370 
V 
Sept. 18, 1S75. 
LITTIBS FBOM SPOBTSME^. 
Mt Favorite. 
Bellevue, Jackson Co., Sept. 6. 
The ‘‘letters from sportsmen" published in your valu- 
able paper are, to me, a source of much enjoyment and 
instruction, wherein each gentleman gives his individual 
views and personal experience. Much has been written of 
late in re-gard to the best sporting rifle now in use. Jly 
brief rifle experience of nearly forty-one years, during 
which time I have purchased a new rifle on an average of 
every two years, having owned and used at least one of 
every American manufacture except the Peabody, and 
to-day, my dear sir, my individual experience and verj' 
humble opinion is that for a genuine sporting rifle — one 
that fills the bill for aU kinds of shooting — I very much 
prefer the Maynard, as manufacturerd to-day, with its 
set trigger and central fire re-loading cartridges. Am very 
free, however, to admit that your able correspondent, 
“Snap-Shot,” advocates the best rifle for hunting large 
game, namely : the C. S. Springfield, altered to a sport- 
ing rifle. Have used one, and its killing powers, cer- 
tainty, and rapidity of Are, make it, so far as I am able 
to judge, the peer of any rifle yet made for killing buf- 
falo, bear and elk. (Must, however, use the straight cart- 
ridge; a bottle-neck cartridge is an abomination, and 
much vexation of spirit to use in any sporting rifle, un- 
less you have time to wipe your rifle after two or three 
shots.) In all breech-loaders give me the straight cart- 
ridge, and none else. But to resume. The simplicity, 
cheapness and perfection of the Maynard rifle, and am- 
munition as manufactured to-day, make it the most de- 
sirable, cheapest and perfect rifle for general sportsmen 
now in use. Such, Mr. Editor, is my honest conviction, 
after many long and pleasurable years of rifle shooting. 
Another conclusive and very significant fact in favor of 
the Maynard is, that not a single owner of one in this 
section of country, and there are many who sport the 
Maynard, that wish to change them for any other rifle; 
but, on the contrary, we are constantly bringing for- 
ward new riflemen, mostly young men, and the first in- 
quiry at our shooting clubs is, “'Where can I get a May- 
nard rifle?” In short, my dear sir, the New Maynard 
is a luxury to possess; ’tis a pleasure to shoot it. 
There are three things in the sportsman’s line that at 
all times I am ready to swear by : the ^Maynard Rifle, the 
Parker Shot-gun, 'and Bond’s Metallic Section Boats, 
at great length. M. G. H. 
Quail and Insects. 
Boone, la.. Sept. 6. 
In your issue of Aug. 28, C. H. Hope, of Perry Co., 
Ohio, takes exception to “ the stupid story (as he calls 
it) that you have copied from an Ohio paper concerning 
a flock of quail eating bugs and cut worms,” and states 
that from good observation of the habits of the quail, 
and from investigations of their crops, that he don’t be- 
lieve that they eat insects at all while running at large 
in the fields- 
Notwithstanding my Buckeye friend’s opinion of the 
quail as an insect eater, I beg leave to difier with him on 
this score. It has always been my opinion that the 
quail do eat insects, but I never examined to see, from 
the fact that I have never known of there being a ques- 
tion about it until now. I will relate an incident that 
occurred last summer for the benefit of those concerned. 
Observing a pair of quail in the barn-yard, and knowing 
of a sick person that was very desirous of obtaining 
some of these dainty birds, I went to the house for my 
gun. When I returned they had crossed into an adjoin- 
ing potato lot. I secured both of them, and while dress- 
ing them found two full-grown Colorado potato bugs in 
the crop of one of them, and believe if they had been 
undisturbed, that they would have satisfied their appe- 
tites on said bugs. It is my opinion that fowls that will 
eat the ugly shell-backed potato bug will eat most any 
kind of an insect. 
I know of no bad feeling existing in Grangers toward 
sportsmen, but know of Grangers that are very good 
sportsmen. J. A. O. 
Pinnated Grouse. 
Peotone, Sept. 6. 
As the 15th of August approaches, one may see that 
something of importance is going on. Call in at any 
gun store, and you will see groups of men earnestly dis- 
cussing the merits of different brands of powder, or de- 
bating as to whether No. 7 or No. 6 shot should be used. 
If the passer-by inquire what it all means, he will be 
told, with a shrug of the shoulders expressive of the 
most intense pitj" for his lack of knowledge, that the 
15th is coming, and that on and after that day it is law- 
ful to shoot chickens for a certain length of time. Let 
him not be alarmed for his chickens at home (if he keep 
them), for it is not chickens of that kind wliich are 
meant, but the royal pinnated grouse {Tetrao Cupido), 
king of game birds, the hardest bird to kill which flies, 
excepting the ruffed grouse, and one of the most deli- 
cious when served up properly. 
I suppose that there are more shooting men and sports- 
men in Chicago than in any other city in the States. It 
is a kind of headquarters for sportsmen. Men from the 
East, on their way to the chicken grounds of Iowa, pass 
through here, and of course stop a day or two to visit 
some of the prominent sportsmen of the city, and anj- 
day during the season numbers of gentlemen may be 
seen in Abbey’s, on Clark street, Butler's, on Madison 
street, etc., talking over gaaoe prospects, or about the 
last pigeon shoot at Tom Stagg’s or Dexter Park. The 
15th came on Sunday this year, and was generally ob- 
served on Monday, though several parties were out, re- 
gardless of the day, taking a first crack at the birds, and 
doubtless enjoj-ing their sport as much as though it were 
an}' other day of the week. In this place (a small town 
some forty miles south of Chicago) a large number went 
out on Monday, but returned fagged out, with few, if 
any, birds. Saturday night, when the train arrived from 
Chicago, twenty-five men, with dogs and guns, got out, 
stayed till Monday, but did not get birds enough alto- 
gether to make a fair dinner for half of them. “ It’s 
an ill wind that blows nobody good,” however, and the 
hotel-keepers made a good harvest. Reports from this 
section are discouraging. One old gentleman here (the 
one who tried to shoot a goose, half a mile high in the 
air, with a No. 12 gauge shot-gun) has been out nearly 
every day, but generally returns with only one chicken, 
and oftener with none at all. Some ill-natured scamps 
hint that the old man goes out and lies down under a 
haystack, instead of shooting ; but I give him the bene- 
fit of the doubt this time, seeing that birds are very 
scarce. I have not been out myself yet, but hope to tiy 
it in a few days, and will let you know the result. 
“ Fred ’’ has extended a very cordial invitation to me 
to come to Wisconsin and go duck-shooting this fall. If 
I can accept his invitation, I shall have some interesting 
sport to tell your readers of. T. Umbellds. 
A Place to go to. 
Boston, Sept. 9. 
•Have just returned from a pleasant trip to Wells 
Beach. Birds rather scarce, on account of low tides 
and dry marsh. We managed, however, to get enough 
yellow-legs and grass birds to eat every day. Wells is 
a pleasant place for a man to take his wife for a few 
days. Col. Hobbs, Ocean House, knows how to enter- 
tain his boarders, though he is an inflationist of the rank- 
est ; would rather have plenty of shin-plasters than un- 
told gold. 3Irs. H. can cook birds very good, and is 
very willing, to her credit be it said. Col. H. Walker 
and Gen. L. Davenport, of the Highlands, have been 
staying at Wells some weeks, and speak highly of the 
place having made good bags through August. I think 
it will be good the latter part of this month, and first- 
rate in October for butterheads and yellowlegs. There 
is splendid partridge ground at the back of the house, 
and plenty of birds. Sea view very fine, shooting ground 
handy. Boston and Maine Railroad to Wells. Polor. 
Sport in Maryland. 
Salisbury, Md., Sept. 8. 
So far I have seen no communication from any one 
hereabouts in the columns of your paper, and not liking 
this part of the world to be left out in the cold by your 
readers, I have concluded to let you hear from us. 
Woodduck shooting is fairly begun, although many 
are not fully grown yet, and, being full of pin-feathers, 
are a terrible job to pick. We only hunt them early in 
the morning or late in the evening, and half a dozen is 
considered a good bag. They are easily induced to 
congregate at any favorable spot, if the gunner wili 
only use a liberal quantity of corn to bait them with ; 
and later in the season ten or a dozen at a single shot 
are not rare occurrences. The'sport then is simply 
slaughter. 
Woodcock have been plentiful, "and the pot hunters 
have killed as many as thirty in half a day, which were 
duly sliipped to the New York market. In the imme- 
diate vicinity of the town they are not much hunted, 
and, as a consequence, increase rapidly. 
Quails promise to be numerous the coming season. 
The dry spring weather favored the young birds, and if 
the recent severe rains did not drown off the latter broods, 
gunners will have no cause to complain of scarcit}' of 
this particular sort of game. The gunning season begins 
Oct. 15, and closes .Jan. 15. We have no partridge. 
Rail shooting begins next week, and if the tides favor 
I expect some rare sport in shooting this easily killed 
bird. When they first come they are extremely poor, 
and not fit to eat. A few days, however, puts them in 
prime condition, and then they are food fit for the gods. 
I have frequently seen them fat enough to burst open 
when they fell on the water after being shot 
Rabbits and squirrels are reported numerous, but as 
I rarely hunt them, I cannot speak from experience. 
Salisbury is situated on the head-waters of the Wico- 
mico River, 130 miles south of Philadelphia, by Dela- 
ware Railroad. It is surrounded by numerous ponds, 
which are well filled with pike, affording good sport to 
the angler. As yet, the artificial fly is a thing unused 
here, the bait being chiefly minnows. Thirty miles from 
here by rail, and we are at Ocean City, situated on a 
narrow strip of land, with the broad Atlantic on the one 
hand and the S^me Puxent bay on the other. The bay 
is a beautiful sheet of shallow water, and in the winter 
is the resort of innumerable wild fowl. Black ducks 
raise there in considerable numbers. November is the 
best month for gunning on the bay, and wild geese and 
all kinds of wild ducks, except the canvas-back, are then 
plentiful. So far, Mr. Stephen Tabor, of Roslyn, L. I., 
is the most successful shootist. 
To give some one else a chance, rU stop. L. S. B. 
Abuses of Field Sports. 
Montello, Wis., Sept. 7. 
In a late issue of your journal I read, with much in- 
terest, the sketch entitled “ Abuses of Field Sports,” by 
Recapper. It is some time since I have read a sketch 
of such universal interest as this, and I trust that West- 
ern sportsmen, to whom the appeal is made to protect 
the game, will fully realize and appreciate the import- 
ance. Game protection is a field wherein all true devo- 
tees of Nimrod should find time for using their influence, 
as assuredly never was the combined effort of all sports- 
men needed to put down unlawful and indiscriminate 
slaughter more than now, when the market gunners — I 
regret to say many so-called sportsmen — persist in these 
practices. Ail honor to Recapper and every man that 
uses his pen and influence in the cause, and portrays 
as truthfully the true manner of bringing about the de- 
sired end. Every word from such men as Recapper, 
Boone and others of well-deserved popularity, is read 
with unfailing interest, and when their efforts are put 
forth in so momentous a matter as this, the influence for 
good is incalculable. Success attend the right. 
“ Fred.” 
Some Good Shooting. 
Sedalia, Mo., Sept. 1. 
The vicinity of Chetopa, Kan., offers to the sports- 
man such shooting as was never before offered to man. 
Chickens by the million, quails by the billion, and water- 
fowl, snipe, curlew, etc., by the car-load; in fact, it is 
the “El Dorado” of the sportsman. And another thing, 
and one of no small importance to sportsmen, is the 
notorious cordiality and good cheer of the members of 
the Chetopa Shooting Club. If they don’t know how to 
treat a fellow white, then no one does. Now every 
sportsman knows what a bearing such treatment has on 
one. To take a week’s vacation and start for some little 
town, and when you get there to be met by sour faces 
and selfish-looking fellows who eye you like you were 
some tramp, “goes agin the grain,” and spoils a heap 
of sport; on the other hand, tobemet with true brother 
sportsman-like cordiality, and with a good solid shake 
of the hand, and a fellow feeling right in the eye, sort 
of sets a fellow’s blood going a little faster, and he feels 
that he is among whole-souled men. And then the De- 
pot Agent: — Now every sportsman who has once been 
there knows that our friend Strawn, the Depot Agent, 
is a whole-souled man, always kind, with a ready an- 
swer and a willingness about his actions that says, I 
love my fellow-men. Thus you see how the people of 
Southern Kansas are brought up. Stop at the National 
with Grant, or at the Planters’ with Bro. Kellerman, and 
you will be treated in a manner which will not allow of 
any fault-finding. The fall of 1875 will show more 
quail in Kansas than ever before, many pairs hatching 
two clutches, and many coveys having from 20 to 23 in 
them ; as for chicken, there is no estimatiug the quan- 
tity. The amount of if is, you won’t be disappointed. 
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