Feb. 8, 1913 
FOREST AND STREAM 
171 
A Coal-Black Woodchuck. 
Lockport, N. Y., Feb. i. — Editor Forest and 
iStrcani: I have just received a letter from 
Flo3'd C. Mancleville, of Newfane, N. Y., in 
which he says : 
“I was at Wilson, N. Y., last Sunday and 
met a friend, Will Slocum, who asked me to 
come with him, as he had something interest¬ 
ing to show me. And it certainly was. He had 
a coal black woodchuck which he had dug out 
of his hole a week before, and at the time I 
saw it it was so tame that it would eat out of 
his hand, and did not seem to be the least bit 
afraid.” 
I have heard of white woodchucks, but have 
never heard of black ones. J. L. Davison. 
Prominent California Sportsman Dies. 
BY GOLDEN GATE. 
J. Parker Whitney, a pioneer resident of 
the State, capitalist, sportsman and author, a 
man generally beloved and respected by all 
who knew him, passed away at the Hotel Del 
Monte, Monterey, Jan. 17, at the age of 78 
years. Mr. Whitney was a native of Gardner, 
Mass., and same to California in 1851, making 
the first trip by water. Later he crossed the 
plains no less than five times and thus had an 
excellent opportunity of seeing American wild 
game at a time when its protection was un¬ 
thought of. His writings upon the subject of 
sports have made him known over the whole 
world, these having been printed in many 
languages. He was one of the first to discover 
that excellent salmon fishing could be had in 
Monterey Bay and passed much time there. 
Flis writings of sport there, of angling in gen¬ 
eral and of fly-fishing in Maine lakes, are well 
known. In the commercial field of California 
he was a prominent figure, having taken the in¬ 
itiative in reclamation work, in. citrus cultiva¬ 
tion and in the raisin industry. 
The Skill of a Gunner. 
New York City, Jan. 29. — Editor Forest and 
Stream: With misgivings bred of many previ¬ 
ous disappointments, application was made to an 
advertiser in Forest and Stream for infor¬ 
mation as to the prospects of good ciuail shoot¬ 
ing near Tillery, N. C. In due time came the 
reply with all questions satisfactorily answered. 
One portion of the answer contained the very 
guarded comment that the bag varied according 
to the skill of the gunner, while another portion 
announced the not uninteresting information that 
accommodations and table were far above the 
average in North Carolina. An over-night jour¬ 
ney, a four-mile drive from Tillery, brought an 
old-fashioned roomy Southern house in sight. 
Introductions followed to the junior member of 
the firm, a most charming lady of j'outhful spirit 
and a genial sportswoman, fully alive to those 
details which add so much to a gunner’s com¬ 
fort, and watchful at all times against any in¬ 
fringement of the rights of her guests. 
Arrived at about the same time was T. B. 
Pritchard, of Rochester, N. Y., a delightful com¬ 
panion during a week’s gunning. Arrangements 
had been perfected by which two young men of 
the neighborhood were to act as our guides, and 
while one was allotted to each, we alternated at 
Mr. Pritchard’s suggestion. 
Hunting in different directions, we both 
flushed more coveys than we were willing to 
admit, our refusal to give truthful answers being 
based on that strong legal bulwark that a man 
cannot be compelled to give a reply which would 
be calculated to hold him up to ridicule; more 
so because on looking at the bag we were re¬ 
minded of the words of the letter, “It depends 
on the skill of the gunner.” 
Our best day’s individual bag was sixteen, 
with perhaps double that number of misses, for 
which there is little excuse in old field gunners. 
While I have never been quite able to overcome 
that nervousness which comes at the first whirr 
of flight and causes me to shoot iu such haste 
that frequently I do not see my gun, I know 
there are others in the same class, for I have 
seen some of them perform; and while it is 
difficult to teach an old dog new tricks, there 
remains the fond hope that persistence will be 
rewarded, and the daj' arrive when at all times 
I will see my gun before I shoot, yet presently 
there is consolation in the thought that the zest 
would be taken out of the sport if shots were 
not missed occasionally. 
All of our hunting was done in the piney 
woods, a sort of half clearing, and our average 
find was eight coveys a day. Because of the 
large areas, scattered birds were difficult to lo¬ 
cate, and single bird shooting could not there¬ 
fore be freely indulged in. 
The birds in flushing would at times get up 
as a covey, then a few at a time, and again a 
few would get up, and when both barrels had 
been discharged and one thought there were no 
more, the rest would get up and leave in haste. 
This of course, while not according to Hoyle, 
furnished additional excuses for lack of skill on 
the part of the gunner. 
Wild turkey were seen on one occasion, but 
proved difficult of approach. At another time 
THE day’s bag. 
