FOREST AND STREAM. 
695 
/ 
Oct. 30, 1909.] 
Autumn in Nebraska. 
Omaha, Neb., Oct. 22 .—Editor Forest and 
Stream: That there are more birds and better 
shooting in Nebraska than any of the adjacent 
States, which includes about all that remains 
of the chicken territory, there is little or no 
loubt, and more shooters come here from 
ibroad, latterly, than visit all the others com¬ 
bined. 
This season things look unusually fine, not- 
vithstanding the heavy inroads that are always 
nade on the ranks of the birds before the sea¬ 
son opens. While the rural shooters in the 
listricts furthest from the railroads and the 
nost difficult of access have been killing the 
•oung birds since mid-July, in the regions where 
hey are fairly well protected, those localities* 
nost favorable to the birds’ thrift, the shooting 
vill be much better than ordinary this month 
.nd in November. Good reports come from 
.11 the best known grounds close along the 
ines of the through railroads, and in many 
Jaces the shooting is up to the standard of the 
ilden days. This is because they are under the 
onstant surveilance of the wardens and the 
ctive and appreciative protective organizations 
if the chief cities along these roads. 
Anywhere within 200 miles of this city, in 
he sandhills country, more birds are reported 
han have been for a decade. The season ot 
idification, while a bit delayed, has never been 
•etter, and everywhere that a proper lookout 
as been maintained, the birds throve tremend- 
usly. 
For nonresidents a $10 license is necessary, 
nd this holds good for both fishing and shoot- 
ig through the State. There are plenty of 
uail wherever good cover and food are to be 
pund, but quail are under the ban until 19x1, 
'hen a short open season will again be vouch- 
afed the sportsmen. 
The wildfowl, jacksnipe and wader open sea- 
on began Sept. 15, and will hold over* until 
.pril 5 on geese and ducks, and to May x on 
icks and their kind. There have been count- 
:ss thousands of ducks bred in this State this 
ear, and the bluewing teal have never been 
nown to be so plentiful. The matter of the 
mit—twenty-five a day—is but an hour’s shoot- 
ig any morning or evening on the Fillmore 
onds, along the Platte sloughs or at the 
hders or Hackberry chain of lakes, at Cody 
r in Deuel county. It is impossible, however, 
>r the gunner to go astray, for there are young 
:al everywhere that sufficient water is to be 
xund. There are also young mallards, widgeons 
id yellowlegs' in countless myriads. Nebraska 
as the best jacksnipe grounds in the world. 
There is plenty of water, notwithstanding the 
mg drouth, in all the sandhill lakes and ponds, 
id the crop of locally-bred bucks is larger than 
has been known for years. There are lots 
f quail, and it is to be regretted that the 
>ortsmen were not given at least a brief shoot- 
g season. 
While chickens are much more difficult to 
ig in October than they are earlier in the 
:ason, this is the month they should be shot in, 
id if unmolested out of season, many of the 
tendant hardships experienced in their pur- 
tit at this time would be eliminated. 
Aloflg toward the middle of October the 
lickens begin to pack, and frequent no one 
neighborhood for many days at a time. They 
are restless, wary and uneasy, and where you 
find them to-day not a feather may be found 
to-morrow. At this season of the year they 
make long flights which lead many to be¬ 
ing, they are not. Along toward the middle or 
ing, they are not. Long toward the middle or 
last part of October they “pull out” from the 
hills and journey for miles into the cultivated 
lowlands, where the corn still hangs in the 
shock and the seeds of the ragweed, sun¬ 
flower and pepper grass are more abundant 
and easier of access. But, depend upon it, 
many of the same birds will return to their 
primitive haunts in the hills before the country 
is permanently wrapped in either a mantle of 
snow or fetters of ice. Their migrations con¬ 
sist simply of coming down from the high¬ 
lands for a month or so in the tapering days 
of autumn and advancing winter. 
To-day the pursuit of the grouse is an un- 
VIRGINIANS AFIELD. 
Owned by W. C. Bringman, of Roanoke. 
certain pastime, but still one that whets all the 
wits of the sportsmen to the keenest edge. 
They are only'to be found in the broad field of 
standing corn, but they are keen-eyed and al¬ 
ways alert, flush a long ways off and on strong 
and swift pinion, leave miles between them and 
the cause of their precipitous flight before they 
settle down again. 
To bag a bird under such conditions is worth 
more than the limit of young flabby chicks in 
the blazing days of September, to which time 
many improvident shooters are hoping to see 
the open season return, but who, I think, are 
not going to be gratified in this regard. Sep¬ 
tember chicken shooting is simply slaughter 
and not sport, and there is no good to come of 
tampering with the law, in this connection, as 
it now stands. It is the quasi-sportsman, the 
indolent, unappreciative individual to whom 
shooting is synonymous with killing, the man 
who is only satisfied to kill the limit, and not 
even then, without the exertion of their hunting 
or pursuing them. His only ambition is to 
drive into the chicken fields, permit his suffer¬ 
ing dogs to stand a bevy of half-grown defense¬ 
less birds, then wade in and annihilate them with 
jio more exertion than would be required in 
walking into a butcher shop and buying the 
game. A half dozen grouse, killed in Novem¬ 
ber form, is more compensation to a real 
sportsman, who counts on matching his facul¬ 
ties against those of this superb bird, who de¬ 
lights in the long tramp through the rattling 
stalks the}' force him to take, and who breathes 
the freshest and most invigorating air that 
blows during the whole twelve-month, and en¬ 
joys and grows fat on it, than is the full allot¬ 
ment of fifty birds in the sweltering days of 
early fall or late summer. 
Sandy Griswold. 
Hunters Waiting for Frost. 
New Orleans, La., Oct. 20. —Editor Forest 
and Stream: The hunters are now enjoying 
great luck, and are being rewarded with con¬ 
siderable game, although the best hunting is 
yet to come. Up to this time the prevalence 
of high summer temperature has militated 
against the best sport in hunting. The mercury 
registering about ninety is not very pro¬ 
pitious for hunting game of any kind, in addi¬ 
tion to being a tax on the physical strength of 
those who like the gun, or follow the dogs. 
Cooler weather and even frost will be welcomed 
by the scores of hunters in Louisiana. Frost 
is hardly expected here before the last of 
November or the first part of December. Quite 
a large number of blue-winged teal ducks have 
been killed and brought into the market in ad¬ 
dition to the number bagged by amateurs for 
their families. The ducks have not had time 
to fatten perfectly as yet, although some very 
good specimens have been killed. The ducks 
will improve with the coming of cold weather. 
The storm undoubtedly had some effect upon 
these, as well as other kinds of birds in driving 
them some miles inward and demoralizing them 
generally. 
A large number of deer have been killed up 
to this time, but the hunters will not seek this 
big game until a little later, when the weather 
is more propitious. Quail this year are quite 
abundant and are in excellent condition. There 
is every promise of more quail being killed this 
season than ever before in the history of 
Louisiana. 
The State Game Commission has sent two 
special wardens for services at a place known 
as The Jump at the mouth of the Mississippi 
River for the purpose of enforcing the laws 
of the commission. This point is considered the 
most advantageous for the killing of ducks, and 
the reports last season from the wardens were 
to the effect that 900,000 ducks were killed at 
and near The Jump. The commission has been 
informed that some of the hunters killed ducks 
at night and also bagged over twenty-five for 
each individual during one day. The law pro-t 
hibits hunting at any other time than between 
sunrise and sunset, and also that no more than 
twenty-five can be killed during a single day by 
an individual. 
There have been issued a little over 11,000 
hunting licenses up to about Oct. 10. It is 
thought this number will be largely increased 
within the next few weeks, and the number up 
to the latter part of October will likely show 
fully 15,000. The license fee for resident hunt¬ 
ers is $1 and for nonresidents and foreigners or 
aliens $25, good for one season. 
