Nov. 14, igoj.] 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
877 
Sometimes it is in such abundance that a dog is un- 
necessary. At other times it is so wild that it will not 
he to the dog at all; if fat and tame, it may lie too well. 
Again, it will frequent marshes so wet, cold and rank 
with marsh grasses that it is impossible for a dog to 
work satisfactorily, however good his intention and 
ability may be. 
Very few dogs have a natural fondness for work on 
snipe. It is acrjuired in most instances. Some dogs, 
good on upland game birds, thoroughly detest the 
snipe, and refuse to recognize it. On the other hand, 
some dogs like snipe as a bird to work on, though such 
are exceptional. 
Considered strictly as a bird of the open, the snipe 
.affords excellent open shooting. Yet there is never 
the weird uncertainty about it that some writers have 
discovered. No doubt an easy explanation of the diffi- 
cult shooting is found in the manner in which the 
shooter handles his gun rather than in the manner of 
the snipe's flight. 
When snipe are in great abundance, and can be 
bagged with little effort by walking them up, the, 
sportsman soon tires of the sport. It is too easy then 
to be considered sport. On the other hand, when they 
are scarce, wild, and will not lie to a dog, it is too 
difficult and uncertain. The dog is eliminated then as 
a factor, and the shooting is largely a matter of taking 
chances. When the happy medium is found, the birds 
being neither too wild nor too tame, it is excellent 
sport indeed, though in Louisiana I noted that, where 
there were an abundance of both snipe and quail, the 
sportsmen quickly tired of snipe shooting and gave 
quail the preference. B. Waters. 
A Profitable Buck. 
A GOOD Story is told by a Utica physician, who is 
quite a hunter, concerning the novel scheme which an 
Adirondack guide devised for making money. It seems 
that the guide knew of a deer which came doAvn to a 
certain lake to drink at about the same hour every 
evening. The animal had heard gun shots repeatedly, 
having been educated along this line to some extent by 
the woodsmen, who had taken great pains to see that it 
was not injured at all nor unduly frightened. Ordi- 
narily the report of a rifle, unless it was quite close 
at hand, would not interest the deer at all and never 
was the animal sufficiently alarmed to prevent its show- 
ing up at about the same place on the lake shore al- 
most as regularly as the sun went down. As soon as 
the guide had trained the deer up to the point where 
he wanted it and knew that he could depend upon see- 
ing it every evening, he proceeded to say to his sports- 
men friends and acquaintances that he would guarantee 
any man a good open shot at a deer almost any day in 
consideration of $10. Most hunters have confidence in 
their ability to shoot well if they only have a good 
mark, and as a deer is easily worth $10, the guide found 
many sportsmen who were glad to take up with his 
proposition. 
The method adopted by the guide was to place the 
hunter, armed with a rifle, in the bow of his boot, while 
he would sit in the stern of the craft and propel it by 
means of a paddle. When they had sighted the deer 
and approached to within a reasonable shooting dis- 
tance the guide would stop the boat and give the man 
in the bow a chance to do his part of the act. In- 
variably the hunter would raise his rifle to his shoulder, 
take deliberate aim at the deer and fire. At the crack 
of the rifle the animal would throw up its head, and 
almost simultaneously its heels and tail, and disappear 
from view in the shrubbery. Of course there would 
now and then be a hunter who would be quick enough 
to get in a second, or possibly a third shot, at the re- 
treating form of the deer, but the game was never 
harmed, and the sportsmen had to settle. 
Several hunters who considered themselves pretty 
sure shots when the conditions were right, accepted the 
guide's proposition and tried a shot at the deer, but 
were unsuccessful, and at length it came to a matter 
of wonderment in that region that no one, be he ever 
so expert with the rifle, could hit a deer when this guide 
took him out under the $10 arrangement. Finally a 
reasonable solution of the problem came into the mind 
of a Utican who had heard many stories concerning 
the matter, and he determined to put his theoiT to a 
test. Accordingly, he made a bargain with the woods- 
man to the effect that in consideration of the usual $10 
the latter was to give him a fair shot at a deer on a 
certain day. The Utican did not put in an appearance 
at the lake where they were to meet and hunt until 
late in the afernoon on the day agreed upon, and when 
he did arrive he was in a great hurry to get into the 
boat and begin operations. He played his cards so 
well that they had been out on the lake for some time 
and had sighted the deer before the guide discovered 
that the hunter carried a shot gun instead of a rifle. 
The woodsman was inclined to protest against the use 
oi buckshot, but the Utican insisted that a rifle was not 
specified in the terms of their agreement, and the guide 
at length reluctantly continued to propel the boat to- 
ward the game. When within a few rods of the quarry 
the Utican suddenly threw his gun to his shoulder, as 
he would in wing shooting, and fired, first one barrel 
and then the other, and as a result, he, of all the hunters 
who had taken up with the guide's offer, was the only 
one who succeeded in getting a deer to show for his 
$10. 
His explanation of the matter was that the woods- 
man, when he had run his boat up to within range of 
the deer, would check its progress, and the instant the 
hunter pulled the trigger of his rifle he would swerve 
the craft with a sweep of the paddle sufficiently to 
throw the sight off from the mark. So dextrous and 
so cautious was the woodsman in executing this 
maneuver that none of the other hunters had detected 
the well-timed movement of the boat which occasioned 
the deviation of the rifle balls and the consequent loss 
of the deer and their money. The Utican, by using a 
shotgun and firing so quickly, did not afford the guide 
an opportunity to perform his customary feat with the 
paddle, and hence his success in bagging the game. It 
is believed, however, that the woodsman had previously 
reaped a rich harvest of $10 notes from this particular 
deer, and by the time another season rolls around he 
may have another of the cervine animals equally well 
trained. W. E. Wolcott. 
A Day*s Hunt in South Africa. 
In my last letter was an account of shooting a cow 
elephant; and before I proceed to relate another day's 
sport, I must try and construct good cover to defend 
myself against any attack our good friend and corre- 
spondent Didymus may direct at big-game hunting on 
my part. For the front wall of the cover I may say the 
tusks were valuable (about $125 the pair) ; for the side 
walls I may place the facts that the meat was a blessing 
to the natives and myself. I'll back well-cooked elephant 
foot against the best quail that ever laid on toast. For 
the back wall, the statement that a cow elephant with 
calf, in a country without large stones to dodge behind, 
is most dangerous. But for the shield from shots over 
the walls, I will have to place the real cover of all sports- 
men, that it is our nature and we like it. We may build 
different walls from which to defend our sporting in- 
stincts, but our main cover will ah^'ays be the same. 
Now for the day's hunt. My thirty bearers were out of 
meat to eat, and to trade against meat or other provisions 
for the past week I had had little time for hunting and 
poor luck at these times. It was February, and a drizzling 
warm rain, and the grass over 6 feet high in the opens; 
but in the bush it was shorter and less thick, so at gray 
dawn I^ started with one "boy," again to try my luck. 
The majority of the game in the vicinity was water buck, 
and water buck like the bush in rainy weather, and 
choose low hills near the river by preference. My native 
had only his loin cloth and my extra rifle (Martini- 
Henry'), and I was in my usual hunting and tramping 
togs. We were both soaking wet in two minutes. A 
northeast wind was rising, and we made for a low range 
to the northwest, thus having what on the rifle range is 
known as a 3 o'clock wind. On reaching the range, we 
beat to the west, and toward the river (Revue), above a 
bend, I had nearly passed over the range, when a water 
buck got up to my left and off at a great pace, being 
startled by getting our wind. Just as he was putting a rise 
between us, I got the sights on him and fired, and the 
welcome thud came back. On going to the spot where it 
had been, evidences of his being hit in the stomach were 
all about, blood, half digested grass, etc. As he had been 
going directly from us, it meant the bullet had gone be- 
tween the hindlegs, and so might travel on to the lungs; 
but as it was a split bullet, this was hardly probable. 
The buck was badly wounded, and would doubtless make 
for the cover of the long reeds by the river bank, in which 
to die. I never take a cool and deliberate shot at a large 
buck with his back toward me, or, in fact, any shot, unless 
I can get a chance at the neck, shoulder or just behind 
it; not unless a buck is wounded do I shoot at it run- 
ning. But this time I had pulled the trigger before reck- 
oning up consequences. Now it is or should be part o£ 
every hunter's training never to let a badly wounded buck 
get clean away, if care and patience will secure it. The 
buck, as expected, made straight for the river, and on 
nearing the banks I located it as being on a small island 
of long reeds. My boy was directed to go down slowly 
and rout him out, while I stood in a commanding posi- 
tion on the bank to give him a finale. But my calculations 
were at fault. The buck was not on the island, but in 
the long reeds just at the water's edge of the mainland, 
and the island was not a small one, but a large one, oi 
which only a fringe of reeds nearest the bank was visi- 
ble. The buck got up nearly under the boy's feet, and 
giving a couple of snorts, crossed to the island and dis- 
appeared. At first I thought it had taken to the current to 
swim over, and I wondered, for the river was a perfect 
cataract, and broad and deep, very difficult to cross. How- 
ever, I went to have a look at the "spoor" (almost any 
markings or traces are termed "spoor" ; for instance, the 
footprints, the bent grass, blood droppings, resting place, 
etc., are all "spoor"). It was evident that the poor buck 
could hardly last the day. The spoor took us through 
the reeds and on to a large island with grass all eaten 
short by hippo; down this island to where it ended, and 
then into the river and down it. This continued for 
nearly half a mile, half-submerged reeds here and there 
showing a drop of blood. Then the buck had left the 
river and gone right up the bank and nearly past our 
camp, the blood flowing a little more freely by every 
extra strain. WHien the buck had got fairly on the high 
ground it first went up the wind, which had shifted to the 
east, and then tacked back and down. Then it com- 
menced a series of tacks, zig-zagging down the wind, 
and stopping a few moments at each point. We followed 
this zigzag course for foiu- or five turns, and found it 
useless; so I returned with the boy to where the trees 
were thick, and there we rested and ate maora fruit 
(a wild fruit not unlike the custard apple, and of ex- 
cellent flavor) . It was then 10 A. M., and we had sighted 
the buck at 5 :20 or so. 
After a full hour's wait we took up the spoor again. 
After a few more zigzags, the buck, finding he was not 
being followed, went directly down the wind to a small 
stream; then it went up the stream, and doubling back 
down in the stream again, then out on the bank (right) 
and back and up the stream bed to a small tributary coming 
in on the left bank ; up this stream a little way and then out 
on its left bank, and keeping near the water going up the 
wind. Had it not been for the few drops of blood here 
and there we would surely have missed the spoor, for it 
had crossed and recrossed and even followed other spoor 
of water buck fresh that morning, and as it was raining 
all tlie foot marks soon were_ filled with water. Track- 
ing was very slow work; still with us both and hard 
work, coupled with a fair experience, we were sure to 
find him lying down again. At last we came to where 
the spoor went into the small stream ; but it did not go out 
the other side, nor did it go back, and there were no 
marks leadmg up the stream bed. Just below was a fall 
of fully 12 feet, and the bottom of large, water-rounded 
rocks, a place apparently impossible for any buck to go 
down and not smash its legs. So we had another look 
on each side, and up the stream. Nothing there. Evi- 
dently it must have gone down this drop. Just at the 
edge there were slight marks that might be hoof marks. 
Luckily the wind had again shifted to the northeast, and 
so was not blowing down the stream, which was flowing 
nearly due west. Arrangements were again made; I to 
take up a position on the high ground to the east north- 
east and then the boy was to go down and frighten the 
buck out. Poor chap; he said he wished he had an as- 
sagai (spear) instead of the rifle. Just as I was getting 
into position, I heard more snorts and the crashing of 
bush as the buck came out. I had to run for my posi- 
tion, and getting on a low ant heap, saw him going 
along, but witli only his horns and ears visible over the 
long grass. Soon, however, he stopped to look back and 
listen for the native who had disturbed him ; and I, tak- 
ing steady aim for where I supposed his neck was, let 
drive, and down the buck dropped. with a broken neck. 
I looked at my watch, and it was just 1 130 P. M.— a 
good eight hours after he had been mortally wounded. 
The bullet had entered the belly low down and ripped 
up the stomach. The few drops of blood came from the 
first wound, the stomach having become swollen and the 
bleeding choked. 
After putting some bushes over the carcass to keep away 
the vultures, we returned to camp, arriving there at a 
little after 2 :30 P. M. I had a good bath,, twenty min- 
utes' sleep, and was ready for a good "breakfast." Most 
of the white people in the low country and all the natives 
have breakfast at about II A. M. and dinner at night, 
thus having two meals a day only. From after breakfast 
until 2 P. M. all offices, etc., are thus closed at the East 
Coast ports m the tropics of East Africa. On the veldt 
It is a good arrangement, for it gives time for a long 
early trek (tramp or journey), and time to prepare a meal 
and a rest in the heat of the day. The afternoon trek 
may start from 3 to 4, according to the heat, and go on 
to a good camping place about sundown. In this way 
from six to eight hours' traveling may be done easily, 
and from eight to ten if necessary. 
The water buck is a fine antelope of the weight of a 
very large red deer or a small caribou. It is more like a 
large red deer than most of the African antelope. The 
horns are single (there are no branched horns on African 
buck), and peculiar in that they curve forward and not 
backward. Rings run round the horn from the base to 
near the tip. A good pair are about 27 inches long on 
the curve. Only the males are provided with horns. The 
hair on the throat is very long; there is a slight mane. 
The color is a uniform brownish gray, and with a pecu- 
liar white line making nearly a circle from the back just 
above the tail and one-half of it round each flank; the line 
is about one inch broad, and the fir. st thing that strikes 
the eye if the animal is in a position to show it. A water 
buck standing among trees, and head on, is very difficult 
to catch sight of. These antelope run in troops of from 
five to fifty or more. The does are greatly more numer- 
ous than the rams — fully four to one. They do not pair, 
excepting a few weeks in September, and then only for 
a few days with each doe. The meat of full grown rams 
is very strong, and rarely eaten by Europeans when fresh. 
Young rams and does are passable if one is really hungry. 
Natives, however, like the meat. When the meat is made 
into beltong it loses all its rank flavor, and is as good 
as any. My friends have eaten it, and supposing it to be 
sable antelope beltong, praised it highly. Had they been 
told in the first place that it was water buck, it probably 
would not have been eaten. The hide is good, but the 
hair is stiff, and does not hold well. The water buck is so 
called because never found far from streams, rivers or 
large water. Shukalila-a-gvvanza. 
South Africa. 
Quail in France. 
Quail are deservedly among the most valued of the 
annual visitors of France. Natives of the southern shores 
of the Mediteriatiean, they leave their hot, sandy deserts 
to breed in a temperate climate, and reach this country 
in large flocks about the middle of April or the begin- 
ning of May. All through the spring the woods resound 
with their quaint little cry, in which the French peasant 
hears the words, Paye tes dettes ("Pay your debts"), 
and the English "Wet my feet." Laying from nine to 
fifteen eggs, they rear their families as far north as 
Brilain, and then in the middle of August prepare to re- 
turn once more, reaching France the second time at the 
opening of the shooting season. They travel now in im- 
mense flocks, the sky being darkened by clouds composed 
of tens of thousands of these little birds. 
And these two regular yearly movements of the quail 
have given rise to an important industry in Europe. 
Every year, in the Grecian Archipelago, in Egypt and 
Morocco, fabulous numbers of the unfortunate liule crea- 
tures are either knocked down with a stick and killed, or 
are taken alive and sent to the European markets, where 
their flesh is considered a great delicacy. The dead birds 
are plucked, cleaned and salted, and then packed in cases 
for export. The living birds are closely packed in curious 
flat cages made to exclude the light in order to prevent 
the birds from fighting, and are then shipped in cargoes 
of from 30,000 upward to the captials of the Continent. 
The smell from these cages is incredible, and it is not 
surprising that the mortality among the birds on the 
journev is enormously high. 
It is in the land of the Pharaohs that these massacres 
assume the largest proportions. As the season of the 
first migration of the quail approaches— that is, in the 
end of March—the Egyptian Government puts up at auc- 
tion and sells to the highest bidders different positions on 
the route to be traversed by the birds. Here, before the 
return of the quail, little hutches are erected of about 
one foot in height, which are covered with the leaves of 
the date palms and contain each two entrances. On. 
reaching the hot, burning sands of the Soudan the quail, 
now plump little balls of fat after their summer in the 
North, alight, weary with their long flight, and seek the 
