AND AMERICAN RURAL SPORTS. 
45 
Incomparable speed. There he goes! He passes another 
stand, from which a second shot, better directed than the 
first, brings him to the ground. The dogs, the servants, 
the sportsmen, are now rushing forward to the spot. The 
hunter who has shot it is congratulated on his skill or good 
luck, and the chase begins again in some other part of 
the woods. 
A few lines of explanation may be required to convey a 
clear idea of this mode of hunting. Deer are fond of fol- 
lowing and retracing the paths which they have formerly 
pursued, and continue to do so even after they have been 
shot at more than once. These tracks are discovered by 
persons on horseback in the woods, or a Deer is observed 
crossing a road, a field, or a small stream. When this has 
been noticed twice, the Deer may be shot from the places 
called stands by the sportsman, who is stationed there, 
and waits for it, a line of stands being generally formed so 
as to cross the path which the game will follow. The per- 
son who ascertains the usual pass of the game, or disco- 
vers the parts where the animal feeds or lies down during 
the day, gives intimation to his friends, who then pre- 
pare for the chase. The servants start the Deer with the 
hounds, and, by good management, generally succeed in 
making it run the course that will soonest bring it to its 
death. But, should the Deer be cautious, and take ano- 
ther course, the hunters, mounted on swift horses, gallop 
through the woods to intercept it, guided by the sound of 
the horns and the cry of the dogs, and frequently succeed 
' in shooting it. This sport is extremely agreeable, and 
proves successful on almost every occasion. — Audubon . 
ON THE PRESERVATION OF THE PARTRIDGE. 
The favourite game bird of the Sportsman, is the 
Partridge, and towards it he always manifests feelings of 
solicitude, to preserve it from undue destruction, whether 
by the severity of our winters, or the rapacity of its ene- 
mies; and the expense which he frequently incurs, to- 
wards the accomplishment of this object, evidently proves, 
that he regards this interesting bird altogether as a source 
of pleasure, and not of profit, and when he pursues them 
for recreation, although he is anxious to secure a full bag, 
and prove that he is worthy of the title he claims, he is 
often checked, in the midst of his success, by feelings 
which prompt him to forbear further destruction. Has 
not every true Sportsman, sometime in the course of his 
experience, — when, on the close of a successful day’s hunt 
found himself in the midst of a well scattered covey, and 
M 
while he was working destruction to the right and left, — 
felt such sensations creeping over him, as to cause him 
suddenly to desist from further pursuit ? And what 
is it that checks him in the harvest he is gathering ? — - 
It is not consciousness of doing wrong, that bids him for- 
bear, for there is no moral responsibility attached to the 
action; but it is from a conviction, that further prosecution 
of his success on that covey, will dry up the source of 
his future pleasure, and leave none to produce offspring 
for the next season. 
No Sportsman will visit the remaining part of a covey, 
after he has reduced it to four or five birds. This is one 
method of preserving game, and may be called protection 
by forbearance. 
Some years since, a large number of Partridges were 
purchased and kept through the winter season, by the 
united efforts of a number of Sportsmen in Philadelphia*, 
and the neighbouring parts of New-Jersey. The number 
of birds, I think, exceeded two thousand, and when set at 
liberty, in the following spring, were let off in pairs over 
a very extensive part of the neighbourhood. The benefit 
arising from this course, was manifested during the fol- 
lowing season; but this plan, which one would think 
should conciliate the friendship of the farmers, and excite 
good will towards those gentlemen who effected this ob- 
ject, had on the minds of many a contrary effect, although 
the birds were bought of them in the winter, and returned 
again in March. 
In the succeeding fall, many landholders came to a re- 
solution to prevent Sportsmen from shooting on their 
grounds; and accordingly printed notices were signed by 
them, and circulated throughout the neighbourhood, warn- 
ing all gunners from trespassing on their farms, under the 
severest penalties of the law. This, of course, was a 
check to like operations in future years; and I believe it 
has never been attempted, to any extent, since. Many 
Sportsmen, however, purchase all the living birds to be 
met with on sale, and keep them over the winter, and re- 
lease them again in the spring. This may pass, then, as 
the second method of preserving game, viz. protectio?i 
by sustenance. 
The last manner of preserving the Partridge, is by per- 
secution. Yes, strange as it may appear, moderate perse- 
cution has a tendency to protect game. It is natural for 
inferior animals to avoid the persecution of their superiors, 
and there are none whose timidity is more easily excited 
than that of the Partridge. When undisturbed, these 
birds will visit the stackyards and gardens, and even mix 
with the domestic fowls, to share their food. But a little 
persecution will soon drive them to seek shelter in the 
brakes and thickets of the neighbourhood; before, they 
