea how to shoot, and 
not only that, but give him a chance to remember his 
first shooting trip and many other shooting trips when his 
father went along as a guide and teacher. 
"I know I can look back with the greatest amount of 
satisfaction to the first time my father took me in his duck 
boat to let me see him shoot ducks. I can remember 
when my uncle took me out in the morning to a pigeon 
flight and let me bang away at a flying bird with my 
i6-gauge muzzleloader, and how large the lone pigeon 
was which I promptly lugged home to my mother; it 
looked bigger than a turkey. I remember how, when 
there was no one else to go with me, my motherland 
grandmother used to go and take their knitting and sit on 
a log and watch me shoot tip-ups and plover off from the 
salt flats at the outskirts of the town. They were there 
to see I did not shoot myself, I suppose, and we all felt 
better satisfied for having been together. I know of the 
old drives through the woods near the town (for the 
woods did come near the towm then), when mother went 
along to hold the horse while father and I and the old 
dog got out to shoot the partridges we could always find 
nearby. 
"Now I think the storing up of such_ treasures of 
memory as these in the minds of your boy is a vast sight 
better than eternally grinding in and thinking you cannot 
get away from business for even a day." 
A New Jersey correspondent, who tells us that he has 
found much satisfaction in reading the occasional ex- 
tracts from personal letters printed in these _ columns, 
sends us these paragraphs from a sportsman friend, who 
writes from Chenango county, New York: 
I killed six woodcock in Virginia July I. We had heavy 
rains just before the first that scattered the cock or we 
would have done better, as my friend had five broods 
located. Quail are also very numerous in this section. I 
have a brood or two on my place. Got some fine work 
the other day from Gay, Ned and Lady on quail in the 
meadow by the river. Dogs do nobly. 
You are mistaken about it being a poor hatching sea- 
son for grouse. It was very dry here until June i, when 
the rains commenced. The young grouse were then old 
enough to take care of themselves. From reports the 
grouse crop is unusually good, which tallies with what I 
observed July i. The woodcock crop is better than known 
for years, and if we get no more long rainstorms, cover 
will be right for finding them. Swamps are down and in 
good shape now. I hope you will come up for at least a 
week. Divide your vacation up. The shooting is as- 
suredly of a higher class than the New Jersey quail shoot- 
ing. On looking over records I find we killed in 1899 
42 birds ; in 1900, 38 birds, and in 1901, 25 birds. A pretty 
good record for these days. Still, in case you come up for 
the annual shoot next month, I am hoping and expecting 
to set a new mark. Conditions are favorable for the birds 
and the weather is great for walking. 
Fishing has been good in the rivers. Have been out 
twice, and took thirty-two bass" the first day, from three- 
quarters to one and a half pounds. My second trip was up 
the Chenango with D. We made a kill of fifty-two bass 
and pike. I took a three-pound bass and he a three-pound 
pickerel. My bass was hooked and killed in swift shoal 
water. You must let me tell you about it, if we are let to 
meet again. 
It is very doubtful about my getting to New Jersey for 
the quail this fall. We shall go to Florida rather earlier 
than usual, and I have a certain number of grouse, quail 
and woodcock that require my attention. _ My efforts in 
New Jersey have been more or less of a failure of late. I 
would like, beyond anything else, to have some of the 
good old days with you again, which" seem to have gradu- 
ally got out of our reach. Hump yourself and arrange 
for the hunt. 
Some Game Won and What it Weighed. 
' New York, Nov. 4. — Editor Forest and Stream: _ Hunt- 
ing in Connecticut on three days last week, my guide and 
1 secured two rabbits, six ruflFed grouse, twenty quail and 
eighteen woodcock. 
Rabbits, squirrels and grouse were plentiful, but we did 
not care to kill rabbits and squirrels, and the cover was 
so dense that successful grouse shooting was exceedingly 
difficult.' .... 
I have photographs taken of the "string," and if I get 
the time to spare, may give you some details of the trip. 
On this trip I killed my first woodcock and grouse, while 
my first quail was bagged on Long Island last Decem- 
ber, and described in one of January's numbers, making 
this my second crack at the quail. 
The weight of some of these birds were as follows: 
4 woodcock, 8 ounces each ; 2 woodcock, 7^ ounces each ; I 
10 woodcock, 7 ounces each, 2 woodcock, 6 ounces each; , 
2 grouse, iH pounds each; 2 grouse, i pound 6 ounces;, 
2 grouse, pounds each; 4 quail weighed 8 ounces each, [ 
and the other birds were unweighed. 
The weather was delightful, the sport fine and my en- 
joyment unbounded. W. H. E. 
Man with the gloomy liver, 
Cease to deplore thy fate ; 
Get out toward' the river 
And go to — digging bait ! 
—Atlanta Constitution, 
