Jan. 17, 1914. 
FOREST AND STREAM 
81 
Game and Shooting Over the Mexican Border 
I N this part of the world sportsmanship is 
rather at a discount, but the necessity of 
obtaining something to eat is ever present, 
and is the principal incentive which sends people 
afield with shotgun or rifle. Probably the prin¬ 
cipal reason why game is abundant here is the 
cost of ammunition. From an economic point 
of view it becomes a question with those who are 
most in need whether a dove or a quail can be 
considered as the equivalent to the value of a 
charge of powder and shot. At any rate there is 
very little shooting among the people, who con¬ 
cern themselves principally with deer and ante¬ 
lope when they do any shooting, and this is the 
exception. Deer are plentiful, and the Vaqueros, 
in their daily excursions to watch after the cattle, 
usually carry a rifle, so it frequently happens that 
they bring in a deer or an antelope strapped 
behind their saddles, and for this they are called 
great hunters. The deer are not very wild, and 
even run with the cattle at times, or rather they 
appear to run with the cattle. To make such a 
statement positively is perhaps taking too much 
for granted. Still there is the common enemy, 
the prowling coyote, from which the cows protect 
the very young calves, and it is not improbable 
that a timid deer should seek for safety among 
the cattle at night. However this may be, the 
deer seem to be around with the cattle, yet it 
might be that both the deer and the cattle gather 
near the water, and are associated because of 
common necessities rather than for mutual pro¬ 
tection. At any rate when the Vaqueros come 
along the cattle do not run away and sometimes 
the deer remain with them, and such shooting 
as the Vaqueros do is a good deal like killing 
cattle, or, more properly, young calves, with a 
rifle. I haven’t much respect for that kind of 
shooting, but if the meat is wanted it is not so 
objectionable. The unpleasant part is that the 
Vaqueros shoot without regard to season, and 
think nothing of killing a doe and fawn, or of 
killing the doe and letting the fawn run off to 
its fate, usually a coyote. If a protest is made 
the Mexicans will look surprised and say, “What 
difference? The meat is as good one time as 
another. There are plenty of deer.” No one 
ever heard of game laws in this part of the world 
and any suggestion that such would be desirable 
is looked on with incredulity for meat is meat 
whenever you get it, and what could a man 
possibly gain who had a chance to shoot a deer, 
but left it to rear its young for somebody else 
to shoot? This is the spirit in Mexico, and in 
some places game is being completely extermi¬ 
nated. 
Here in Sonora game is still abundant, be¬ 
cause population is scattered and there are enor¬ 
mous areas where one can travel for a day or 
more without seeing a person. Over the broad 
expanses of bush-grown plains, and among the 
rough, arid mountains, there are natural game 
preserves and but for the fact that water is 
scarce, and animals will naturally seek the water 
holes, where a hunter has only to wait and kill, 
it would be probable that this section would be 
well populated with deer and antelope for years, 
but under the circumstances if shooting should 
become active to any extent the animals would 
soon disappear, because the water holes are 
scarce during the dry season and a hunter lying 
in wait could kill a great many animals without 
much effort on his part. So probably large game 
is doomed in Sonora as well as in other portions 
of the world. Of small game there is such abun- 
By AN OCCASIONAL CONTRIBUTOR 
dance that probably it will continue here for many 
years, perhaps indefinitely because the land is not 
very well suited to agricultural developments. 
Tufted quail can be seen at almost any time and 
a person can hardly walk out a mile or so along 
the unfrequented roads without meeting several 
covies of these beautiful birds. For myself I 
have never even shot at them, they are so tame. 
Frequently they will stop and watch the approach 
of the intruder, and when the person comes 
almost close enough to touch them, they will 
go scurrying away, running rapidly to seek 
cover among the bushes or cactus plants of the 
sparsely grown sand plains. Then from a little 
distance delicately formed heads, and bright 
beady eyes can be seen peering out from hiding 
places, as if wondering whether it really was 
worth while to run away. People do shoot them, 
and along the frequented roads the quail are wild 
but very easy to approach. It is remarkable how 
tame they will become when brought up in the 
house. They run with the chickens, come to be 
fed and sometimes are so appreciative of protec¬ 
tion that they come and sit on a person’s knee to 
have their pretty little heads scratched while they 
make murmuring, peeping sounds of appreciation. 
They do not like to be picked up, and if the at¬ 
tempt is made there is an indignant protest and 
they are off to joint their mates, the chickens, in 
an instant. People who have had quail for pets 
say it is hardly worth while to try bringing them 
up because when the nesting season comes they 
disappear and never return. 
More abundant than the quail are the doves. 
These beautiful birds are found all over Sonora, 
and a person can see them at almost any time. 
Near Hermosillo the orange groves are popu¬ 
lated with doves so abundantly that the sound of 
their cooings is noticeable at all times through 
the day and in the mornings, and late afternoons 
as evening is approaching the volume of sound is 
really remarkable at times. These doves are so 
tame that boys shoot them with air rifles and then 
sell them at a cent each or perhaps two for a cent. 
It is unfortunate yet true that the doves are often 
killed while on the nest. It may be cruel, but in 
Mexico cruelties are so common that no one gives 
them any consideration, and simply say in regard 
to killing birds on the nest “What difference can 
■t make? There are plenty of birds.” 
The foreigners in this country are not better 
than the natives and shoot without regard to time 
or seasons. There is a rich Scotchman who has 
a place in Sonora where he spends part of each 
year. He is considered a splendidly good fellow 
and a fine sportsman. At his house he has Scotch 
whiskey by the quart for his guests to use as they 
like. It is always ready as plentiful as water if 
the guest wants to drink that freely. He keeps 
an automobile and can cover a wide extent of 
country in his shooting excursions. He and his 
guests shoot doves and quail in the nesting season 
—also they eat them! For my part I have never 
been to the wealthy gentleman’s house and never 
expert to go there. 
On the large estates there is more or less 
shooting, but rather as an incident to the day’s 
Dccupation. As the land owner goes about his 
property a gun bearer will follow him, or if he is 
driving the gun or rifle will be placed conveni¬ 
ently in the carriage. Recently this fall I passed 
a charming day at one of the great estates where 
the entertainment was in the true spirit of Spanish 
hospitality. What was there was mine, and if I 
had trespassed on hospitality and had taken away 
the best horse on the place nothing would have 
been said. I was a guest and the place and all it 
contained was mine. 
“Come,” my host said, “let us go and drive. 
If you like shooting we will take the guns.” 
As I have said, shooting here seems too much 
like killing tame animals, and I don’t care much 
about it. I must have shown in some way that I 
was not enthusiastic, for he said at once: “Then 
if you do not care for shooting we will take only 
one gun and go out to see how the harvest is be¬ 
ing gathered. We will take one gun because we 
might see something worth while.” It was a 
charming drive in the late afternoon of a warm 
autumn day, the harvests were bountiful and the 
cattle were justly a pride to their-owner. Pres¬ 
ently we passed a sunken lagoon where there was 
a considerable flock of wild ducks. They were 
feeding industriously and my host had the car¬ 
riage stopped while he stalked them showing con¬ 
siderable skill. He got one shot and bagged 
three ducks. I think they were a variety of teal, 
but am not perfectly sure. My host sent one of 
his peons to retrieve the ducks. The order was 
simply to go and fetch them, and then we drove 
on. A little further and a large sized long legged 
hare started up, ran a little way and then sat 
looking at us. My host shot it and then called for 
more shells. The peon had forgotten to bring 
them, but my host was not particularly annoyed, 
shooting seemed just an incident as the game 
came his way. So we drove on about the estate 
and the peon carried the gun back to the house. 
As we went more long legged hares jumped up 
and then after running a little distance sat and 
looked at us. More ducks were seen and once 
or twice my host said he wished the gun were 
handy, but then there would be no lack of shoot¬ 
ing any time he might fancy, and it did not make 
much difference. Presently we came to a lagoon 
among some tall reeds, where there was firmer 
ground, and thousands of doves were flying about 
coming in groups and flocks to drink and then 
fly away to their roosts. 
“See the doves,” my host remarked. “One 
could perhaps kill them by the hundreds. Now I 
wish I had my gun. They come to feed on the 
grain and are a nuisance. They take toll from 
me and I would like to take toll from them. I 
never care to kill them in the nesting season, but 
at this time of the year they are in fine condition 
and excellent for the table. What a lot of them 
we could get.” For a time we watched the rapid 
movements of the myriads of graceful birds, and 
then drove on. They were so tame I thought 
sometimes we would drive over them. My host 
said: “I would not bother shooting them if I 
could not get a lot each time I fired. I must send 
the peons down there to-morrow night. A little 
shooting may frighten them away. They are 
very beautiful, but I cannot afford to let so many 
feed on the estate.” Then we drove on home in 
the evening and as we went covies of quail sud¬ 
denly appeared running swiftly in front of the 
horses for a little distance and then scattering to 
hide in the grass or among the bushes. 
Such are the conditions under which game 
birds are found in Sonora. If a person had a lust 
for killing, just killing without requiring much 
effort, nor necessitating the employment of en¬ 
ergy in matching intelligence against the cun¬ 
ning and wary instincts of game birds and ani¬ 
mals, Sonora would be just the place; but for my 
