AND AMERICAN RURAL SPORTS. 
1G5 
in the view of the rustics, considered as a being of supe- 
rior order; the chief objects of game were rabbits and 
squirrels; and it was only when the unsuspicious covey of 
partridges was huddled together from the cold or the in- 
clemency of a snow storm, beneath a holly bush or group 
of cedars, that these birds were ever shot, and the slaughter 
thus effected was made an occasion for boasting in propor- 
tion to the number slain at a single shot, which sometimes 
amounted to ten or fifteen. The guns in use at that period 
were mostly single-barrelled, and would measure from 
five to seven feet in length, and were more valued in pro- 
portion to their length; the settled opinion being, that the 
longer the gun, the further and more powerful would it 
throw the shot, and have an established character for be- 
ing a “ good squirrel gun.” Other important items to 
establish in their characters were, that they should be 
good “turkey guns” — that is, capable- of winning at 
turkey matches. It was a custom then, (and is in a mea- 
sure followed to this day,) for both old and young men to 
assemble at the different inns through the country, during 
the holydays, to shoot at targets for turkeys, geese, and 
other poultry; consequently, it was all important that the 
different rivals or competitors should possess good shoot- 
ing guns; and the most successful at these matches were 
enhanced in value in proportion to the quantity of fowls 
won. Some of these guns were of very ancient date, and 
had in many instances descended from generation to gene- 
ration for nearly a century; while these old family pieces 
were regarded as sacred relics of ancestral renown with as 
much piety and care as if a moral obligation was involved 
in their good or bad treatment. Not quite such a gun did 
my father possess, and although not so superannuated, it 
bore abundant marks of antiquity, and gave good evidence 
of its capability by dropping squirrels from the tallest 
hickories. 
To me the sound of a gun was more musical than any 
thing else, and no weather was too inclement; no hardship 
too severe, but I would sustain it to follow my father; through 
sleet and snow, over craggy precipices, intensely suffering 
from fatigue, cold and laceration from thorns and briars, 
without a murmuring word or disposition to return home. 
Attached as I was to a gun, however, and as much as I 
loved its report, I was still fearful to shoot one; and it was 
not until a considerable length of time that I could be in- 
duced to make the attempt. At that time it was more 
customary among the country folks to “fire away the old 
year,” than at present; and it was on an occasion of this 
kind, that I, for the first, shot off a gun; this I accom- 
plished by resting the muzzle on a fence and pulling the 
trigger; but the moment I fired I relinquished my hold 
and sprung backwards as from a poisonous reptile, to the 
T T 
amusement of many lookers on; whose mirth and teasing 
on that occasion for ever afterwards prevented a like oc- 
currence. 
Thus I overcame the first difficulty, and my leisure mo- 
ments or holydays for some years were always employed 
with the gun in shooting sparrows, snowbirds and the 
like; and if by chance I shot a lark or robin, I concluded 
my enterprise by returning hastily to my home, to pre- 
sent my trophy as evidence of my proficiency. “But 
there is a tide in the affairs of men,” and so there was in 
mine, for the funds which I would now and then accumu- 
late by the pennies given to me by friends and strangers, 
were insufficient to procure as much powder and shot as 
my disposition for gunning required, and I had to adopt 
in lieu thereof other pastimes and amusements. Now, a 
very favourite sport among my school fellows was that of 
catching squirrels, that is, the ground and flying squirrels; 
the former it is well known dwell in burrows or holes 
under ground, to which they betake themselves when pur- 
sued by an enemy, and from which it is a difficult matter 
to dislodge them; boys, however, are never at a loss for 
stratagem, and the plan we most successfully followed 
was, by pouring their holes full of water obtained from a 
neighbouring brook, which would bring forth the tenants 
generally half drowned, and render them easy objects of 
capture. The vessels employed usually to effect this were 
our hats; these we would unhesitatingly dip into the water, 
and rather suffer the unpleasantness of wet hats to cover 
our heads, and the risk of flogging from our parents, 
than forego the satisfaction of catching a single ground 
squirrel. 
The flying squirrel was captured as efficacious, but with 
more difficulty. When these are driven from their nests, 
(which usually are composed of leaves and fixed in the 
large fork of a tree some height from the ground,) they 
will immediately ascend to the very topmost branches of 
the same tree, in order, when danger presses them, to 
escape by making a descent by flight, as it is called, to the 
butt of some neighbouring tree. When, therefore, they 
would reach the extremity of a branch, one of the party 
would clamber the tree with a long slim pole swung to his 
wrist, on the end of which was a noose made of horse- 
hair, and, as this species is less shy and more innocent 
than most others, they would generally suffer themselves 
to be approached within ten or twelve feet, and by much 
care and quietness, the noose could without difficulty be 
placed over the head of the little victim and thus make it 
prisoner. In this way we caught many old squirrels, and 
then by securing the nests, which frequently contained 
several of their young, it not only was a source of 
amusement, but profit. Rtjsticus. 
