A Virginia Turkey Hunt. 
Oral Oaks, Va., Feb. 15. — Editor Forest and 
Stream: Reading as I do each week so many 
interested reports from various portions of the 
United States regarding the game supply, as 
published in your excellent journal, perhaps a 
few lines from old Virginia regarding the game 
may be of interest to some of your readers. 
The season of 1907-8 has been an excellent 
one here from a sportsman’s point of view and 
many good bags have been made of quail, with 
occasionally a few grouse or a turkey to fill in; 
in fact, many hunters have been amply repaid 
for their untiring efforts in the pine thickets 
or the brush in securing an occasional "moss 
head” or a big bronze turkey. Wild turkeys 
have been even more plentiful this year than 
in many previous years. 
Oral Oaks, while situated back in the hills 
and woods, is a favorite rendezvous for North¬ 
ern hunters who have learned of its attractions 
in various ways and come here to hunt quail 
and turkey. This season has brought many 
here. Among the more recent ones were Messrs. 
Graves, Pierce and Purdy from Greene, N. Y., 
and William Armstrong from Hoboken, N. J. 
They arrived about Dec. 10 and spent two weeks 
in the vicinity of Oral Oaks, meeting with ex¬ 
cellent success. During their stay they bagged 
about two hundred quail besides other game. 
They brought two pointers and one of the best 
setters that ever went afield. They were genial 
gentlemen and made many friends while here. 
It wps while on one of their hunting trips 
that a pair of fine turkeys was flushed near 
the “Haunted House” on Sheads Creek, which 
gave them no little sport and furnished the 
ground work at least for a good practical joke 
which was nicely carried out on the following day. 
The turkeys, which flushed wild, were marked 
down in a thick clump of pines, and the party 
arranged for an early start on the following 
morning, their hopes of success being greatly 
strengthened by glowing tales of turkey hunts 
told by Guide La Foure. 
Morning dawned, but a heavy rain prevented 
an early start and Pierce and Graves were the 
only ones to accompany La Foure. Now it is 
a rather uncertain proposition to capture a wild 
turkey, and realizing this a wag named Quinn, 
who hangs around the lumber camp at which 
the gentlemen boarded, saw an opportunity to 
play a good joke on the two sportsmen. Quinn 
had an old hen turkey which gave promise of 
fun. He arranged with Guide La Foure as to 
the location, and before the hunters had left 
camp he was there with the old hen turkey and 
had her nicely located in the pine thicket where 
the turkey had been “marked down” on the 
previous evening. La Foure took his party to 
the quarry and soon the put, put, of the game 
was heard. After a half hour’s careful stalk¬ 
ing on the part of Pierce and Graves the for¬ 
mer located the game in a pine tree, some ten 
feet directly over his head, and brought her to 
bag. A prouder man than Pierce never trod 
the soil of old Virginia. He toted that old hen 
to camp, and under the supervision of Pierce 
an old colored mammy, who said it "looked a 
heap sight like Massa Quinn’s old hen,” re¬ 
moved the intestines and stuffed it nicely with 
charcoal in readiness for the journey north the 
following day, where we assume it graced the 
table of its proud captor on Christmas day, sur¬ 
rounded by admiring friends of Mr. Pierce who 
doubtless enjoyed their praise of his prowess. 
Thompson. 
At Faraway Birds. 
Milford, Conn., Feb. 25.- —Editor Forest and 
Stream: Mr. George L. Carter, of Lincoln, 
Neb., criticizes Mr. S. T. Hammond’s writings, 
especially his advice to shoot at partridges to 
make'them lie better at the next point. This is 
done by myself, and nine out of ten gunners in 
our town, and over most of the State, so far as 
I have observed. One of our best shots and 
partridge hunters always shoots to make them lie 
even if they are not near enough to kill at the 
first rise. 
The shooting in Nebraska is altogether differ¬ 
ent. I have shot through Iowa, Nebraska and 
Kansas, going overland in a prairie schooner, 
and have shot all kinds of game, more especially 
the chicken Mr. Carter speaks of. Now, does, or 
did any hunter ever drive, or scatter in the heat 
of the day chickens so they would lie, so that 
you can pick them up one by one? 
Thirty years ago I was one of those pot¬ 
hunters Mr. Carter speaks of right in Nebraska, 
and at Lincoln. I was in business on Ninth 
street near O, and I had one of the ‘best dogs 
in the State, as Ed Bond or Mr. Caldwell, if 
living there now will testify, and neither I nor 
my dog could stand hunting chickens in the heat 
of the day unless in winter, as the dust in the 
grass and the hot sun were more than man or 
beast could stand. There was no shelter, not a 
tree, and but very little water, and most of that 
we carried in large top cans for our dogs. What 
is more to the purpose, at midday the chicks do 
not have to be scared to lie low. It is almost im¬ 
possible to find them at that time. Early morn¬ 
ing—the earlier the better—when they are strutt¬ 
ing on the hills, hundreds of them, getting ready 
for the grain fields; and then again at 4 o’clock 
in the afternoon, are the times to shoot chickens, 
not in the middle of the day. I know this for a 
fact, for I have shot them for Chicago market, 
also hotels in Lincoln and other places. 
I have been to Lincoln twice since I was there 
thirty years ago, and found the shooting almost 
as bad as it is here at the present time. I see by 
our friend’s letter he did a little of this slaugh¬ 
tering the first day out, but has given it up. Kind 
of hard to resist, isn’t it? I like our friend S. T. 
Hammond’s writings, there is so much truth in 
the way he puts it. Frank S. Downs. 
All the game laws of the United States and 
Canada, revised to date and now in force, are 
given in the Game Laws in Brief. See adv. 
Shooting Licenses. 
New York, March 2.— Editor Forest and 
Str earn: Mr. Raymond S. Spears, in his article 
on gun licenses in a recent issue of Forest 
and Stream, writes as though the Adirondacks 
were still in their primitive condition. As a 
matter of fact, no man who wishes to enjoy 
wild nature would think of going there, but 
would start for Mexico or the far Northwest. 
Under the changed conditions of the last 
twenty years a gun license has become of the 
utmost necessity if we wish to save what little 
wild game we have left from the pot-hunting 
alien. In Connecticut such licenses were re¬ 
quired last autumn and proved a vast benefit. 
As to the Adirondack woodsman being a 
friend, I must say that with the exception of 
those living in the southwestern portion of the 
Adirondack region, I have never seen a more 
reckless lot of men. If the noble woodsmen who 
are howling against preserves would stop jack¬ 
ing and hounding deer in the Long Lake and 
Saranac region in July and August, the city 
sportsman might take a little more stock in him. 
As to a license taking the zest away from 
shooting a grouse or a deer, why I think my¬ 
self that that in itself might be an advantage in 
the present dearth of grouse and well grown 
bucks. 
As to the cowardly murder of Mr. Dexter 
being a warning to property owners that no 
private property is sacred to the owners, we in 
New York city are at times in danger of death 
at the hands of house breakers, but we still try 
to defend our homes instead of throwing open 
our doors to the sneak thief and burglar. 
I have hunted in many States of our Union 
and in Canada and killed one or more of nearly 
every game bird and animal. In many States 
I have taken out nonresident licenses and com¬ 
plied with various laws, such as hiring a resi¬ 
dent licensed guide, etc., but I have certainly 
never felt aggrieved because the State asked 
me to pay for endeavoring to reduce to my 
possession the wild animals belonging to the 
State. 
As to training our boys to shoot, we can do 
it far better by target practice on public or 
private ranges or at the trap than by permitting 
them to wander about the countryside killing 
useful birds and small animals. 
The man or woman who wishes to kill should 
pay for that privilege, and not the far greater 
number who enjoy the forest and lake, but do 
their hunting with a camera. 
Joseph E. Bulkley. 
Professor Osthaus will Stay. 
Prof. Edmund LI. Osthaus, the famous 
painter of field scenes, depicting sport with dog 
and gun, has decided to prolong his sojourn in 
New York, and will continue his study at the 
Hotel San Remo till May 1. While at the re¬ 
cent field trials, he accepted many commissions 
to paint winning dogs, of which one, Count 
Whitestone II., won the championship. 
