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PO! THE
merican Sportsman
HINTS TO SPORTSMEN, NOTES ON SHOOTING,
AND TIE HABITS OF THE
Game Hirds and Colity Fowl of America,
BY ga
ee
ELISHA J. LEWIS, M.D.
MEMBER OF THE AMERICAN PHILOSOPHICAL SOCIETY” MEMBER OF THE ACADEMY OF NATURAL SCIENCES
OF PHILADELPHIA, AMERICAN EDITOR OF ‘*YOUATT ON THE DOG,” ETC. ETC.
WITH NUMEROUS ILLUSTRATIONS.
Designed by Greorge G&, TUhite—Hngrabved bn Louderback & Woflfmann.
PHILADELPHIA:
Jam: AL) PAN OOR TT & Oo
18o7.
satered according to act of Congress, in the year 1856, hy
J. B. LIPPINCOTT & CO.
in the Clerk's Office of the Distiict Court of the United States for the Eastern District of
Pennsylvania.
TO
Dae MOT CE a. Moy
YPROFESSOR OF THE PRACTICE OF MEDICINE IN THE JEFFERSON MEDICAL COLLEGE
OF PHILADELPHIA,
Chis dlork on Sporting
IS RESPECTFULLY DEDICATED
BY HIS FRIEND AND FORMER PUPIL,
ELISHA J. LEWIS, M.D.
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My pear Doctor :—
A Few months only have elapsed since the appearance
of the second edition of my book on Sporting; and the pub-
lishers, much to my gratification, notify me that they are once
more in need of another supply. To this flattering appeal
I most cheerfully assent, and trust that you will again find
the volume, on this its third advent, much improved, as a
number of illustrations have been added and the text some-
what enlarged.
With sentiments of the warmest esteem, I am, in all
sincerity,
My dear Doctor,
Most truly and faithfully yours,
ELISHA J. LEWIS.
To Proressor J. K. MItTcHELL.
PREFACE
TO: TELA DY DherEO i.
~ 2 N intelligent, observant sportsman,
hg whether he be a votary of the genile
craft, or a zealous advocate of the dog
and gun, instinctively—yes, oftentimes
- without being in the least conscious
of it himself—becomes an impassioned
admirer of nature and nature’s works
<<
a> \ S&S ° 4 e
iS SAS SEN in her most varied and _ attractive
SW SF m
forms.
It is not, as many narrow-minded astutes ignorantly sup-
pose, the mere slaughter of the timorous partridge which so
early calls him forth to the stubble-field; neither is it the
coveted possession of the savory woodcock that lures him to
the entangled brake; nor is it the soaring wisps of fickle
snipes which alone entice him to the oozy meadows; nor
yet the booming grouse that makes him climb the mountain-
side or seek the far-off rolling prairie.
There are other incentives, other charms, besides these,
O ye incredulous, pent-up inhabitants of a crowded city,
which impel the sportsman, as with a siren’s wand, to hie
joyfully away with dog and gun to the fields, to the hills, to
the rich autumn-tinted forests.
Our sportsman has become an admirer of nature; he has
xi
xl PREFACE TO THE THIRD EDITION.
learned to appreciate the quiet beauties of a wide-extended
landscape as it spreads out majestically before him; he views
with enthusiastic delight the startling grandeur of a mountain-
gorge as it suddenly bursts upon his sight; he wanders in
silent satisfaction through the murmuring forests of stately
oaks, and lingers for a while in pleasant meditation ere he
leaps the noisy gurgling streamlet that coquettishly crosses
his path.
Then, resting for a time from his pursuits, our happy
sportsman plucks a half-hidden flower from its heathery bed,
listens to the far-resounding echoes of the unerring gun, joins
the merry laugh of his boon-companions, or returns the wild
halloo of approaching friends.
Now again he slakes his burning thirst with the sparkling
waters of a mountain-spring, or laves his manly brow with the
crystal drops from the purling rill that so musically babbles at
his very feet; and, giving full freedom to those warmer senti-
ments of the heart which too often become choked and stifled
by the close contact of selfish city life, he breathes a prayer
of gratitude to a beneficent Providence for all these enjoy-
ments, for all these pleasurable sensations.
To the fields, then,—to the bright and beautiful fields,—to
the forests, all clothed in the gorgeous livery of the winter’s
frosts,—to the mountains, rich in eternal verdure,—to the
limpid streams and gushing rills,—do we once more invite you,
to spend those flitting hours of leisure vouchsafed to us all
amid the busy scenes of active life.
My pear Docror :—
I am fully conscious of the fact that it does not seem well
in the present age for an author to appear egotistical, and
it therefore becomes him even far less to allude to his own
productions in terms of praise or commendation ; but still I
may, I trust, in this instance at least, be pardoned for ex-
pressing a conviction that you will be much gratified with the
new dress that my volume on Sporting has assumed on this
its second advent.
I beg particularly to call your attention to my Introduction
to this second edition, which, in connection with some other
matters, explains the motives that impelled me to change the
title of my book, and of which I dare hope you will equally
approve.
In its present improved form and attractive gear, I flatter
myself that the ‘American Sportsman’’ will give increased
satisfaction to my sporting friends, and withal again afford
you an hour or so of pleasant relaxation from the more severe
studies and weighty responsibilities which your eminent posi-
tion in the profession necessarily imposes upon you.
With many more kind wishes, and with sentiments of high
esteem and great personal regard, I have much pleasure as
well as pride in subscribing myself, as ever,
My dear doctor,
Most truly and faithfully yours,
ELISHA J. LEWIS.
To Proressor J. K. MItTcHELt.
xiii
PREFACE
TO THE SECOND EDITION.
E must confess that it was with some
degree of surprise, as well as plea-
sure, that we learned from our pub-
lishers that they were so soon ready
to enter into an arrangement with us
for a second edition of our “ Hints to
Sportsmen,” as it was a gratifying
assurance, on their part, that the
unpretending volume which we had
sent forth from the press with many misgivings as to its
merits had met with a kind and liberal reception from those
for whom we had in our hours of leisure compiled it.
It would be affectation in us not to acknowledge that it was
with considerable satisfaction we observed from time to time
the many flattering reviews and complimentary notices which
appeared in the various journals in reference to our work.
We sincerely trust that on this, its second advent, in an entirely
new as well as doubly attractive garb, we will meet with the
like good treatment from our friends of the press. We can
assure all our readers that nothing has been wanting on our
part to render the volume still more instructive and interest-
ing, both as regards the style of getting-up and the additional
matter inserted.
KV
XV1 PREFACE TO THE SECOND EDITION.
There additions, however, though numerous, have been in
most instances ingrafted so insidiously on the old text that
they can scarcely be discerned, save by those who may have
felt their deficiency in the first edition, and will now, we trust,
in the present volume, find a portion at least of these defects
supplied.
In accordance with the repeated suggestions of some of our
sporting friends, we have deemed it advisable to change the
title of our book from ‘“ Hints To SportsMEN”’ to that of the
‘¢ AMERICAN SPORTSMAN.”
The former appellation, considering the great variety of
subjects introduced, and the copiousness with which many
of them are treated, seemed rather too restricted in its signi-
fication, and far less comprehensive in its general bearing
than a work of this character merited. Besides all this, the
large additions as well as alterations that we have made in the
present volume seemed still further to urge upon us the
propriety of this change, and more especially as the work in its
entirely new and beautiful dress can scarcely be regarded as
the same book, or even recognised as the offspring of the first
edition. We cannot refrain from calling the attention of our
sporting friends to the wood-cuts of the various game-birds,
most of which, in point of execution, have not been equalled,
let alone excelled, by any thing of the kind before done in
this country.
To the Messrs. Louderback and Hoffmann we are indebted
for the skill and faithfulness with which they have accom-
plished their portion of the work, and we cheerfully acknow-
ledge that their great attention to our suggestions, coupled
with a becoming ambition on their part to do what would be
creditable to themselves, relieved us of much trouble as well
as anxiety. Of the truthfulness of these engravings to nature
we need say but little, as they speak for themselves, the most
of them being really very lifelike both in position and ex-
pression. We may remark, however, en passant, that every
PREFACE TO THE SECOND EDITION. XVil
bird and every fowl was sketched from choice specimens
obtained from the AcapEMy oF NatURAL Scrences, or from
other equally good sources; and in almost every instance,
the drawings were subjected to the approval of our much-
esteemed friend, John Cassin, Esq., before the blocks were
placed in the hands of the engravers.
This latter circumstance alone should of itself be a
sufficient guarantee of their correctness, as every one at
all conversant with science well knows of Mr. Cassin’s
rare acquirements in this particular department of Natural
History.
And we now gladly avail of this opportune occasion to
make our public acknowledgments to this gentleman for
his many valuable suggestions in reference to the execution
of these drawings, the securing of which, by-the-by, has
been by far the most difficult—in fact, we may freely say,
the only unpleasant as well as vexatious—portion of our
task. We also return thanks to Mr. John Krider for his
generous aid in supplying us with the skins of several
specimens of birds, which assisted materially in insuring
correct drawings.
This is not the only good service which Mr. Krider has
done us as well as the rest of the craft during the last year;
for, independently of the many fine guns that he has turned
out from his workshop, he has, with the valuable assistance
of his friend, Mr. H. M. Klapp, furnished us with his “ Sport-
ing Anecdotes,’ a book replete not only with amusing but
very instructive information regarding the habits of our
game-birds, sporting-dogs, &c. Ke.
Mr. George G. White, the principal draughtsman, and,
I may say, pupil, of Mr. Cassin’s in this particular kind of
drawing, has displayed much taste as well as artistic skill
in his delineations of the birds; and we doubt if he has any
superior, if equal, on our side of the vasty deep in this spe-
cial branch of designing. His chapter-headings and many
9
-
XVili PREFACE TO THE SECOND EDITION.
of the vignettes are also spirited and characteristic; the title-
page of the four seasons, and frontispiece, are very pleasing
compositions, and give still further evidences of his talent and
genius as an artist.
With these few comments, we again send our volume forth
from the press, trusting, as before, far more to the well-known
generosity of the craft for its kind reception, than to any great merit
of its own, but at the same time bearing in mind the good old
Latin proverb, that—‘“Frustra laborat qui omnibus placere
studet.”’
My pEAR Doctor :—
ALTHOUGH we have never flushed the covey, started the
woodcock, or winged the wild duck, in company, yet I know
full well your partiality for the country, as also your early
fondness for field and rural sports; and, if you had not been
so early engrossed by professional duties, I doubt not that
you would have been the foremost among those who derive
so much enjoyment and healthful recreation from the dog
and gun.
Be not surprised, therefore, my dear sir, that, without any
previous intimation, I should dedicate this volume to you;
and at the time rest assured that, in so doing, I am not alone
influenced by those early feelings of friendship naturally
engendered by your many kindnesses to me while a student
in your office, but I beg rather to present it as a slight token
of the high appreciation I entertain of your varied talents and
distinguished worth in the profession of which you are so
successful a teacher and practitioner.
Accept, then, dear sir, this little tribute of esteem from one
who has ever regarded the period of his association with you
when a pupil as a bright spot in the vista of life, to which he
ever refers with peculiar feelings of pleasure ; and, in conclusion,
Believe me, my dear doctor,
Very faithfully yours,
ELISHA J. LEWIS.
To Proressor J. K. MItTcHELt.
xix
PREFACE
TO. THE, FIRS LJ HDILION.
2
HE lovers of the dog and gun are
under many and great obligations to
Henry William Herbert, Esq., for his
most excellent works on Sporting,
which speak for themselves and need
no commendation from our pen. They
abound in information and research
which few have had so great opportu-
nities of collecting or so much talent to put together. We also
owe much to William T. Porter, Esq., for his valuable and
beautiful edition of ‘Hawker ;” and we should not forget to
thank J. 8S. Skinner, Esq.,* for his many contributions to the
same branch of literature. The general favor which the pro-
ductions of these gentlemen have met with from the public
has the more emboldened us to venture forth with this unpre-
tending volume, trusting, however, far more to the well-known
generosity of “the craft” for its kind reception than to any
great merit of its own.
We shall not, in a short preface like this, attempt to offer,
for the consideration of our readers, any thing like an eulo-
* Since writing the above, Mr. Skinner has been gathered to his fathers, ripe
in years and full of honors. His contributions to the cause of agriculture, rural
sports, and other kindred subjects, were numerous, and insured for him a wide-
extended and well-deserved reputation throughout our country.
xxi
XXil PREFACE TO THE FIRST EDITION.
gium upon field-sports; nor shall we endeavor to exhibit to
the world the many benefits and advantages to be derived
from the general encouragement of these healthful pursuits.
We beg merely to remind the student of science, the
cunning expounder of Blackstone, the deeply-read follower
of Galen, the shrewd devotee of commerce, as well as the
most skilful and industrious of artisans, that their intellectual
powers demand some remission of their labors, and that their
physical energies also need a certain degree of recreation or
resuscitation to enable them to pursue those studies and attain
those ends which stern necessity or exalted ambition prompts
them to undertake.
How, then, or where, then, may we ask, can this relaxation
of the mind as well as of the body be more agreeably obtained
than in the open fields and beautiful forests of our favored
country? There, and there alone, far away from the busy
throngs of selfish men, wandering with some favored friend,
in sweet communion with the green fields, the stately forests,
and limpid streams, the mind of the most grave and studious
becomes truly unbent and freed from its labors. There the
heart beats with renewed vigor, the blood courses through its
usually sluggish channels with a quickened pace, and the
whole animal as well as intellectual economy becomes sharp-
ened and revivified under exciting and healthful influences.
Add, then, to this scene the eager sportsman, surrounded
by his faithful and sagacious dogs; call up the sharp echo of
the unerring gun; recollect the plaintive call of the timid
partridge, the startling whirr of the affrighted pheasant, the
rapid flight of the lonely woodcock, the devious course of
the fickle snipe, or, perchance, the sudden rush of the skulking
hare, and the picture is complete. Then tell us whether such
scenes as these are not calculated to enliven the mind, expand
the energies, and not only bring the glow of health to the
cheek of youth, but infuse renewed vigor into the very soul
of the infirm and sedentary.
PREFACE TO THE FIRST EDITION. XXill
Is there not a time when the wan-faced student of science
may neglect for a while the sickly flickerings of the midnight
lamp? Is there not a time when the learned counsellor may
escape the wranglings, the jeerings, the bitter feuds of the
halls of justice? And is there not a moment of leisure, an
hour of repose, when the skilful physician may turn a deaf
ear to the harassing solicitations of suffering humanity, and
draw for a brief period the curtain of oblivion around the
couch of disease and death ?
Yes! there is a time for all these; and there is a time when
even the anxious, upright, and enterprising merchant may,
for a brief period, while quaffing, as it were, the fabled waters
of Lethe, forget the perplexities of commerce, the fluctuations
of trade, the uncertainty of riches, and remain even unmindful
of his gallant ships, that come bounding across the briny deep,
heavily freighted with the fine wares of the North, the South,
the East, and the West.
Yes! there is a time, thanks to the noble founders of our
liberal institutions, when even the industrious artisan, freed
from all care and anxiety, may forget the labors and duties
of the shop, and wander forth to enjoy the works of nature
and learn more highly to appreciate the boon of freedom,
his country’s dearest gift.
To the fields, then,—to the bright and beautiful fields,—with
“dog and gun,” do we invite you, one and all, to spend those
hours of leisure and participate in those innocent enjoyments
so captivating to a true sportsman.
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Accum, 463.
comments on the gluttony of Sa-
vages, 463.
comments on the pleasures of the
table, 463.
comments on the frozen markets
of St. Petersburg and Moscow,
467.
Achilles, the bravery of, 430.
Act of Assembly, 93.
against killing game in Delaware, 93.
against killing game in Illinois and
other Western States, 93.
against killing game in Maryland,
93.
against killing game in New Jersey,
93.
against killing game in Pennsylvania,
93
Africa, guns made for, 448.
Age of the Dog, 509.
Ah-bob-white, 75.
Ajax, the bravery of, 430.
Alexander the Great: superstitious dread
of gunpowder, 430.
Ambush, erected on the flats, 292.
how constructed, 292.
Amputate the wing of a wounded bird,
how to, 491.
Anecdote, snipe-shooting, 203.
swan-shooting, 298.
punters’—of frozen ducks, 299.
of Colonel Hawker, 302.
Apicius, extraordinary feast of, 464.
Apollonius Tyanus, refers to gun-
powder, 430.
Philostratus, historian of, 480.
Audubon, description of driving Par-
tridges, 94.
description of the Wild Tur-
key, 127.
observations on the migrations
of Squirrels, 359.
comments on cooking game,
473.
Auriculars, ear-coverts, their position
and use, 34.
Auri sacra fames of the present day,
93.
Aztecs, Wild Turkey domesticated among,
138
B
Baccuvs, Egyptian, repulsed with gun-
powder, 430.
Backwoodsmen of America, 51.
their exploits with the
rifle, 51.
killing Squirrels and Wild
Turkeys, 51.
Bacon, Friar, his knowledge of gun-
powder, 430.
Bald-pate, (see Widgeon,) 311.
Barnyard Ducks, fed on celery, 272.
Barrels, leading of, how freed, 398.
Bar-shooting, 297.
Bartram, statement respecting young
Rails, 220.
Bastard-wing, description of, 34.
Bats, acute sensation of, 38.
Battery, description of, 283.
great numbers of ducks shot
from, 284.
mode of building, 286.
explanation of the model, 288.
Beetle or Bull-head, (see Plover,) 249.
Bears, in lowa, 63.
large numbers destroyed, 91.
Beef, Sportsman’s, how made, 481.
Birds, batting, 189.
flesh of, made poisonous, 78.
measurement of, 36.
moulting, 38.
nocturnal, 37.
serpents charming, 73.
technical terms applied to, 33.
Black or Dusky Duck, 322.
well known in ihe
market, 322.
habits and description, 323.
Black-bellied Plover, (see Plover,) 248.
XXV
Philadelphia
Xxvi
INDEX.
Blain—directions for polishing rust from | Canvas-back—continued.
gun-barrels, 401.
Blow, treatment of, 504.
Bob-o-link, (see Reed-Bird, ) 210.
Boots, shooting, 388.
best kind, 389.
receipts for dressing, 392.
Boswell—comments on Dr. Johnson’s eat-
ing, 459.
Both eyes open, 60.
Bowles, Mr., description of the feeding
of Woodcocks, 173.
Box, (see Battery, ) 283.
Brace or couple, what is understood by
a, 41.
Brant or Brent, Barnacle Goose, 335.
Anas Bernicla—habits— haunts,
335.
how killed—description, 336.
a gang of, 42.
Brewer—observation on the ventrilo-
quism of Rails, 221.
Brown, Captain—his work on Taxidermy,
488.
Brown thickening for game, 480.
Bryan, George H.—a Rail captured at
sea, 221.
Buffel-headed Duek—Butter-ball, 320.
Anas Albeola, 320.
habits, haunts, and description,
321.
Buffaloes—great numbers destroyed, 91.
Buffon—opinion as to the origin of the
Wild Turkey, 138.
statement respecting White Par-
tridges, 84.
Bull or Beetle-head, (see Plover,) 249,
Burlington, lowa, 89
large numbers of Partidges
netted in neighborhood of,
89
Burn, how to be treated, 506.
Bursting of guns, 418.
Bush River—toling ducks on, 278.
Butter-ball, (see Buffel-headed Duck,)
820.
C
CanapA GoossE, (see Goose,) 329.
Grouse, 164.
Grouse met with in, 164.
Canard Cheyal, 272.
Cannon, antiquity of, 482.
Canvas-back, 267.
Anas Valisineria, 267.
their great repute, 267.
testimony of Wilson as to their
peculiar delicacy, 268.
known only in America, 268.
description, history, and habits,
268.
their food and haunts, 270.
shyness and modes of taking,
273.
toling, boating, netting, 274.
use of dug-outs, 281.
batteries, surface-boats, or sinks,
283.
description of batteries, 286.
decoys, 290.
ambush on the flats, 292.
shooting off points, 293.
holes in the ice, 295.
point and bar-shooting, 296.
anecdote, 298.
art of shooting, 299.
verses descriptive of, 304.
Cap-chargers, 376.
Cap, Napoleon, 385.
Caps, Percussion, varieties of, 378.
Carolina, Reed-Birds in, 214.
Snipe in, 194.
Cartridges, extensively used, 377.
how made and when service-
able, 378.
Eley’s patent, 380.
Celery sauce, how made, 478.
Ceylon, Snipes in, 194.
Citizens encourage killing game out of
season, 92,
should discountenance game sup-
pers, 93.
Chandler., M. T. W.—
observations on Woodcocks,
170.
observations on the haunts of
Woodcocks, 182.
receipts for making water-
proof dressing for boots,
394.
Charadrius Apricarius, (see Black-Bellied
Plover,) 248.
Pluyvialis, (see Golden Plover, )
250.
Charles the First—
small-arms in the reign of, 435.
Charming birds, serpents, 72.
Chesapeake Bay—
partridges caught on the shores
of the, 88.
as a resort of wild fowl, 262.
various kinds of Ducks on, 262.
exciting times on, 263.
present and future numbers of
wild fowl on, 305.
China, gunpowder known in, 429.
Chinese, gunpowder known to, 429.
food of the, 464.
gunpowder used by the, 431.
Clapper Rail, (see Rallus Crepitans, ) 237
Clean guns, 386.
INDEX.
Clerks of the market blind as bats, 92.
Club-houses—encourage killing of game
out of season, 92.
Coat, made of fustian, 385.
made of woollen cloth, 385.
Cocking the gun, 364.
Cock, part of the machinery of a gun,
377.
Coffin-hoat, description of, 283.
Columbia River, Ruffed Grouse on the
ranges of, 143.
Pinnated Grouse abun-
dant about, 159.
Columbia migratoria—Wild Pigeon, 265.
Collum, the neck, 36.
Conquest of Mexico—Wild Turkey men-
tioned by Prescott, 138.
Constantinople—British cruisers visited,
137.
Coolness and deliberation, necessity of,
importance of, 52.
Cooking, art of—game, 458,
‘“*God sends meat, who”—458.
Rumford’s philosophic remarks
on, 458.
Mayo’s, Dr., remarks on, 459,
importance of good, 460.
authors’ views and sentiments,
459,
Johnson’s, Dr., comments on,
459.
further comments on the im-
portance of good, 460.
authors’ remarks on, 461.
Accum’s remarks on, 463.
among the Romans, 464.
among the Chinese, 464,
comments of Louis Eustache
Ude, 465.
to select game, and when to
cook it, 466.
frozen game, 467.
to roast game, larded, broiled,
469.
boiled game, and some other
ways, 471.
Snipe, Woodcock, Plover, Phea-
sants, 472.
Reed-Birds, Rail, and other
kinds of game, 474.
Wild Fowl, 477.
Canvas-backs, 477.
further remarks on, 478.
brown thickening for, 480.
potatoes dla maitre d’hoétel, 480.
Venison soup, 481.
Sportsman’s Beef, 481.
Hares, Rabbits, or Squirrels,
482.
Copple, Daniel, white Snipe killed by, 208.
XXV1i
Corns on the feet, how cured, 501.
Corona—crown of the head, 3d.
Couple or Brace, explanation of, 41.
Coyert-shooting, rules for, 59.
Cross-shooting, or cross-shots, 56.
rules for, 56.
Curlew, Esquimaux or Short-billed Cur-
lew, 241.
Scolopax Borealis, 241.
nomenclature and history, 241.
migrations, food, 242.
their flesh, and time to shoot
them, 2438.
Curlew, Long-billed or Sickle-bill—
Numenius Longirostris, 245,
habits and description, 245.
Cygnus Americana, (see Swan, ) 337.
D
DanieL, Rey. Wu. B.—
fecundity of the English Par-
tridge referred to by, 70.
several white Partidges men-
tioned by, 83.
description of English Pochard,
308.
receipt for gun-ointment, 400.
Damascus gun-harrels, 454,
Decoys, best kind, price of, 290.
Deer, abundant in Iowa, 63.
great numbers destroyed, 91.
Delaware—game ordinances, 93.
Woodcock in, 170.
good shooting, 109.
Snipes in, 200.
Willet’s frequent, 254,
Reed-Birds on river, 212.
Diet and Drink—
effect of exercise on, 497.
unadulterated water, 497.
eat and drink with moderation,
497,
avoid debauch and various liquors,
497.
avoid bad liquors; how to avoid,
498.
water-drinkers, 498.
Distances on the water very deceptive,
264.
Doe-bird, 247.
Dogs, terms applicable to, 40.
Youatt on the, best work on, 48.
type of all that is noble, 44.
fidelity of, 44.
disinterested attachment of, 44.
exalted above all other animals, £5
their social position, 45.
the associate of man, 45.
guardian of his flocks, 45.
forgiving spirit, 45.
XXVI1 INDEX.
Dogs—continued. Edward III. uses gunpowder, 482.
abandonment of all his race, 45. guns in the reign of, 484.
humility, companionship, 45. Eggs, eating Partridge, 90.
joy and sorrow of, 45. should be discountenanced, 91.
Walter Scott’s account of a, 45. preserving, shells, 489.
how to treat, 113. Egypt, Snipe in, 194.
feed them yourself; reasons for, | Egyptian Hercules, 430.
114, Eley’s patent cartridge, 380.
how to enter—on the field, 115. Elizabeth Island, Pinnated Grouse on,
proper manner to hunt, 115. 159.
half broken, young, and heedless, | Elk River—
115. immense drove of partridges en-
good, young, old, 116. countered in the neighborhood
timid, bold, 116. of, 81.
correction of, 117. their singular actions, 82.
never kick or shoot, 117. Elizabeth, Queen, uses gunpowder, 432.
act of pointing in, second nature, guns in the reign of, 434.
England, efforts to introduce the Ameri-
not to flush the game, 118. can Partridge into, 96.
should find the dead bird, 119. Woodcock-shooting in, 191.
should be made to couch, 119. Land-Rail or Corn-Crake of,
retrievers difficult to train, 119. Pale
to make—gentle with game, 121. Water-Crake or Spotted Rail
should hunt up wounded or dead of yZiie
game, 121. gun-makers of, 435.
how to hunt, 122. guns imported from, 439.
when—come to a point, 123. cost of gunsimported from, 439.
oceasionally at fault, 123. Epicurus, followers of, 267.
English not equalto American, 124, | Epreuvette, or powder-prover, 411.
accidental death of a, 207. Eye, pupil of the, 35.
to tell the age of, 509. seldom wrong, 52.
Domery, Charles, celebrated glutton, 464. seldom at fault, 53.
his wonderful feats of eating, 464. how to treat a wounded, 507.
Domestic animals— Kyre, J. M., exploits in Rail shooting,
their attachment and forced sub- 230.
mission, 46.
how different from the dog, 46. EF
Down charge, 41. .
Dubuque, immense load of game carried | FEATHERS—rump or upper tail-coverts,
35
into, 63. ;
Ducks, art of shooting, 299. their position, character, and
toling, 274. use, 35.
further instructions on shooting, stronger in proportion to the
301. habits of the bird, 35.
Duck Island, experiments at, 265. how formed in the Woodpecker
Duckers, hints for, 264. tribe, 35.
Dug-outs, description of, 281. how formed in the Water-Fowl,
Dun-birds of England, 308. 35.
Dupont, gunpowder made by, 407. acts as a rudder, 39.
composition and superiority of, | Feathers—vent or under tail coverts, 35.
407. their position and character, 35.
Dusking, as applied to Wild-Fowl shoot- Bae on some Birds than others,
ing, 323. E
Dusky Duck, (see Black Duck), 822. how developed in the Rallus Ca-
rolinus, 36.
E Feathers—sensation in, 37.
delicate impressions conveyed
East, Wild Turkey not a native of the, by, 37.
136. nice organization of, in noctur-
Eating-saloons encourage killing of game nal birds, 37.
out of season, 92. Feathers, shedding of, 38.
INDEX.
Feathers—continued.
accidents to, 38.
moulting of, 38.
Field, taking the, 112.
verses descriptive of the sports of
the, 112.
Field or Grass Plover, 257.
Figure-of-4 trap—
taking Partridges with a, 90.
Flasks, powder, 369.
various kinds of, in use, 369.
caution in the use of, 369.
patent, 370.
Flight, velocity of, 265.
experiments to prove the velocity
of, 265.
Flexure—bend of the wing, 35.
Florida, Snipes in, 197.
Canvas-backs in, 272.
Folly Island, numbers of Curlew on,
245.
Fontainebleau, escape of a Falcon from,
266.
Forrester, Frank—opinion on Woodcocks,
175.
observations on the
note of the Snipe,
196.
Fowler—an English writer, 63.
opinion of American Sporting,
63.
how unjust, 63.
Fowler, a celebrated Rail-pusher, 227.
France, gun-barrels imported from, 447,
Frederick the Great required little sleep,
500.
Freiburg, monument erected at, 432,
Frons—forehead, 35.
Frost Birds, 250.
Frozen Game, 467.
G
GaALfiRin DES OrsEAuX, Viellot’s, 175.
Gallinaceous order, noise made by the,
82.
Galveston Bay, Canvas-backs in, 272.
Game of all descriptions abundant, 91.
recklessly destroyed, 92.
illegal traffic in, 92.
ordinances against selling, 92,
ordinances a dead letter, 92.
hawkers of, 92.
their disregard of ordinances, 92.
predictions regarding, 104.
probable abundance of, 104.
probable scarcity of, 104.
Ganges, the river, 430.
Gauge for Powder and Shot, 381.
description of, 381.
Geese, terms applicable to, 42.
XX1X
Georgia, Ruffed Grouse in, 143.
Georgia, Reed-Birds in, 214.
German Jiigers, good marksmen, 51.
Germany, guns imported from, 441.
Giraud—description of King Rail, 235.
statement about Curlew, 245.
Gilman, Dr.—
article on venomous snakes, 74.
curious experiments on snakes, 74.
Gloves, use of, 363.
importance of wearing, 363.
Gluttony among savages, 463.
Godman—comments on the migrations
of squirrels, 359,
Good shooting, 112.
Good shot, 48.
Golden Plover, 250.
Goose, Canada, 329.
Anas Canadensis, 329.
habits and haunts, 329.
great numbers killed by the In
dians, 330.
Pennat’s account of
330.
easily domesticated, 331.
how killed, 332.
description, 332.
Goose, Snow, 333.
Anas hyperborea, 333.
habits and haunts, 333.
description, 333.
laughing or grinning,
Gratz, David—
White Partridge in his possession,
84.
Grass or Field Plover, 251.
Greener—comments on gun-locks, 405.
observations on loading guns,
415,
remarks on brazing guns, 446,
Grouse, terms applicable to, 41.
numbers killed, 91.
cooking, 472.
Pinnated, 156.
Prairie Chicken or Hen, 156.
Tetrao cupido, 156.
deseription of, 157.
location, 157.
period of pairing, 159.
tooting of the, 159.
Audubon’s remarks, 159,
domestication of. 161.
flight of the, 162.
feeding and roosting, 162.
time for shooting, 163.
other varieties, 164.
Ruffed, 143.
Pheasant, 143.
Tetrao Umbellus, 143.
locality and nomenclature,
description of, 144. ,
shooting,
334.
Grouse,
Grouse,
143.
INDEX.
Grouse—continued.
confounded with Prairie Chicken,
145.
their gradual destruction, 145,
incubation and drumming, 146.
their battles and migrations, 147.
flight of the, 148.
habits, 149.
their flesh poisonous, 149.
enemies of the, 150.
their flesh, 150.
a feast of English, 151.
modes of shooting, 151.
treeing, 152.
shooting, with a setter, 153.
snares, ete., 154.
Gun—
selecting a, 49.
handling the, 49.
nicety of shooting with, 51.
exploits with, 51.
proper handling of, 57.
never beat bushes with, 60.
cannot be too careful with, 60.
importance of clean, 386.
to clean, 396.
properly loading, 414.
Greener’s remarks on, 415.
size and bore of, 416.
bursting of, 418.
experiments on recoil, 418.
recoil in, 424.
Commodore Stockton’s experiments
on recoil, 426.
authors’ views, 427.
its various parts, 433.
second-rate, 433.
when first invented, 433.
in the reign of Elizabeth, 433.
in the reign of Henry VIIL., 4383.
in the reign of Edward IIL., 483.
made in England, 433.
made in Philadelphia, 483.
made in New York, 433.
various parts of a, 435,
Westley Richards, celebrated ma-
ker of, 489.
made in America, 439.
made in England, 439,
description of an imported, 439.
bill of a, imported from England,
440.
necessity of a good, 440.
made in Germany, 441.
made in New York, 441.
made in Philadelphia, 442.
welding barrels, 443.
hammer-hardening, 444.
boring, 444.
grinding, 445,
turning, 445.
Gun—continued.
brazing and breeching, 446.
Greener’s remarks, 446.
proving barrels, 447.
forgery of the proof-marks, 447.
Spanish barrels, 448.
French barrels, 448.
sham-dam guns, 448.
park-palings, 448.
made for the African market,
448.
staining barrels, 449.
metal used in the manufacture, 449.
materials from which made, 450.
care and labor bestowed upon,
451.
deceptions practised, 452.
spurious, 452.
wire-twist for manufacturing, 453.
Damascus barrels, 455.
charcoal iron, 455.
other kinds of metal used, 455.
wood for stocking, 456.
staining woods for stocking, 456.
Gunpowder, discovery of, 406.
to whom attributed, 406.
known to the Chinese, 406.
English, Scotch, and French,
406.
Dupont’s, 407.
varieties of, 407.
what kind preferred, 408.
anecdote, 408,
glazed and unglazed, 410.
tests for, 411.
epreuvette, or powder-
prover, 411.
to preserve from moisture,
412.
impure, 418.
to dry damp, 414.
discovery and introduction,
429.
well known to the ancients,
429,
remarks of Uffano on, 429.
use of, in China, 429.
used by King Vitney, 430.
referred to by Philostratus,
430.
used by the Oxydrace, 430.
deters Alexander the Great,
430.
employed against Hercules,
430.
employed against Bacchus,
430.
used in India, 480.
known to Friar Bacon, 430.
mentioned in the Opus Ma-
gus, 480.
INDEX.
Gunpowder—continued.
inquiries into the early ori-
gin of, 430.
known to the Chinese, 431.
discovery concealed, 481.
XXXl
Hawks—continued.
their boldness, 103.
the alarm they occasion, 103.
prey upon Ducks, 104.
sportsmen should kill, 104.
reasons for concealment, | Heels, galled, how to treat, 500.
431.
discovered by Berthold
Schwarz, 431.
monument erected in com-
memoration of, 432.
used by Edward III., 482.
used by Henry VIII. 482.
used by Elizabeth, 482.
used in hand-goune, 4382.
used in wheel-lock goune,
432.
Gunsmiths of New York, 441.
Philadelphia, 441.
England, 442.
H
Hammer or cock of the gun, 377.
Hand-goune—when invented, 432.
Hanger’s, General George, lotion, 507.
receipt for Sportsman’s beef,
482.
Hare, American, 339.
Gray Rabbit, 339.
Lepus sylvaticus, 359.
description, 339.
locality and general characteristics,
340.
not a rabbit, 340.
the speed of, 3438.
a nocturnal animal, 344.
food of, 344.
flesh of, 345,
hunting, 346.
domestication, 347.
cry of the, enemies of the, 347.
varieties, 348.
cooking the, 483.
Hares, terms applicable to, 42.
great abundance in Iowa, 63.
numbers destroyed. 91.
_ Havre-de-Grace, Partridges caught near,
88.
Hawker, Colonel—
on wild-fowl shooting, 260.
comments on wild fowl, 264.
the Magnus Apollo, 313.
dressing for shooting-boots, 393.
receipt for soup, 475.
cooking of wild fowl,
477.
Hawks, the quill-feathers of, 34.
conflicts with Partridges, 72.
destroy numbers of Partridges,
103.
Hellebore, Quails feed on, 81.
their flesh poisoned by, 81.
Hemorrhage, to preserve wounded bird
from, 490.
to stop accidental, 508.
Henry IV. of France—
a falcon belonging to, 266.
its rapid flight, 266.
Henry VIII.—
Wild Turkey introduced in the
reign of, 137.
uses gunpowder, 432.
guns used by, 484.
Hercules, Egyptian, 4380.
Hispania, coasts of, devastated, 136.
Hominum servatorem, 462.
Hubbell, great number of Rail killed by,
231.
Hygiene—general remarks, 493.
atmospheric vicissitudes, 493.
caution to sportsmen, 493.
proper clothing, 493.
an ounce of precaution, 494,
‘temperance, joy, and repose,”
494.
hot tea and coffee, 494.
catarrhs, rheumatism, 494.
overheated, 495.
death caused by imprudence, 495.
state of the atmosphere, 495.
malarious districts, 496.
precautions to be adopted, 496,
noxious exhalations, 496.
diet and drink, 496.
exercise, perpetual motion, 497.
headache and malaise, 497.
pure water the best drink, 497.
fondness for vinous liquors, 497.
avoid drinking bad liquors, 498.
I
Intrnots, game-laws of, 93.
abundance of Grouse in, 158.
Indiana, Grouse in, 158.
Indians regard with horror slaughter of
game, 184.
kill great numbers of Geese, 330,
Towa, abundance of game in, 63.
Partridges in, 63.
Prairie Chickens, 63
Hares, 63.
Deer, 63.
Wolves, 63.
Bears, 63.
XxXxll
lowa—continued.
great numbers of Partridges killed
in, 89.
greatnumbers of Partridges netted
in, 89.
Ireland, Woodcock in, 190.
Italia—her coasts devastated, 136.
Iris irides of birds, 35.
J
Jack-Frost nips vegetation, 62.
Jack Curlew, 247.
Jamaica, Reed-Birds in, 214.
Japan, Snipes in, 194.
Jersey, Ruffed Grouse in pines of, 143.
Johnson, Dr.—remarks on cooking, 459.
K
Kaumia Cravea, 77.
marsh laurel, 77.
Grouse and Partridges feed on, 77.
animals feed on, 78.
Kalmia Latifolia, 77.
mountain laurel, 77.
Grouse and Partridges feed on, 77.
animals feed on, 78.
Ruffed Grouse feed on, 149.
author’s comments on, 150.
Keel-boatmen of America, 51.
their exploits with the rifle, 51.
snuffing the candle, 51.
driving the nail, 51.
Kentucky, Ruffed Grouse in, 143.
Pinnated Grouse in, 158.
Keokuk, numbers of Partridges about,
110.
cooped and sent to New Or-
leans, 110.
Kill-deer Plover, 251.
Killing clean, importance of, 64.
what distance in, 65.
for humanity’s sake, 65.
verses in support of, 65.
King-snake—curious experiments, 74.
their wonderful endowments, 75.
Kitchener, Dr., on the pleasures of the
table, 465.
Knife, sporting, proper kind, 384.
L
Lake Ontario, Reed-Birds about, 211.
Laurel, mountain, (see Kalmia Latifolia, )
ils
Laws, game, mere bagatelle, 178.
Leading of barrels, 38.
how freed, 399.
INDEX.
Lee, Mrs., directions for mounting birds,
486.
her work on Taxidermy, 488.
Legislative enactments as to killing game,
93.
Lepus cuniculus, 339.
sylvaticus, 330.
Lesser coverts—situation and character,
B4.
Levy, W. W.—celebrated duck-shooter,
285.
his draft of a battery, 291.
Lewis, E.—Snipe’s nest on his estate, 198.
Liquors, bad, to be avoided, 498.
Locks of a gun, 404.
importance of good, 405.
Greener’s remarks on, 405.
Long-billed Curlew, 246.
Long Island, Pinnated Grouse on, 159.
Loral space, 35.
Louisiana, Pinnated Grouse in, 158.
Reed-Birds, 210.
Louis Eustache Ude—comments on cook-
ery, 465.
Lynx—attack on Wild Turkeys, 141.
Lyon’s, Captain—
views on the ventriloquism of the
Arctic Fox, 222
anne
Maanus AproLrto—
Colonel Hawker the, 313.
Magnus Coquus of the ancients, 462.
Maine, Grouse met with in, 164.
Mallard or Wild Drake, 314.
Anas Boschus—habits and haunts,
314.
parent stock of tame Duck, 314.
description, 315.
in the ricefields, 316.
on the Delaware, 316.
in England, 316.
decoy-ponds for netting, 316.
Malta, Falcon captured at, 266.
Mandibles, upper and lower, 35.
Martha’s Vineyard, Pinnated Grouse on,
159.
Massachusetts, Grouse found in, 164.
Maxille, superior and inferior, 35.
Mayo, Dr.—remarks on cooking, 459.
Measurement of birds, 36.
Mediterranean, Turkish cruisers in, 136.
Meleagris Gallopayo—wild Turkey, 126
Mentum, the chin, 36.
Mexicans, Wild Turkey domesticated by
the, 138.
Migrations of Partridges, 81.
causes of their, 82.
singular actions during their,
82.
INDEX.
Millochau, Adolphe, gun-oil of, 400.
Mississippi River, Ruffed Grouse on the
ranges of the, 143.
Moon—effects on the tides, 228.
Rails feed at the full of the,
228.
Moulting of birds, 88.
wise provision of nature, 38.
change in the plumage, 38.
protection from enemies, 38,
in quadrupeds, 38.
cold modified by, 38.
gradual in birds, 39.
time of, 39.
in water-fowl, 39.
in birds than incubate far north,
39.
Mordecai, Captain, 39.
experiments and observations on
powder, 413.
Moscow, frozen markets of, 467.
Mount Holly, Partridges shot in the
neighborhood of, 78.
Mud Creek—good Snipe-ground, 63.
Markets in reign of Queen Elizabeth,
435,
Mud Hen, 237.
N
NapoLeon required little sleep, 500.
Natural History, importance of studying,
85.
Nipple or pivot of the gun, 376.
wrench for, 3883.
Nooses of horse-hair, 90.
for taking game, 90.
Norton, Robert, 429.
North Carolina—
driving Partridges as practised in,
94.
New Jersey—
game-ordinances of, 93.
numbers of Ruffed Grouse in, 145.
Woodcock in, 170.
Snipes in, 197.
Willets frequent, 254.
New Orleans, Canvas-backs about, 272.
Netting Ducks, 280.
Partridges,
New York Ruffed Grouse, 145.
; Ornithologists who have
gun-makers of, 435.
O
Occrput—back of the head, 35.
Old World, batteries of the, 79.
Quails of the, 89.
Opus Magus of Bacon, 430.
Ordinance against selling game, 93.
Ornithologists, terms used by, 33.
bo
ron
XXX1ll
graced this
country, 67.
Ornithology, technical terms the A BC
of, 33.
this information easily acquired,
34.
Orismology, sporting terms a branch of,
Owls, sensation of feathers in, 38.
Oxydracze, 430.
|i
PanTHERS—numbers destroyed, 91.
Partridge, the springing of, 49.
vigorous flight of, 52.
when flushed, 57.
flies with amazing velocity, 57.
flight compared with English,
great abundance of, in Lowa,
63.
Perdix Virginianus, 66.
verses descriptive of, 66,
their abundance, locality, no-
menclature, 66.
description, habits, 67.
perching on trees, 68.
not strictly migratory, 68.
running season, 68.
during winter at the North, 68,
catching in nets, traps, &e., 69.
period of pairing, 69.
building their nests, 70,
number of eggs, 70.
fecundity of English, 70.
period of incubation, 70.
the young, 71.
strictly monogamous, 71.
leaving the nest, 71.
solicitude of the hen, 72.
artifices of the cock, 72.
conflicts with hawks, serpents,
&e., 72:
domestication of, 74.
two broods, 74.
author’s opinion of, 75.
call of the, 75.
actions of young, 76.
roosting, 76.
food, 77.
shot on Tapahannock marshes,
78.
English, compared with Ame-
rican, 79.
not a Quail, 80.
how it differs from the Quail,
80.
running season of the, 81.
immense droves, 81.
singular actions, 81.
Partridge,
XXXIV
Partridge—continued.
cause of these migrations, 82.
flight of—whirring noise, 82.
flight of English, 83.
change in color of plumage,
Vv.
white or pied, 82.
remarkable, in possession of
author, 84.
hints on hunting, 87.
formed into coveys, 88.
time for killing, 88.
taken in traps, 88.
abundant in Iowa, 89.
nooses of horse-hair to catch,
eating eggs of, 90.
numbers destroyed in 1855
and 756, 91.
game-ordinances disregarded,
92.
whistle of the, 94.
driving into nets, 94.
efforts to introduce into Eng-
land, 96.
actions of old and young, 97.
best to break dogs on, 97.
retaining scent, 98.
enemies of, 102.
probable abundance or scarcity
of, 104.
haunts of, 104.
where to find, 105.
dry and warm weather, 105.
wet and boisterous weather,
105.
further hints on hunting, 107.
early dawn—at noon, 107.
when they feed, 107.
before leaving their roost,
108.
seldom roost in same place,
108.
during snow, 109.
Partridges—
shooting in Delaware, 109.
Virginia, 110.
season of 1851 and ’52, 110.
numbers in vicinity of Keokuk,
110.
numbers taken in nets, 110.
Phillips, Clem. T., kills sixty-one,
ibe
good shooting, 112.
Frank Forrester’s opinion of diffi-
culty of killing American, 112.
taking the field, 112.
how to act when hunting, 116.
wounded birds, 121.
most difficult of all birds to shoot,
121.
INDEX.
Partridges—continued
frequently give forth no scent,
121.
to split and broil, 471
Pectus—the breast, 36.
sa Mr., account of shooting Geese,
330.
Percussion caps, 373.
how made, best kind, 373.
substitute for, 375.
Perdix Virginianus, (see Partridge,) 66.
Pharaohs, Snipe in the country of the,
194.
Pheasant, or Ruffed Grouse, 143.
Philadelphia, game hawked about, 92.
contrary to municipal ordinances,
92.
gun-makers of, 435, 441.
Phillips, Clem. T.—
kills sixty-one birds, 111.
Pigeon, killing with a rifle, 50.
exploits in shooting, 51.
Pike, celebrated Rail-pusher, 227,
Plover, Golden—
Charadrius pluviales, 250.
habits, food, 250.
how best killed, 251.
description, 251.
Plover, Black-bellied, 248.
Bull or beetle-headed, 249.
Grass or Field, 251.
Piping, 251.
terms applicable to, 41.
Poking shot not to be admired, 61.
Porter’s, William T., account of Squirrels,
360.
Potatoes 4 la Maitre d’Hétel, 480.
Pot-hunter—a despicable fellow, 86.
how to act in company with a,
87.
Potterer, or poking-shot, 51.
Powder-flasks, 369.
prover, 411.
Powers, N., of Iowa—
load of game collected by, 63.
Prairie Chicken, (see Grouse.)
Prescott refers to the Wild Turkey in his
“‘Conquest of Mexico,” 138.
Primaries, large quill-feathers, 34,
their position and use, 34.
peculiarly constructed
Hawk, 34.
Pugh, English artist, anecdote of, 85.
Q
QuapRuPEDs, change of pelage in, 38.
Quail not a Partridge, 80.
different in habits, 80.
flesh, 80.
is polygamous, 80.
in the
INDEX. XXXV
Quail—continued. Reed-Bird—continued.
a migratory bird, 80. change of plumage, 216,
trail at night, 81. terms applicable to, 42.
employed in combat, 81. cooking, 474.
not esteemed as food, 81 Red-headed Duck, 308. P
assemble in innumerable bodies, 89. Red-head, 308.
killed in immense numbers, 89. Anas ferina, 308.
people surfeited with, 89. habits and haunts, 308,
Quail Snipe, 256. Red-headed Widgeon of England,
308.
RB Register, extract from a friend’s shoot-
ing, 112.
Rassit, Gray, (see Hare.) Retriever—how trained, 119.
Rail or Sora, Rallus Carolinus, 217. difficulty of training a, 119.
description, nomenclature, 217. good ones very scarce, 119.
history, &c., 218. author’s views of, 119.
singular characteristics, 221. | Rice-Bunting, (see Reed-Bird,) 210.
Rail, their food and resorts, 222. Richards, Westley, gun-maker, 439.
shooting, 224, bill of a gun purchased of, 440.
paraphernalia for shooting, 227. Rifle, shooting with a, 50.
pushers for shooting, 227. exploits of the Toomers with, 50.
tides, 228. killing Pigeons with, 50.
numbers killed, 230. striking cricket-balls with, 50.
shooting in Virginia, 231. exploits of our backwoodsmen with,
fire-shooting, 231. 50.
netting, 232. German jiigers use, 51.
fish prey upon, 232. killing Squirrels with, 51.
where to shoot, 232. Wild Turkeys with, 51.
expense of shooting, 233. exploits of keel-boatmen with, 51.
terms applicable to, 42. driving the nail with, 51.
cooking, 474. snuffing the candle with, 51.
vent-feathers large in the, 35. shooting apples from the head with,
Rallus Crepitans— 51.
Clapper Rail or Mud Hen, 237. Ring-Plover, 251.
nomenclature and locality, 237. | Rock Island—
period of incubation, 238, numbers of Partridges on, 110.
where killed, 239. Rocky Mountains—
Rallus Elegans—Great Red-breasted Rail, Canvas-back on the streams of
235. the, 270.
King Rail, Fresh-water Marsh | Romans, festive boards of the, 464.
Hen, 235. Ruffed Grouse, (see Grouse.)
description, 235. Rumford, Count—comments on cooking,
history, habits, and haunts, 236. 458.
Raspail, Monsieur— Rump, Bill, celebrated Rail-pusher, 227.
theory of serpent-charming, 74. | Russia, Snipe in, 195.
Rattlesnake, curious experiments with, | Rusting, to prevent, of barrels, 399.
73. how to remove, 399.
Reed-Bird—Rice-Bunting, 210.
Emberiza Oryzivora, 210. S
history and nomenclature, 210.
description, 211. Sargeant, Dr. R. Percy—
migrations--thcir feeding-grounds, observation on habits of Wild
211. Turkey, 180.
shooting, 212. further observation, 140.
netting, 213. Sauces or gravies, 479.
compared with Ortolan of Europe, | Savages—their gluttony, 463.
213. Scapulars, shoulder-feathers, 34.
anecdote, 213. Schwarz, Berthold, discoverer of gun-
progress south, 214. powder, 406.
curious facts, 215. invention of gunpowder attri-
as a cage-bird, 215. buted to, 431.
XXXVl
Schwarz, Berthold—continued.
monument erected at Frei-
burg to, 482.
Scientia popine, 462.
Sciurus Migratorius, (see Squirrel.)
Season of 1855 and ’56—
particularly destructive to game,
numbers of birds as well as ani-
mals destroyed in consequence
of the snow during, 91.
Secondaries, second quill-feathers, 34.
Serpents, conflicts with Partridges, 72.
charming birds, 73.
popular fallacy, 73.
Dr. Gilman’s experiments with,
73.
venomous, 73.
King, 73.
Raspail’s theory, 74.
Setters—early in the season, 113.
suffer for want of water, 113.
Shoemaker, Dr.—
cases of poisoning by eating
Grouse, 78.
remedies used hy, 78.
Shooting, art of, on the wing, 47.
soon acquired, 47.
first grand desideratum, 47.
nicety in, 50.
carried to great perfection, 50.
exploitsof Richard and Edward
Toomer, 50.
particular instructions for, 52.
when the bird should be killed,
53.
in thickets, 54.
be cool, when, 54,
requires patience and practice,
when the bird is crossing, 58.
too low—too high, 59.
both eyes open, 60.
in America different from that
of England, 62.
Shore-birds, terms applicable to, 42.
Short, Dr.—exploits among the Snipe, 63.
Shot-bags, shot-pouches, 872.
most suitable kind, 372.
Siberia, Snipe in, 194.
Sickle-bill, (see Curlew.)
Sink, (see Battery.)
Skinner, J. S.—comments on food of
Partridges, 77.
account of good shooting, 111.
fanciful notion of the feeding of
Woodeocks, 172.
comments on ambition of killing
for quantity, 183.
reprobates this cruel ambition,
184,
INDEX.
Skipwith, Mr.—
captures Sora Rails at Sea, 220.
Sleep—how necessary, 499.
should be moderate, 499.
less sleep in warm weather, 499.
some require more than others,
499.
Napoleon required little, 499.
Frederick the Great required
little, 499.
Smith, Dr., interesting letter of, 98.
his views of Partridges retaining
scent, 98.
subject fully discussed, 98.
Smyrna, British cruisers visited, 137.
Snap-shot, when most successful, 60.
a disagreeable companion, 61.
shooting with beth eyes open, 61.
Snipe—terms applicable, 41.
sudden and irregular flight of, 49.
zigzag flight of the, 52.
abundant on borders of Mud
Creek, 638.
white, 84.
Snipe, 194.
Scolopax Wilsonii, 194,
Scolopax gallinago, 194.
Wilson’s Snipe, 194.
English Snipe, 194.
widely disseminated, 194,
varieties, 195.
why called Wilson’s Snipe, 195.
resembles the English variety,
195.
description, 196,
location and food, 197.
incubation, young brood, 199,
return to the South, 199.
restless spirit, 200.
perception of cold, 200,
voracious feeders, 201.
seldom found in the woods, 201.
difficult to shoot, 201.
shooting anecdote, 204.
during rainy weather, 206.
dogs for hunting, 206.
fly against the wind, 207.
advantages of shooting, 208.
white or pied, 208.
cooking, 472.
Red-breasted, 256.
Scolopax Noveboracensis, 256.
Quail Snipe, 256.
habits and haunts, 256.
flesh and food, 256.
how and when killed, 256.
description, 257.
Snow, heayy fall of, 91.
its fearful consequences, 92.
Sora, (see Rail.)
Sore throat, how to treat a, 508.
Snipe,
INDEX. XXXVU
Spain— St. Lawrence River, Reed-Birds on,
introduction of Wild Turkey from, Palla
187.
gun-barrels imported from, 447.
Spaniels, terms applicable to, 40.
verses in memory of a, 192.
Sporting, terms used in, 40.
general ignorance of these terms,
easily acquired, 40.
writers on, 40.
Sportsmen—
should be careful of birds in win-
ter, 69.
hints to, 87.
practical observations for, 88.
should keep cool, 105.
during rainy weather, 105.
should not be too eager, 107.
should refresh themselves, 118.
directions for, to hunt dogs, 118.
should flush the game, 118.
Sportsman’s Beef, how made, 481.
Sprain, how to be treated, 504.
Sprigtail, 324.
Pintail, 324,
Anas acuta, 324.
handsome duck, 324.
habits and haunts, 324.
abundant in England, 324.
description, 324.
Spring Cramp—how used, 381.
Squirrels, 350.
varieties, habits, locality, 351.
general characteristics, 351.
activity and strength, 353.
captivity of, 354.
other characteristics, 355.
enemies of, shooting, 356.
Barking, flesh of, 357.
Squirrel, Gray, 358.
migratory, 358.
dimensions, locality, 358.
habits and migrations, 359.
cooking, 484.
Staley, Andrew, shooting in company
with, 130.
Stirley, John, White Snipe in possession
of, 208.
Stock, gun, shape of, 402.
various styles of, 403.
Stockton, H. H., remarkable Partridge
shot by, 84.
Stockton, Commodore—
experiments on bursting of guns,
recoil of guns,
418, 424.
Stockings, shooting, 396.
St. Ildephonso—
Woodcocks feeding in aviary of, 173.
St. Louis, game shipped from, 110.
St. Petersburg—frozen markets, 467.
Striker of a gun, 377.
Stone Curlew, (see Willet.)
Summer Duck, 326.
Anas sponsa, 326.
Wood Duck, 326.
beautiful fowl, 326.
delights in the small streams, 326
description, 327.
Surface-boat, (see Battery.)
Swallows, the primary feathers in, 34.
shooting, a mere knack, 50.
Swan, American, 337.
Cygnus American, 337.
Swan, Trumpeter, 337,
Cygnus bucinator, 337.
habits, haunts, 337.
easily domesticated, 338.
Swans, a whiteness of, 42.
Sweden, Snipes in, 195.
Sykes, Mr.—patent powder-flask, 370.
fl
TAPAHANNOCK MARSHES—
Partridges shot on, 78.
Tarsi, shanks of the legs, 35.
Taxidermy—
art of preserving and mounting
birds, 484.
directions for skinning birds, 485.
Lee, Mrs., work on, 488.
Brown, Captain, work on, 488.
preserving egg-shells, 48°),
Teal, Blue-winged, 317.
Anas discors, 317.
habits and haunts, 317.
their food, 318.
how best cooked, 318.
description, 318.
Teal, Green-winged, 319.
Anas crecca, 319.
habits and characteristics, 319.
Telltale Snipe, 258.
Godwit, 258.
Greater Yellow-shanks, 258.
Scolopax vociferus, 258.
Tennessee—
Ruffed Grouse in barrens of,
148.
Pinnated Grouse in barrens of,
143.
Tertiary, third quill-feathers, 34.
their position and character, 34.
Tetrao umbellus, 143.
cupido, 156.
Canadensis, 164,
saliceti, 164.
XXXVili
Tezcucan monarchs—
consumed large numbers of Tur-
keys, 188.
Thorpe, T. B., Woodcock fire-hunting by,
8
Tibia, thigh-bone, 35.
Toomer, Richard and Edward—their
wonderful exploits with gun and
rifle, 50.
Turkey, Wild, 126.
Meleagris gallipavo, 126.
description, 127.
natural history of, 129.
in former times, 129.
their near extinction, 129.
found in Virginia, 130.
found in other States, 130.
Dr. Sargent’s remarks on, 130.
neighborhood of Natchez, 131.
incubation, 131.
very salacious, their conflicts, 181.
Audubon’s comments, 131.
preparing the nest, 152.
Dr. Sargent’s remarks, 132.
the action of the hen, 132.
conceal their eggs, 152.
number of eggs, 1838.
young brood, 1838.
their future life, 134.
but one brood, 134.
condition of the males, 134.
food of the, 1384.
their introduction into Spain,
137.
their introduction into England,
137.
why called Turkey. 137.
a valuable fowl, 157.
Buffon on the origin, 188.
referred to by Prescott, 138.
domesticated by the Aztecs, 138.
consumed by the Tezcucan mon-
archs, 138.
trapping, 138.
shooting, 189.
good dog for hunting, 140.
run with amazing celerity, 140.
easily killed, 140.
when roosting, 140.
Dr. Sargent’s remarks, 140.
decoying, 140.
enemies of, 141.
Turks, a band of pirates, 136.
tufts of hair worn by the, 137.
U
Ups, Louis EustacoE—
on the pleasures of the table, 465.
Uffano—remarks on the use of gun-
powder, 429.
INDEX.
Ab
VALISINERIA AMERICANA—
Venison soup, how made, 481.
Viellot, statement of, respecting the
habit of Woodcocks carrying their
young on their back, 175.
Virginia, Partridge-shooting in, 110.
Wild Turkey in, 150.
Vitellius, feast given by, 464.
Vitney, King of China, uses cannon, 480.
W
Wapp1neG or Waps, various kinds,
caution as to use of patent,
with anointed edges, 368.
felt and paper, 568.
Walker’s percussion caps, 375.
their superiority, 875.
Walter Scott—account of a faithful dog,
45,
Walton, Sir Isaac, followers of, 326,
Washer, or washing-rod, 369.
Wetherill, George D.—
Partridges presented by, 74.
large bird shot by, 78.
large Woodcock in possession of,
169.
West Indies, Reed-Bird in, 214.
Snipe in, 194.
Western Hemisphere—
Wild Turkey indigenous to, 136.
Wheel-lock goune invented, 432.
Whewer, Whim, or Widgeon of England,
312.
Whimbrel, Scolopax phepus of England,
244.
Whistling Plover, Charadrius apricarius,
248.
White thickening, 479.
Widgeon, Anas Americana, 311.
Bald-pates, 311.
companion of the Canvas-back,
565.
366.
not inferior in flavor, 311.
locality, 311.
description, 312.
resembles the English Widgeon,
312.
how pursued in England, 318.
easily domesticated, 513.
at the North and South, 3138.
Wild Fowl and Wild-fowl shooting,
peculiar construction of the ramp
feathers of, 35,
terms applicable to, 42.
a flock of—a couple of, 42.
a team of—a badelynge of, 42.
how pursued in America, 259,
no childs’ sport, 259.
INDEX.
Wild Fowl and Wild-fowl shooting—
paraphernalia necessary for, 260,
use of liquor in, 260,
present and future numbers of,
on Chesapeake Bay, 3805.
cooking, 476.
Wild celery, food of the Canvas-back, 270.
Wild Drake, (see Mallard.)
Willet—Scolopax semipalmata, 253.
Semipalmated Snipe, or Stone
Curlew, 253.
habits and haunts, 253.
not known in England, 254.
period and place of incubation,
254.
their food, 254.
character of their flesh,
description, 255,
affection for each other,
Willow Grouse, 164.
Wilson’s anecdote of Ruffed Grouse, 146,
Snipe, Scolopax Wilsonii, 194,
Plover, 251.
Winniwarter and Gersheim of Vienna—
their substitute for percussion
caps, 375. :
Wing, bastard, description of, 34.
lesser coverts of the, 34.
greater coverts of the, 34.
to stop the hemorrhage of, 490.
to pinion or amputate a wounded,
491.
Wisconsin—
abundance of game in, 64,
Venison in, 64.
Prairie Chickens in, 64.
Pheasants, Partridges, and Wild
Turkeys in, 64.
immense shipment of game from,
64,
Wolves abundant in Iowa, 63.
great numbers destroyed, 91.
Woodeock—
terms applicable to, 41.
startling flight of the, 52.
cooking, 472.
Woodcock—Scolopax minor, 166,
attractive to the sportsman, 167.
255.
XXXIX
Woodcock—continued.
nomenclature, 168.
description, 168.
compared with the English variety,
168.
height, one species, 168.
habits, migrations, 170.
formation of the head, 170.
imperfect vision, 170.
feeding and food, 171.
vulgar notion, 172.
as seen in the aviary of St. Ilde-
phonso, 178.
incubation, 174.
singular manceuvres, 175.
carrying their young—two broods,
175.
proper time for shooting, 176.
game-laws on the subject, 177.
ingenuity to conceal their young,
180.
resorts of, 182.
foolish ambition of killing, 183.
disappearance of, 185.
flight of, 187.
fire-hunting, description of, 187.
nets and snares to take, 189,
dogs for shooting, 190.
shooting in England, 191.
bells used for hunting, 191.
Woodpecker—
peculiar formation of the rump-
feathers of, 34.
Wrench, nipple or pivot, 383.
description and best kind, 383.
ve
YELLOW-SHANKS SNIPE—
Scolopax flavipes, 258.
Youatt’s work on the Dog, 43.
great celebrity as a writer, 44.
work beautifully illustrated, 44,
edited by the author, 44,
Z
22
ZIZANIA AQUATICA, 222,
nate J
'%
CHAPTER I.
EXPOSITION OF THE TECHNICAL TERMS USED BY ORNITHOLOGISTS.
ITHOUT a cursory knowledge, at least, of
the technical terms employed by Orni-
thologists in their delineations of the
feathered race, we cannot expect all our
readers to understand or appreciate the
scientific descriptions which we have in-
serted of the game-birds of our country;
it therefore appears to us that we cannot
do better than devote the first few pages
of this volume to the full elucidation of
these appellatives, which, in fact, are the A B C of Ornithology,
the Alpha and Omega of the branch.
3 33
34 LEWIS’S AMERICAN SPORTSMAN.
This information, so important to the intelligent sportsman,
can be easily and quickly acquired by reference to the accom-
panying drawing, in connection with the explanations following
immediately after.
1. Auriculars, the ear coverts.—The soft feathers that cover
the organs of hearing. .
2,2. The bastard wing, consisting of three or five feathers,
resembling the quills of the true wing; they are placed on a
small bone rising from the wrist-jomt of the wing. The bastard
wing assists in flight by keeping the wing from turning upwards,
and contracts the points of the wing in a downward and backward
position to that of the course of the bird through the air.
3, 3. The lesser coverts of the wings.—These are the feathers
which are found in successive rows upon the wings; those on
the inside are termed under coverts, and are much less regarded
by ornithologists as a means of distinction than the others.
4,4. The greater coverts.—The wing feathers lyig under the
lesser coverts; they are much larger and stronger than the latter.
5, 5. The primaries.—Large quill feathers taking their growth
from below the wrist-joint. The length and proportion of the
feathers control, in a wide degree, the movements of the bird in
the air. The nearer the longer primary quill approaches the
body, the more dexterous and beautiful will be the motion of
the bird when on the wing. The Hawks, Swallows, and various
other birds of rapid flight, that seize their prey in mid air,
have the longest primary feather very near the body, and con-
sequently are enabled to turn and twist themselves with great
facility.
6, 6. The secondaries, or second quill feathers, spring from the
second bone of the wing. When the wing is extended, they fre-
quently appear like a continuation of the prémaries.
7, 7. The tertiary, or third quill feathers, also arise from the
second bone, but much nearer the elbow-joint.
8, 8. The scapulars, or shoulder feathers, are formed by the
soft and downy feathers that cover the shoulder-bones, and are
TECHNICAL TERMS. 3D
serviceable only as a protection to the parts which they sur-
round; they unite without any regularity with the plumage of
the back and wings.
9. The rump feathers and upper-tail coverts.—These feathers
are the continuation of the covering of the back, and are strong
in proportion to the peculiar habits of the bird. In the Wood-
pecker tribe, for instance, these feathers are very strong and
unusually long, as they make constant use of the tail as a
support and aid when climbing the trunks of trees; and so
it is with some water-fowl not webfooted, but obliged frequently
to take flight from the water. The tad feathers in these last-
mentioned birds afford the greatest assistance in springing into
the air.
10. The vent feathers and under-tail coverts, that extend from
the anus, or vent, to the tail underneath. These feathers are
much longer in some tribes of birds than others. Those that
have a constant habit of flirting up their tails—like, for example,
the Rallus Carolinus, and several species of small shore-birds—
have the vent feathers unusually well developed.
The tail feathers are various in size and numbers, and are
generally the most ornamental part of a bird. The tail per-
forms the most necessary office in the navigation of the bird
through the air; in fact, it is the rudder by which its course is
determined, and acts in concert with the will of the bird as freely
as a ship obeys her helm.
11. Loral space.—The space between the bill and eye.
12. Frons.—The forehead.
13. Corona.—Crown of the head.
14. Oceciput.—The hind part of the head.
15. Flerure.—Bend of the wing.
16. Tarsi.—Shanks of the legs.
17. Tibia.—Thigh.
The upper and lower bills are called the superior and inferior
maxilla, or upper and lower mandibles.
Tris—irides.—The colored circle surrounding the pupil of the eye.
36 LEWIS'S AMERICAN SPORTSMAN.
Mentum.—The chin.
Guttur.—The throat.
Collum.—The neck.
Pectus.—The breast.
In measurement, the total length means from point of bill to
the end of middle tail feathers. Length of the wings means
from the bend of the wing to the end of the longest quill
feather.
CHAPTER II.
SENSATION IN FEATHERS.
__, HE keenest sense of feeling through the
medium of the plumage is indispensably
necessary to the well-being of all the
feathered race.
The feathers, it is true, in themselves,
like several other portions of the body,
such, for example, as the nails, claws,
beak, and hoofs, have no real consciousness
or actual perception of the sense of touch; still, they are enabled
by the nicest possible organization to convey the most delicate
impressions to those functions of the animal economy that do feel.
If such a wise provision of Nature did not exist, what, we
might ask, would become of all the numerous nocturnal birds
which seek their food only during the dark hours of night? The
whole tribe most indubitably would soon be killed off by striking
themselves against the various obstacles that they necessarily
encounter in their midnight rambles. This acute sensitiveness on
the part of feathers to outward impressions is not, perhaps, as
37
38 LEWIS’S AMERICAN SPORTSMAN.
essential for those birds which fly only in the broad daylight as it
is to the numerous variety of owls, bats, &c. that seek their
prey solely during the lonely hours of darkness.
Nevertheless, a certain degree of this delicacy of perception is
absolutely requisite even for them, to secure their safety while per-
forming rapid flights through the thickets and forests which they
most generally inhabit or take shelter in. This, then, being the
case, is it not reasonable to infer that the feathers should at all
times be in the highest state of perfection? This physical con-
dition, however, could not be preserved if they were not shed or
renewed from time to time, as they necessarily would become soiled,
dried, broken, and ultimately totally unfit for this nice service by
the constant exposure they are subjected to, as well as the many
accidents they must, from their mode of life, encounter.
To remedy these evils, or rather to make provision for such
casualties, Nature, ever provident in all her works, very wisely
ordains that the feathered race shall moult, or, in other words,
doff their plumage entire, once or twice a year. The simple
shedding of the feathers is not the only precaution which a bene-
ficent Providence has established for the preservation of these,
the most extensive and beautiful portion of his creations. For
we may here also notice the remarkable changes that take place
in the tints of the plumage, more especially in those birds which
remain in the northern latitudes during the long and bleak
winters. Many of them, from the most sombre hues of spring
and summer, become pied, or even pure white: thus cunningly
adapting themselves to the pervading color of the objects by
which they are surrounded, they are the better able to conceal
themselves from the attacks of their many prowling enemies
that are now driven to great extremes for food. The protec-
tion afforded birds, as well as many of the smaller quadrupeds,
in this alteration of the color of their plumage and pelage, from
the aggressions of their more powerful foes, is not the only
benefit which results from this wise providence; as the chilling
effects of constant exposure to the excessive cold of those hibernal
SENSATION IN FEATHERS. 39
regions are somewhat abated by the transition to white, from the
well-established fact that a surface purely white reflects heat far
more copiously than a dark one; and consequently it is not diffi-
cult for us to infer that, in like manner, it prevents any undue
waste of the animal heat by radiation.
The moulting of birds is very gradual, and few of them are
ever so bare of feathers as to prevent them from taking wing,
and even flying long distances.
The time of shedding the feathers varies in the different species
and in different climes; some moult late in the summer, some in
the early autumn, and some in the early spring.
The summer or autumnal moult is always the most complete;
the perennial is generally only a change of color of some portions
of the plumage, and not a thorough shedding of the feathers.
Those birds, as well as water-fowl, which extend their migrations
far to the North, for the purposes of procreation, receive their
fresh plumage after the period of incubation has entirely passed
by, so that they come out fresh and entirely freed from all the
filth and vermin which their previous sedentary occupations may
have entailed on them.
CHAPTER III.
SPORTING TERMS.
HE technical terms adopted by writers
on field-amusements should be perfectly
familiar to every sportsman, and ought to
be made use of onall occasions when rural
diversions are the subject of conversation.
Many of our sporting acquaintances are
most wofully deficient in a knowledge
of these designations, and consequently
make the most egregious blunders in
their vain efforts to appear aw fazt in all that pertains to the dog
and gun. A few minutes of study and reflection, my patient
friends, will make you all proficients in this branch of Orismology ;
therefore remain no longer in ignorance, even if zt be bliss.
TERMS APPLICABLE TO DOGS.
A brace of pointers or setters. A couple of spaniels.
Aleashof “ a A couple and a half of spaniels.
40
2 ee ey ee
SPORTING TERMS. 41
L. Toho? 7. Seek dead! find dead bird!
2. Down charge! 8. Fetch!
3. Back or heel! 9. Drop, sir!
4. Steady! steady there! 10. To mouth a bird.
5. Go on! on! 11. To run wild.
6. Hold up! up!
EXPLANATION OF THE ABOVE TERMS.
1. To make pointers or setters come to a stand.
2. ; - e lie down while loading.
3. se ok = go behind.
4, a < careful when game is about.
5. cd ss rise—a term of encouragement,
6. a a Ze hold his head up so as to wind the game.
(fe cr + se look for a dead bird.
8. os as = bring the dead bird.
9. = ‘¢ deliver up the dead bird.
10. To bite or chew a bird severely.
11. To run heedlessly, without caution.
By a pair is understood two of the same kind or species united or paired by
nature, male and female. Therefore, how evidently wrong it is to say a pair
of pointers, or a pair of setters!
By a couple, or brace, is understood the involuntary union of two individual
companions of the same species, either by a chain, noose, or tie.
PARTRIDGES.
A covey of partridges or birds. A brace and a half of partridges or
A brace of - uy birds.
To spring or flush“ “
GROUSE.
A brood of grouse. A leash of grouse.
A pack of -- To raise a ie
A brace of “
WOODCOCKS.
A. couple of woodcocks. A flight or fall of woodcocks.
A couple and a half of woodeocks. ‘To flush or start a woodcock.
SNIPE OR PLOVER.
A wisp or walk of snipes. A couple and a half of snipes or
A wing or congregation of plovers.
plovers.
A couple of snipes or plovers. To spring a snipe or plover.
42 LEWIS'S AMERICAN SPORTSMAN.
SMALL WILD-FOWL, OR SHORE-BIRDS, OF EVERY DESCRIPTION.
A flock of. A couple and a half of.
A couple of.
REED-BIRDS AND RAILS.
A flock of reed-birds. To get up a rail.
A dozen of reed-birds. To mark a rail.
Five, ten, fifteen, or twenty rails.
HARES.
A brace of hares. To start or move a hare.
A leash of hares.
LARGE WILD-FOWL.
A flock, team, or badelynge of wild A flock of teal.
ducks. A gang of brent.
A company or trip of wild ducks. A whiteness of swans.
A gaggle or flock of geese.
CHAPTER IV.
DOGS.
OR the most general and useful informa-
tion regarding Dogs, we beg to refer
our readers to the American edition of
““Youatt,’ published under our super-
vision, a short time since, by Lea &
BLANCHARD. This valuable work con-
tains nearly all that is requisite for a
sportsman to know im reference to these
interesting animals; and the enterprising
publishers deserve high commendation, and
the thanks of the whole sporting community, for the very excellent
manner in which they have put it through the press. No sportsman,
or even admirer of the faithful dog, should be without a copy of
this beautiful and instructive volume; in fact, every one who reads
it will find an abundance of interesting matter in its pages.
45
44 LEWIS’S AMERICAN SPORTSMAN.
The author, as a veterinary surgeon, had for many years no
rival in England; his close observation, unremitted industry, and
extensive practice in the veterinary art, enabled him, during a
series of years, to lay up a store of information on these subjects
that no other individual could have possibly collected. Youatt’s
attention, either from choice or the force of circumstances, was
particularly directed to the study of the history and pathology of
the canine race; and sportsmen cannot be too thankful for the
much useful matter that this practical writer has embodied in his
work ; and which, by-the-by, was only given to the public a short
time before the close of an honorable life, the greater portion of
which was spent in the noble effort to alleviate the sufferings,
lighten the labors, exalt the position, and teach the inestimable
worth, of our domestic animals.
Much valuable pathological information, as well as other general
matter, will be found in Mr. Youatt’s book, which, upon the whole,
renders it the most complete work that has ever been dedicated to
this faithful animal; and, as we said before, should be in the
hands of every lover of the dog. The volume is beautifully
embellished with numerous spirited engravings, which not a little
enhance its value in the eyes of every one. We do not intend our
observations as a puff, either for ourselves as connected with the
publication of the work, or for the benefit of those who have
brought it out, but we wish rather to draw the attention of the
reading public generally to the examination of the volume, bemg
convinced that it needs only to be known to be properly appre-
ciated; and by thus causing it to be appreciated we are richly
repaid in the pleasant reflection that we have done something to-
wards elevating the condition of that animal which, above all others,
owing to his untiring devotion and never-ceasing fidelity, should
elicit the greatest kindness and best treatment from the hands of
mankind.
The dog, par excellence, may be considered the type of all that
is noble and great; for, certainly, incorruptible fidelity, disin-
terested attachment, and a never-ceasing desire to be useful to
DOGS. 45
man, are attributes sufficiently high in their moral bearing to en-
title the possessor to this exalted position from among all other
animals. From the remotest ages of the world down to the
present time, we find the dog the intimate associate of man, the
protector of his habitation, the guardian of his flocks. No
neglect, no ill-treatment, can drive him from our doors; he bears
every oppression, forgives every blow, and obeys every command.
As from instinct, the dog abandons his own personal liberty,
shuns even the members of his own race, and associates himself
entirely with man as his dearest friend; and no cause, however
great, is sufficient, in his estimation, to break asunder these volun-
tary ties or destroy this beloved connection. He asks but a trifle
for his proffered services: a kind word, an occasional smile, a
fragment of our abundance, or a mere mite of our poverty, is all
that he requires. The extremes of luxury or indigence are alike
the same to him, so that he enjoys the companionship and kind-
ness of his allotted master, let him be a prince or a beggar. For
his master alone he leaps for joy when spoken to; on him alone
he fondles when caressed; for him alone he grieves when absent ;
exults at his return, and even in the sadness of his heart pines
away over his deserted grave.
‘‘Dark green was the spot, ’mid the brown mountain heather,
Where the pilgrim of nature lay stretched in decay ;
Like the corpse of an outcast, abandoned to weather,
Till the mountain winds wasted the tenantless clay;
Nor yet quite deserted, though lonely extended,
For, faithful in death, his mute favorite attended,
The much-loved remains of her master defended,
And chased the hill-fox and the raven away.
How long didst thou think that his silence was slumber !
When the wind waved his garments, how oft didst thou start!
How many long days and long weeks didst thou number
Ere he faded before thee, the friend of thy heart !”’*
* A young man lost his life by falling from one of the precipices of the Helvellyn
Mountains. Three months afterwards his remains were discovered at the bottom
of a ravine, and his faithful dog, almost a skeleton, still guarding them. Sir
Walter Scott beautifully describes the scene as above.—Vowatt on the Dog.
46 LEWIS’S AMERICAN SPORTSMAN.
How different is all this from the attachment or submission that
we witness in the other domesticated animals, all of which, we
may say, have been reclaimed with much trouble, and enslaved
contrary to their own will! They submit alone to our arbitrary
wishes through the fear of punishment or the hope of reward;
they greedily partake of our proffered food, and perform in return
their apportioned labors: these forced duties at an end, they
neither court the society of man nor manifest any particular
pleasure at his presence or pain at his absence; and if left to
themselves, would soon relapse into their original state of freedom
and independence.
But none can with shooting compare ;
*Tis a joy that entices the king from his throne,
Tis a joy that the wisest may share.
The voice of the hound on the breeze of the morn,
The note of the bugle, may please ;
The song of the wild bird is sweet from the thorn,
But the gun has more music than these.”
OST persons unconversant with the use of
the gun are naturally led to believe that
there is some great mystery or some
_ extraordinary sleight-of-hand work con-
‘nected with the art of shooting birds
when on the wing. ‘This opinion is often
so firmly engrafted on the minds of cer-
tain sensitive individuals that they are
ever unwilling even to make a trial of their own dexterity in
47
48 LEWIS’S AMERICAN SPORTSMAN.
this way, feeling satisfied that they could never arrive at any
degree of perfection in an art so difficult to acquire. Or, if they
should be tempted to venture in the field with some one of their
associates more experienced in the use of the gun, expecting a
day’s enjoyment, they become so discouraged at their want of
success, as well as perplexed at the inability of their sporting
companion to give them any definite or systematic instruction for
shooting, that they not unfrequently withdraw from the field
completely mortified and disgusted with every thing appertaining
to the sport; when, by a little perseverance and a few well-timed
hints from their companion, they might soon have arrived at that
pinnacle of fame to which all sportsmen aspire; we mean—a good
shot!
We ourselves do not pretend to be a great shot, but, on the
contrary, are very modest in our claims upon this point; but
because we cannot kill every bird we fire at, that is no reason why
we may not instruct others, so that they, by longer practice, may
arrive at this degree of excellence, if they wish it, but to which
we have neither the ambition to aim nor the time at our disposal
to acquire. It is no uncommon circumstance in the study of the
arts and sciences for the pupil to excel the master; and we
suppose, or rather we flatter ourselves, that we may yet look
forward to encountering some one of our own pupils in the field
who will not hesitate to snwb our nose whenever an opportunity
offers. If such should be the case, we shall be happy in the
knowledge of having done some good for our country, and more
particularly for the sports of the field.
The first grand desideratum to be considered by the pupil is
the possession of a good gun, of which, however, we will speak
more particularly under the chapter on fire-arms. The next great
acquisition to be sought after is coolness and deliberation, for
without these qualities you might as well leave the gun in its case,
and walk into the fields with a dog at your heels, and a shooting-
cracker in your hand ready to throw at the birds as they rise
from the stubble, in the vain hope of frightening them to death
SHOOTING ON THE WING, 49
by the noise of the explosion, as to fire a gun over them without
perfect self-possession and composure. Without coolness and
deliberation, a young shooter, or even an old shooter, can hope to
accomplish but little in the field. In fact, we have seen the best
of shots miss bird after bird during a whole day’s excursion,
owing to some unexpected but perhaps trifling occurrence which
had interrupted their natural equanimity of temper, and thereby
destroyed that coolness and deliberation which are so essential
for the proper handling of the fowling-piece. Success in shooting,
all the paraphernalia being equally good, is dependent in a great
measure upon coolness and deliberation; the first and most import-
ant step, therefore, to be taken by a young shooter, is the resolu-
tion to acquire as soon as possible a perfect control over all his
movements during the excitement consequent upon the springing
of a covey of partridges, the whir of a woodcock, or the sudden
and irregular flight of a snipe. This mastery over his feelings
being once acquired, there will be no difficulty in the way of a
rapid progress in the art of shooting on the wing. Having
selected, with the assistance of a sporting friend, a gun, made by -
the most approved gunsmith, practise the handling of it in your
own room; be sure that it comes up to the shoulder right, and
that the eye runs along the barrel with facility. Bring it up
to your shoulder ever and anon; take sight along its barrel at
some small object placed in the farthest corner of the room: a
red wafer, or a piece of colored paper stuck on the wall, will
answer this purpose. By practising in this way for a short time,
a certain degree of ease in the handling of the gun will be
acquired, and then it will be as well to crack off a few caps by
way of accustoming the ear and eye to the explosion, as also
familiarizing the finger with the touch of the trigger. Having
occupied the leisure moments of a few days in this kind of sport,
it will be high time to sally forth to the fields and spend a portion
of the day in practising the art of shooting on the wing any of
the small birds that we may meet in our rambles over the country.
Many young sportsmen exercise their skill upon swallows.
4
50 LEWIS’S AMERICAN SPORTSMAN.
But it is not a good practice, and cannot be attended with any
particular benefit to them, as the swallow’s flight is so entirely
different from any known game-bird that one might soon become
expert in killing these harmless but useful little creatures without
ever being able to bag a partridge, a woodeock, or a snipe.
Swallows fly with considerable swiftness and great irregularity,
and cannot be easily killed except when they stop or rather poise
themselves for an instant in the air to seize their prey, and while
in this position the veriest bungler that ever handled a gun can
soon become expert in knocking them over. Any of the smaller
and less interesting birds that fill the groves during the spring
and autumn months have flights resembling that of partridges
much more than that of the swallow does, and more improvement
may be derived from shooting a few of them than the slaughter
of one-half of all the swallows found about a large farm. For,
after all, the shooting of swallows is nothing but a knack, acquired
by a little observation and practice, just as any other kind of
shooting or in fact sleight-of-hand work; but then it should be
remembered by the young aspirant that he may spend much labor
and time both in acquiring this knack, without in the least benefit-
ing himself so far as the shooting of partridges or any other kind
of game-bird is concerned.
Nicety in shooting exclusively at some particular objects, in
some particular mode, may be carried to a degree of perfection
scarcely to be conceived of, as witnessed in the feats of the bro-
thers Toomer, as described by several English writers.
Of these two celebrated marksmen, Blaine remarks that Richard
and Edward Toomer, with their rifles and a single bail, killed
eight pigeons out of twelve, shooting alternately; and one of the
pigeons that did not drop, had a leg carried off by the ball. They
likewise with a single ball struck twice, out of four shots, a cricket-
ball thrown into the air; and Richard at a cricket-match, his gun
being loaded with shot, struck the ball twelve successive times,
when bowled by one of the sharpest bowlers in all England. Our
backwoodsmen years ago brought rifle-shooting to so high a state
SHOOTING: ON» THE WING. ol
of excellency that their ordinary performances seemed marvellous
even to the German Jiigers, who have always been esteemed the
very best marksmen of the Old World. Killing with a single ball
squirrels from the tops of the highest trees, as well as cutting off
the head of a wild turkey or other large bird at the distance of
one hundred yards or more when in full flight, was a common feat
with these hardy huntsmen. In fact, so expert were the keel-boat-
men of the Mississippi in handling the rifle, that they did not
hesitate, in a spirit of playfulness, even at a long distance, to cut
the pipe out of the hat-band of a companion, or unexpectedly
upset a cup of whiskey that might at lunch-time be for the moment
resting on some one’s knee. Driving the nail at forty paces,
snuffing the candle at fifty, and shooting an apple or other small
objects from the heads of each other, were the favorite amuse-
ments of these daring marksmen.*
It is also not an uncommon circumstance to meet with persons
who can lay a double-barrelled gun, cocked, on the ground, throw
two pennies up in the air and strike them both, before touching
the ground. This same degree of nicety in handling the gun and
g, as wit-
nessed in the wonderful exploits laid down under this head by
perfecting the eye may be acquired in pigeon-shootin
numerous English authors, and as detailed from time to time of
our own shooters in the columns of the Spirit of the Times. But
all these various kinds of shooting, though exhibiting much skill
and perfection in the art, will not qualify a person for taking the
field with an experienced sportsman; as the killing of game is
quite a different thing from knocking over the tame, quiet, and
phlegmatic house-pigeon, that, rising from the trap with a certain
degree of regularity, although with a sudden impetus imparted to
it by the operations of the spring, and most frequently taking a
bewildered though easy flight, is brought down with the greatest
facility by those accustomed to its usual course of action at such
times.
* See Thorpe’s Remembrances of the Mississippi.
qn
Lo
LEWIS’S AMERICAN SPORTSMAN.
How tame, how vastly different is all this to the sudden and
unlooked-for spring of the vigorous little partridge, as with a
startling noise he bounces up from under our very feet, and, long
before any save the initiated one can recover from his bewilder-
ment and bring his piece to bear upon the affrighted bird, has fairly
soared far beyond his reach—yes, even beyond his sharpest vision.
And then, again, the deep, sonorous, and still more perplexing
whir of the ruffed grouse, as he goes booming off through the
entangled thickets bordering the mountain streams; or the delve-
resounding start of the lonely woodcock, as he rushes through
the marshy brake, all in the full vigor and freshness of his native
freedom; or the still more confusing zigzag flight of the fickle
snipe, as he springs wildly from the oozy marsh.
The whirring noise consequent upon the springing of a covey or
even of a single bird is not a little trying to the nerves of a
young shot; and it requires some considerable time to accustom his
ears to this startling sound, which, however, will wear off by
degrees, no matter how nervous he may be at first. When the
dogs have come to a stand, advance noiselessly and with firmness
towards the spot indicated, holding the gun cocked, and with the
muzzle in such a position that its contents could not injure any
one of the company, even if it should by any mishap go off before
you have the proper range on the birds. Be careful, above all,
not to shoot the dogs; which accident, by-the-by, has happened
more than once to heedless beginners. When the birds are
flushed, raise the gun with perfect coolness and deliberation ;
single out first one bird and then another, if you have a double-
barrelled gun, as every sportsman should have, and be sure not to
pull trigger upon either of them till they are well covered. That
is, when looking down the barrel-plate, the eye, the sight, the
point, and the bird, are all in the same line: this, then, is the
moment to fire; do not hesitate an instant; do not dwell upon the
object after it is once covered, or you will inevitably lose the point
of sight, and the load will pass under the bird.
The eye in a correct light is seldom wrong in its calculations,
SHOOTING ON THE WING. 53
seldom deceived as regards distances or positions; seldom, in fact,
at fault in any one particular; it is to some one of the many other
circumstances upon which the proper handling of the fowling-piece
is dependent that we must attribute the frequent habit of missing;
such, for example, as a want of self-possession, over-anxiety, care-
less loading, hurry, nervousness, or some such causes. Be careful
not to shut both eyes just at the instant of pulling the trigger, as
some beginners do; neither throw the muzzle of the gun up or
down with a sudden jerk, but let it lie perfectly free in the grasp.
By following these few instructions, although you may miss your
bird over and over again during the first day’s shooting, still, we
are confident that you will attain in a very short space of time to
some considerable cleverness in the art. When there is a fair and
open shot and the bird not killed, you may depend upon it that it
was not properly covered; or, if it was, the gun, by some imper-
ceptible movement, must have been carried from its proper direc-
tion at the instant of firing, or the bird might have perchance
varied its straight course at the critical moment of being covered.
One of these three things must have taken place provided the gun
was loaded properly, otherwise the bird would have inevitably been
brought down. We do not pretend to say that every one on going
for the first time into the field will acquire in an incredibly short
time this beautiful accomplishment of shooting on the wing by the
mere committing to memory of any set of rules for the handling
of a gun. But, on the other hand, we must assure the novice that
without pretty constant practice and great attention he will never
attain the art; but when once acquired it is seldom lost, except
temporarily, so long as the visual organs are perfect and the
physical powers sufficiently strong to carry him into the field in
pursuit of game. No doubt thousands of sportsmen arrive at
great excellence in shooting without ever reading a line on the
subject or receiving a word of advice from the more experienced;
but still, their progress has been very slow and up-hill kind of
work, and their object accomplished at last only by long practice
and observation. We do not, however, wish our readers to under-
54 LEWIS’S AMERICAN SPORTSMAN.
stand that any one can acquire the art of shooting on the wing
without patience, practice, and study, as we do not believe any
such thing, and would be sorry to attempt the promulgation of
such a fallacy. But we do assert that the young beginner will
much sooner, and with much more pleasure to himself, arrive at
this desirable end, by giving heed to the experience of those who
have gone before him, no matter whether the instruction be im-
parted orally or by means of the pen. That there are certain
fundamental rules for acquiring this accomplishment no one will
deny; and these rules should be made as simple and as few as
possible; in fact, reduced down to a few words of caution, which
may be embodied in the following line:—Be cool and deliberate,
and never draw the trigger till the bird ts well covered. We do
not wish to bother the novice with a long array of written instruc-
tions for shooting, as information obtained in this way is too often
a mere matter of rote, and cannot be of any great practical utility ;
we desire, however, to impress upon his memory a few short rules
that will secure him from the commission of many faults and pre-
vent him from falling into the common errors of most beginners.
This end being accomplished, we abandon him to the practical
operations of the field, which of themselves will soon make him
skilful, if he possess any of that aptness for sport which seems in-
herent in many of those who follow the dog and gun as a source
of the most healthful and exhilarating amusement.
Although by strictly adhering to the golden rule, be cool and
deliberate, and never draw the trigger till the bird is well covered,
the novice without doubt will miss many birds, as they will often
get beyond the reach of his shot long before he has fairly covered
them, more particularly if shooting in thickets or woods, never-
theless, he will find, at the conclusion of the day, that he has not
made out so very bad, and, we can assure him, much better than
if he had shot at every bird before it had flown ten steps from the
spot whence it sprang. To-be-sure, he will often feel mortification
and disappointment at the sight of a partridge sailing off untouched
by his fire, although well covered by the gun: this chagrin, how-
SHOOTING ON THE WING. 55
ever, will be of short duration, as, on the springing of the next
bird, he will involuntarily strive to be somewhat smarter in his
movements, but at the same time adhering strictly to the golden
rule of coolness and deliberation; and his efforts on this occasion
will perhaps be crowned with greater success. The bagging, then,
of this one bird will recompense for many others lost, and at the
same time impress upon him the importance of sticking to the
principles upon which he entered the field, and make him a firm
convert to the absolute utility of giving heed to our instructions;
for he will find that as often as he departs from these rules and
fires his gun at random, just so often will he be disappointed in the
result, and will also learn that the chances of killing birds at ran-
dom shots are very few, even when fired into a large covey; for
how frequently have we seen even the most experienced sportsmen
shoot into coveys without ruffling a feather, owing entirely to the
circumstance of the birds all rising, as it were, in a mass together,
and confusing him by their proximity and numbers; or, in other
words, throwing him off his guard, and depriving him momentarily
of that coolness and deliberation of which we are speaking! It is
very difficult, at times, even for an old sportsman to suppress a
feeling of anxiety, a kind of nervous trepidation that involuntarily
creeps over him when advancing upon a covey that he feels certain
is spread out around him, but at the same time entirely ignorant
of the exact spot from whence the birds will spring. Under these
circumstances, the heart of an old shooter is apt to palpitate with
a slight but agreeable emotion, while the warm blood of the tyro
rushes through his system with a velocity that often makes his
whole frame quiver with excitement. If, then, he misses his bird,
it is not to be wondered at, as the confusion and noise consequent
upon the flushing of a covey of frightened birds is no small affair,
but, on the contrary, is well calculated to upset his already-shaken
nerves and throw him entirely off his guard; insomuch that he
mechanically raises his gun and bangs away, harwm-scarum, with-
out the least aim, and then is mortified as well as astonished that
56 LEWIS'S AMERICAN SPORTSMAN.
he did not kill half a dozen birds from among so many immediately
under his nose.
It is to steel the heart of the novice against this emotion that
we wish to impress upon him, in the most forcible manner, the im-
portance of coolness and deliberation in all his actions; for rest
assured that without these two chief requisites he will never make
a good shot, but always be a bungler and a dangerous person to
go out with, as he will be sure some time or other to shoot either
himself, a friend, or his dog.
CROSS SHOTS.
We have in the previous pages been endeavoring to explain
more particularly the rules for plain or straight shooting; that
is, when a bird is going directly from us, as partridges most gene-
rally do when a covey is flushed. We will now speak of the rules
for cross shooting.
Many persons can kill birds with a great deal of certainty
when they are flying from them; but, for want of a little attention
to the subject, are constantly at fault when they come to pull upon
birds that are either crossing to the right or the left, more
particularly the former. The first thing to be observed by the
sportsman when considering a ‘cross shot’’ is the velocity with
which the bird flies, and the distance it is off from him at the
moment of firing. These two circumstances must be determined
upon in his own mind in a moment of time, as it were, by intut-
tion ; for when the game is on the wing there is no opportunity for
the exercise of inductive reason to arrive at these points. This
faculty of rapid discrimination or rightly judging the distance
that the bird is from us, or the velocity with which it is moving
through the air, every shooter must soon acquire by practice;
otherwise he can never become a superior marksman, but will
constantly find himself missing the fairest cross shots. The
American partridge, more particularly when frightened, or rather
startled by the sportsman, flies with amazing velocity, perhaps
swifter and stronger than any other game-bird in the world. The
SE OOMME ING sOuN* THRE WaEN G. oT
ordinary flight of the English partridge is nothing to compare to it
in point of speed—we mean, of course, a full-grown December bird.
This being the fact, there is no doubt that our bird requires much
more calculation and precision to bring it down when crossing.
When flushed, partridges, except in sections of the country
where they are seldom or never hunted, boom off at the top of
their speed; and if they attain a distance of forty, fifty, or sixty
paces before we succeed in fairly covering them, it will be neces-
sary to sight the gun a little in advance of them in the regular
line of their flight. If the birds are very large and strong,—
which, by-the-by, most generally is the case in November and
December,—it will be better to allow a still greater distance
between the bird and the point of sight, and then perhaps we shall
not unfrequently have the mortification of seeing our intended
victim move off unhurt save the loss of the tail feathers. If the
course of the bird should be oblique, as is often the case, the same
rules for shooting will apply, save that the point of aim should be
about half the distance in advance of the bird, as if it were flying
directly across. There is another point in cross shooting which we
must not forget to impress upon the attention of our readers, other-
wise all our previous remarks on the subject will prove nugatory
and go for nothing. What we refer to is the absolute necessity
of accustoming the hand and eye to keep up the lateral motion
imparted to the gun when sighting it on the object till after the
piece is discharged. If attention be not paid to this pomt, and at
the moment of pulling the trigger the gun is arrested in its onward
progress, the whole load will most inevitably pass behind the bird;
as the time intervening between the pulling of the trigger and the
passage of the shot through the air to the intended victim is quite
sufficient to allow of its getting beyond the point of sight first
caught at by the eye.
The distance intervening between the bird and the point of
sight is the space granted the bird for flying through the air
during the passage of the shot from the muzzle of the gun to the
point of sight, and not for the pulling of the trigger, ignition of
58 LEWIS’S AMERICAN SPORTSMAN.
the powder, and the escape of the load from the barrel. All this,
to-be-sure, appears only to be a momentary, if not an instanta-
neous affair; but such is not the fact, as every shooter can testify
to; for it is a self-evident fact that some time must elapse between
the accomplishment of these two acts—the pulling of the trigger
and the escape of the charge from the gun. This time will be
regulated in a great measure by the quality of the powder and
the construction of the gun, which, however, will be spoken of
particularly under a more appropriate head. If, therefore, the
motion of the gun be stopped during the time of pulling the
trigger and the escape of the load, the bird will inevitably have
got beyond the reach of the shot, unless we should allow double
the distance to intervene between the bird and the point of sight,
and this kind of shooting would be very uncertain. Therefore,
we repeat again that it is of the utmost importance that the gun
should continue its gentle movement in the line of flight at the
proper distance in advance of the game till after the pulling of
the trigger. Most young shots have a strong inclination to arrest
the progress of the gun when pulling the trigger, which, if not
early corrected, degenerates into a settled habit that is very diffi-
cult to be overcome.
A bird crossing to the right is generally considered more difficult
to shoot than when going to the left, and very justly so; as the gun,
being balanced on the left hand, can be carried towards that side
with more ease and freedom than it can towards the right. If any
of our readers are dubious on this point, let him take a gun in his
hand and place himself in the usual position to fire, and he will
readily perceive what we mean, as upon trial he will find it difficult
to take sight on an object even at right angles with his right side,
whereas he will be able to turn himself with ease so far to the left
that he can shoot in a direct line behind his person.
A bird when crossing is much easier killed, if struck, than
when going straight from you or coming towards you, as the vital
parts are somewhat protected in the first case by the rump, and
in the second the shot is very apt to glance off from the thick
SHOOTING ON THE WING. 59
feathers of the breast. When a bird is flying towards you or over
your head, you will be very apt to miss it: the better plan is to
wait till it has passed, and then turn and take a fair shot at it.
If, however, you prefer shooting as the bird advances towards you,
aim for the head, or rather the bill, when he has arrived at a fair
shooting distance. If coming very swiftly, as they most generally
do when frightened, it will not be too much to aim even a foot
or more before the bird. When shooting at long distances, be
careful to hold the gun full high; as shot, after going a certain
distance, has, as a matter of course, a downward tendency. The
most common fault committed by sportsmen generally is the too
frequent habit of shooting under their game; and we are satisfied
from repeated observation that where one bird is missed by shoot-
ing too high, ten are missed by shooting too low. When, however,
the game is flushed on the side of a hill and takes a downward
course, the point of aim should then be at the feet, or the load
will pass over the object, as it must be recollected that the bird is
now descending—quite the opposite of its usual habit. To ob-
viate the inconvenience arising from the smoke of the first barrel,
or, in other words, to prevent the smoke of the first barrel
interfering with the shooting or sighting of the second barrel,
more particularly when a covey rises, we would advise our readers
to get as many cross shots as possible. This can be done by -
either heading the dogs or by flushing the birds from the side, and
not going directly on the game from the dogs, which practice, by-
the-by, most generally is bad.
COVERT SHOOTING.
In covert shooting the same rules are applicable as we have
already laid down for open shooting; the only difference is, that
we must be more fully on the qguz vive to take advantage of all
and every chance, as we often see the bird for a moment only,
and then it is lost to our sight among the trees or thick under-
wood; and, as before remarked, we constantly kill birds in thick
coppices without ever seeing them at all.
60 LEWIS’S AMERICAN SPORTSMAN.
A snap shot is more successful in the woods than a plain shot;
and the reader should recollect that in firmg snap shots the fault
most generally committed is shooting under the bird, forgetting
that the bird is on the rise, almost always, when first flushed.
Never beat the bushes with your gun, or you may shoot a
favorite dog, or perhaps, what would be a hundred times worse,
you may shoot a friend; the habit is an unsportsmanlike and
dangerous one, and should never be tolerated in a companion.
You cannot be too careful with your gun in covert shooting;
its position should be watched with the most jealous attention,
and never for one moment neglected, more especially if shooting
in company; for a twig or a bough may catch the hammer or
trigger at any moment, and commit perhaps irreparable injury
either to yourself or friend. Be ever cautious also in climbing
fences or jumping ditches.
BOTH EYES OPEN.
Some shooters fire with both eyes wide open. This practice
is a mere peculiarity acquired by some ready shots, but which
does not, possess a single advantage over the old style of closing
the left eye to recommend it to our notice. But, on the con-
trary, we are convinced that no one, except by very long prac-
tice, can shoot with the same degree of certainty with both eyes
open as he can when one is shut in the usual way. The manner
of acquiring this knack is to hold the eyes steadily upon the
object, bring the gun up to the proper position, and draw upon
the trigger without sighting down the barrel, the hand and finger
actually obeying the promptings of the eye without there being
any actual collusion, or, rather, concert of action, between the two
organs. Some sportsmen, however, recommend the novice to
begin shooting with both eyes upon the game, insisting that this
practice is the best. Although we differ with these gentlemen
upon this subject, we do not wish our opinions to be considered
paramount, or more worthy of credence than theirs, but, on the
contrary, are willing to believe all they say upon this head, not-
SHOOTING ON THE WING. 61
withstanding our own personal experience teaches us quite the
contrary. For “snap shooting” this plan certainly answers a
very good purpose; but a ‘“‘snap shot’ is generally a very dis-
agreeable companion to shoot with, and we would not advise any
of our friends to be ambitious in this particular. The birds are
usually, under the hands of a ‘snap shot,” horribly mangled, and
frequently fired upon before his companion has time to put up his
piece, which, to say the least of it, if often repeated, is ill-bred
on the part of the shooter and mortifying to his companion.
Although we do not admire a ‘snap shot,” we trust that our
readers will not understand us as recommending a “poking shot”
to their attention; for we most heartily detest a ‘poking shot,”
who brings up his gun ever and anon, and dwells upon his bird,
following it in its course for several yards before drawing the
trigger, or perhaps takes his gun down without firing at all, com-
placently remarking “that he could not cover it to his satis-
faction.”’ Such a poker usually prides himself upon his excellent
shooting; that is, notes down with unexampled minuteness the
exact number of shots he has made in the course of the day
without missing a bird. Such kind of shooting we entirely
eschew, and consider it beneath the dignity of a true sportsman ;
as for ourselves, we would rather miss three shots out of five, all
day long, than go pottering about in this style, picking our shots.
If the art of shooting is to be reduced to such a systematic piece
of business that we are never to shoot except when we are sure
of killing our bird, we for one would be glad enough to abandon
the field altogether, as one-half, if not all, the pleasurable excite-
ment consequent upon the pursuit of game consists in the un-
certainty, the doubts, the disappointments, and hopes, that we
encounter. If on the one hand we suffer some personal chagrin
owing to our carelessness in missing a fair shot, we receive on the
other hand double gratification in killmg on a doubtful chance;
and the results of the day’s shooting will always be in favor of the
man who shoots at all and every chance, though he may have
missed three times as often as the tedious ‘ potterer.”’
62 LEWIS’S AMERICAN SPORTSMAN.
Avail yourself of every opportunity to shoot, more particularly
when the birds are scattered in thick cover early in the season, as
you will acquire by this means a knack of killing the birds even
when they have passed entirely from your sight behind the thick
foliage. This knack is a very necessary one in early autumn
shooting, before Jack Frost has sufficiently nipped vegetation with
his icy fingers. This kind of shooting requires considerable prac-
tice, a quick eye and a ready hand, and is the style of shooting
that all American sportsmen have to attain; and it is in this
particular more especially that they excel the great field-shots
of England. Most of the shooting in the Atlantic States is done
in the wood and thick cover, through which the birds at some
seasons can scarcely force their way; and we are not astonished
that English sportsmen speak so disparagingly of its pleasures, as
partridge shooting with us is quite a different affair from going out
after them in the rich stubbles of their preserves; and what is still
worse for them, when they have found our birds, they discover,
greatly to their mortification, that they cannot kill them near as
often as they do their own varieties, without first serving some-
thing of an apprenticeship to the sport, under the guidance of
some one of their friends more skilled in the craft of our game.
When shooting in the open stubble-fields, we are enabled to see
the game, and correctly judge of position, distance, bulk, Xc.;
but in the woods and coppices of our country we do not actually
see, but learn to guess at all these necessary circumstances; and
that, too, without the exercise of thought in the operation, if such
a thing were possible; as the arm in most instances seems to obey
a sudden and irresistible impulse, no time being allowed for any
action of the mind upon the subject, for in thicket-shooting we
often kill birds without ever seeing them. The difficulty of killing
partridges is not the only thing that the English sportsman has to
complain of, as will be seen in the following extract, taken from
the journal of a traveller who appears to have been both dis-
couraged and disappointed in his expectations of sporting in
America :—
SHOOTING ON THE WING. 63
‘‘Hares and pheasants there are none, and partridges are scarce ;
woodcocks and snipes are uncertain, both as to season and situa-
tion. It is true that great quantities of other birds may sometimes
be killed,—for instance, wild ducks and pigeons, which are seen
occasionally in flocks of many miles in extent; but, after all, and
much as I have heard of American shooting, in my opinion it is
poor, insipid diversion, compared with the English, being pursued
without any kind of system or science, and reminding me more of
the onsets of our mechanics and shopmen, let loose at Christmas
and on holidays, to range the fields no matter where, and pounce
upon all, no matter what, than of any thing worthy the name of
shooting. Let no English sportsman think to better himself by
emigration in this respect. Ill answer, upon trial, for his total
disappointment.”
In reply to the above, we must say that Mr. Fowler’s remarks
are calculated to give his countrymen a very unjust and unfavor-
able idea of sporting in the States. He must have been very un-
fortunate in the selection of his shooting-grounds when among us,
to be forced to assert that partridges are scarce in America, or
that woodcocks and snipes are uncertain both as to season and
situation; for all three of these birds are to be found in almost
every State of the Union in considerable abundance, at the proper
time, as will be found by referring to our articles on these sub-
jects. It would be folly in us to waste time in refuting all that
has been said by Englishmen in reference to our sporting; and we
therefore pass the matter over without further comment, as we are
satisfied that the contents of this book will tell a different tale from
what many of them have written.*
* What would Mr. Fowler’s readers think of the following extract, taken from
one of our daily Western papers, of March, 1855 ?—
““N. Powers, of Fayette County, Iowa, lately drove into Dubuque with a load of
game, consisting of one thousand partridges, one thousand prairie-hens, (grouse, )
one hundred hares, eight deers, five wolf-skins, two bear-skins.”
Or of this, from the ‘‘ Cleveland Leader :”—
‘««Dr. Short and his son shot two hundred and nineteen English snipe in one and
a half days on the borders of Mud Creek, near the head of Sandusky Bay. When
64 LEWIS’S AMERICAN SPORTSMAN.
KILLING CLEAN.
Be not satisfied with wounding your game only, but aspire to
become a nice, clean shot, as it will save you much trouble and
vexation, and make your dog show to more advantage. For in-
stance, if a covey rise, and we wound two birds and see them
fluttering on the ground before us, we feel great anxiety as to
their fate; and, fearing lest they might get off, or secrete them-
selves so that the dogs cannot find them, we can with difficulty sup-
press the strong desire that naturally rises in our mind to quit our
position, before loading, to secure them; much less, then, can we
hope to overcome this impulsive inclination on the part of our
dogs. In spite of repeated castigations, the excited animals will
rush after the fluttering birds, and persist in catching them, in
opposition to all our endeavors; and the consequence is the flush-
ing of one or two laggers, who often remain behind when the
coveys spring, and both of which might have been bagged if our
we consider that these birds are only shot singly, and only on the wing, we con-
sider this extraordinary shooting. They found the ducks rather scarce, as they
only bagged about fifty in two days.”
Or this, from the ‘‘ Lancaster Herald,” of Grant county, Wisconsin, of January,
1856 :—
‘“‘Game is very plenty with us, this season, in all parts of the State. Venison
is sold daily in our streets as common as pork and beef, and at the same price.
Prairie-chickens (pinnated grouse) and pheasants (ruffed grouse) are offered for
sale by the boys at our doors at one dollar to one dollar and a quarter per dozen,
partridges at forty cents per dozen, hares at one dollar per dozen, wild turkeys
twenty-five cents each.”
Or this, from the Philadelphia ‘‘ North American,” of January, 1856 :—
““Witp GAME FROM THE West.—A week ago two hundred boxes of partridges,
averaging, probably, one hundred birds to a box, were shipped eastward from
Janesville, Wisconsin; and a short time previous to the 8th inst. two hundred
deer were shot in the neighborhood of Sparta, in the same State, and sent east-
ward.”
Or this, from the same journal, of a little later date :—
‘‘The ‘ Vincennes Gazette’ notices the arrival at that place of two thousand four
hundred hares, six barrels of partridges, fourteen whole deer, twenty-five saddles
of venison, one hundred and forty-four prairie-hens, (grouse,) together with wild-
geese, wild ducks, wild turkeys, squirrels, &c. &c. to an almost incredible extent:
making, in all, five wagon-loads.”
SHOOTING ON THE WING. 65
piece had been loaded. Much time is also lost in hunting up
wounded birds, to say nothing of the labor and worriment attend-
ing it; for we know nothing more provoking than to see a bird
fall and flutter within a few feet of us and not be able to lay our
hand upon it. Every bird, therefore, should be killed dead at from
twenty-five to thirty paces and under, with a good gun and the
proper ammunition: we occasionally have knocked birds down at
much greater distances, even as far as fifty, sixty, and seventy
paces by actual measurement; but we esteem all such lucky shots
as mere accidents.
Not only on the score of vexation and trouble should the sports-
man strive to become a clean shot, but for humanity’s sake also,
as a bungler in this respect will mutilate and abandon to a linger-
ing death more birds in the course of a day than he will actually
bag. A bird with a broken wing or a torn leg dangling from its
body may live in misery and pain for several days, skulking
about solitary and alone, half-starved and parched with thirst, and
ultimately fall a victim to a prowling serpent, or be taken off by a
hawk or some other one of its enemies.
‘¢As glory more than gain allures the brave
To dare the combat loud or louder wave,
So the ambition of the sportsman lies
More in the certain shot than bleeding prize ;
While poachers, mindful of the festal hour,
Among the covey random slaughter pour,
And, as their number press the crimsoned ground,
Regardless reck not of the secret wound,
Which borne away, the wretched victims lie,
Mid silent shades, to languish and to die.
Oh let your breasts such selfish views disclaim,
And scorn the triumph of a casual aim ;
Disdain such rapine; of your skill be proud,
The object singling from the scattering crowd.”
o@
THE PARTRIDGE. PERDIX VIRGINIANUS.
‘‘ How beautiful they look! with outstretched tails,
With heads immovable and eyes fast fixed,
One foreleg raised and bent, the other firm,
Advancing forward, presses on the ground.”
HIS beautiful bird, so well known and
eagerly sought after by all the sports-
men of our country, is found in consider-
able abundance in almost every State of
the Union, extending from the extreme
parts of Canada even to the southernmost
banks of the Rio Grande. The inhabit-
ants of the Northern States call it quail;
in the Middle or Southern States it is more familiarly known as
ntvey . Tine cota stpicle
the partridge, or Virginia partridge.
The habits and natural history of the American partridge
having already been so amply descanted upon by many able
66
THE PARTRIDGE. 67
ornithologists who have graced this country by their presence and
enriched our libraries with their splendid works, that it would seem
superfluous, if not really hopeless, in us to attempt to add any
thing further upon a subject thus dwelt upon by others far more
competent to the task. However, as we propose bringing to the
notice of our readers the practical experience of shooters in
general, in connection with the more scientific observations and
researches of ornithologists, regarding all those birds of our
country which properly belong to the sportsman’s catalogue, we
must be pardoned, ex necessttaté rerum, for going over much
ground already touched upon by other writers in the many excel-
lent works already published on this branch of Natural History.
“The partridge is nine inches long, and fourteen inches in
extent; the bill is black; line over the eye, down the neck, and
whole chin pure white, bounded by a band of black, which de-
scends and spreads broadly over the throat; the eye is dark hazel;
down neck and upper part of the breast, red-brown; sides of the
neck spotted with white and black, on a reddish-brown ground;
back scapulars and lesser coverts, red-brown intermixed with ash
and sprinkled with black; tertials edged with yellowish-white,
beautifully marked with numerous curving spots or arrowheads of
black; tail, ash sprinkled with reddish-brown; legs, very pale ash.’
The above accurate description, (as well as the major part of
the other scientific descriptions of birds in this work,) taken from
Wilson, being so perfect in itself, there remains nothing to add,
except that the female bird is distinguished from the male by its
diminished weight and size, and also by its plumage being some-
what yellowish-brown about the chin and sides of the head.
HABITS.
Partridges, in sections of the country where they are much
troubled by sportsmen, become extremely shy and wild, seldom
venturing far into the open fields, but confining themselves to the
edges of close cover, to which they take at the slightest alarm,
secreting themselves in the thickets, and not unfrequently perch-
68 LEWIS’S AMERICAN SPORTSMAN.
ing upon the branches of the largest forest-trees. The act of
perching upon trees is not, however, a natural habit of this bird,
but appears to be solely the result of fright, or, perhaps, a pre-
caution of safety which circumstances have taught it to adopt to
escape from its pursuers. In hilly and mountainous districts,
partridges are much more apt to fly to the trees than in other
parts; and in such a locality we knew of a whole covey betaking
themselves to a tree and remaining there, perfectly concealed
from view, for some considerable time, greatly to our mystification,
and that of our dogs also.*
In their natural undisturbed. state, partridges delight in the
open country, frequenting without fear the stubble-fields apper-
taining to the well-cultivated farms of our agriculturists, where
they can obtain a plentiful supply of loose grain. The morning
and evening is the time when partridges feed. When the weather
is favorable, they leave their roost at an early hour of the day,
and, being very industrious feeders, they are soon able to retire
from the open fields to some favorite and secluded spot, to bask in
the mid-day sun or roll themselyes in the dust to rid their plumage
of the vermin with which all birds are more or less infested.
Partridges are not strictly migratory birds, as the greater portion
of them remain distributed throughout the northern portions of
our country during the whole winter, and not unfrequently suffer
immensely from the intense cold and deep snows; still, at that
period of the autumn known as the “‘running season,” large
numbers abandon their former haunts, and, continuing along the
borders of our rivers, take up their abode for a time in the
lowlands, hundreds of miles, perhaps, from their breeding-places.
Of this peculiarity we shall, however, speak more fully hereafter,
under a separate head. In the northern sections of our country,
the ground is frequently covered for weeks with snow; and, all
access to food being thus cut off, these poor birds, driven by stern —
* In such situations, it is not unusual to find numbers taking to the trees when
frequently disturbed.
=
THE PARTRIDGE. 69
necessity, often become quite tame, visiting the barnyards, and
even mixing with the poultry, to gain a scanty subsistence, which
not unfrequently preserves them from actual starvation.
Besides thus fallmg victims to the inclemency of the weather,
large numbers are now destroyed, not only by the gun, but by the
aid of traps, nets, and other ingenious contrivances; and we have
seen, in former times, the Philadelphia markets, and the villages
of the interior, fairly overstocked with live birds, taken in various
ways by the farmer-boys.
When this is the case, it behooves every sportsman living in the
country, or residing in the city, to purchase all birds thus offered
for sale, and keep them till the breaking-up of the winter, when
they may be let loose upon a friend’s estate, or turned out into
some neighborhood where he is in the habit of shooting, and
where, from the nature of the country, they will be apt to remain
during the breeding season. By pursuing this course, the pro-
vident sportsman will be richly repaid for all his trouble and
humanity, at the coming shooting season, by the number of birds
that will thus be produced in some favorite shooting locality, as
the fecundity of the partridge is extraordinary, and the coveys
raised from a few couples of old birds, in a favorable season, will
be sufficient to afford sport for several days’ moderate shooting.
PERIOD OF PAIRING.
Partridges commence pairing in the month of March, early or |
late, according to the state of the weather; and, even after sepa-
rating for the purposes of procreation, it is not unusual for them
to reassemble in coveys as before, provided the weather should
again become stormy and cold, as is often the case in our change-
able climate. There is no doubt but there are more male birds
hatched than females; and this rather singular circumstance gives
rise to fierce battles between the cock birds for the possession of
the hens at the coupling season; and to such extent are these
encounters carried that they sometimes result in the death of one
or both of the rival combatants. This fact is so well established
70 LEWIS’S AMERICAN SPORTSMAN.
in the English variety, that it is no uncommon thing for the
owners of some choice preserves to have the partridges on their
manors netted, soon after the pairing season, and to destroy the
surplus males, or old bachelors, as they are facetiously termed.
This precaution prevents those strifes, and at the same time in-
sures a larger produce of young birds; for, if the female be pur-
sued by several cocks during the period of incubation, she has no
opportunity to form a nest, but drops her eggs about in various
places, no two, perhaps, together. Partridges generally complete
their nests in five or six weeks after pairing. A small tuft of
grass, sheltered by a bush or a tree, the corner of a worm fence,
or the foot of an old stump, are the spots usually selected for the
building of their nests, which are composed of leaves, dry grass,
and a few feathers plucked from her own person. The little
habitation is rudely but often ingeniously constructed; and, being
so nicely concealed from observation, it not unfrequently bids
defiance to the searching glances of the most inquisitive eye, as
well as affording ample protection on every side from the incle-
mency of the weather. The eggs are white, and average from
fifteen to twenty in number, and, in some rare instances, greatly
exceed that quantity. If the birds be in their prime, and the
season very favorable, it is not improbable that the hen may
deposit twenty-five or even thirty eggs; but such cases are anoma-
lies; and we should be more disposed to attribute the unusual
increase of eggs to an occasional propensity that some birds have
of laying in each other’s nests. Mr. Daniel, speaking of the
amazing fecundity of the English partridge, which is closely allied
to our species, states that a nest was discovered with thirty-three
eggs in it, another with twenty-eight, and another with thirty-
three. The greatest number we have ever seen in the nest of the
American bird is twenty-four; but we have often been told by
farm hands that twenty-five is no unusual number. For the truth
of these vague assertions we cannot, however, vouch. The period
of incubation is about twenty-one days. Some contend for a longer
period; but we believe the former statement the more correct,
THE PARTRIDGE. We
although, in proof of the latter assertion, it has been argued that
it requires four weeks to hatch the eggs when placed under a
common hen. This, however, proves nothing, as the disparity in
the time may be accounted for by the circumstance of the par-
tridge setting much closer than the domestic fowl, and, conse-
quently, generating a larger amount, if not a higher degree, of
animal heat.
The hen bird during the period of incubation becomes quite
poor, and undergoes the process of a partial moult, which provides
a few downy feathers to assist in keeping the eggs warm during
her absence from the nest in quest of food. The young birds
are quite strong when they first burst from their narrow confines ;
and it is no very uncommon thing for them to be seen running
about with a portion of the shell adhering to their backs. While
the hen is setting, and even after the birds are hatched, her mate
may often be seen early in the mornings, or late in the afternoons,
perched on a fence-rail or low limb of a tree, whistling with all
diligence for a half hour at a time, as if to cheer the female in
her arduous and solitary duties. Partridges are strictly mono-
gamous; and it is supposed by some that the cock assists the hen
in covering the nest; and we incline to the opinion that these
birds, in common with many others, do share the cares of hatch-
ing the little brood.
If the weather remains dry and mild after hatching, the young
birds will be able to fly in the course of three or four weeks; if,
on the other hand, the season should be backward and inclement,
the tender little brood gains strength but slowly, and great numbers
consequently will fall victims to the damp and cold while being
led about in search of food.
LEAVING THE NEST.
As soon as the anxious mother abandons the nest, attended by
her nimble little progeny, she is jomed by the cock partridge, who
gives all his attention to the searching for food and protecting
the active little brood from any danger that may beset them. At
72 LEWIS’S AMERICAN SPORTSMAN.
the first alarm, the young birds instinctively skulk in the’ deep
grass and remain perfectly motionless, while the old ones resort to
every artifice within their power to ward off the impending danger.
It is interesting to observe the earnest solicitude with which
both the parents watch over their young, and the wonderful
instinct they exhibit in guarding them when surprised by the
huntsman before they are sufficiently fledged to fly off. The old
birds take to the wing, and the young ones run with all speed into
the nearest thicket, or conceal themslves in the brushwood, or long
grass that abounds at this season on their feeding-grounds. The
hen, after flying a few hundred yards, alights, and returns by a
circuitous route to the place she just abandoned; and, calling
in subdued tones, she soon collects around her the scattered pro-
geny, and quickly leads them off from the scene of danger. ‘The
cock partridge at the same time is using every effort to distract
the attention of the intruder by flying or rather tumbling con-
fusedly before him, running along the ground, hanging his wings,
fluttermg as if badly wounded and unable to escape his every
grasp. By such like artifices, the male bird strives to delude the
eager observer, and deceive, perchance, his no less anxious dog;
for, leading them both away, step by step, from the young covey,
sufficient time is gained for the female to perform her important
task. When the danger is passed, the hen bird, by her joyful call,
directs the mate to her retreat.
It is not only in devices of this kind that partridges display
a strong and lively affection for their young, but where there ap-
pears a probability of success they will not hesitate to attack any
enemy that assails them; and it is no uncommon thing for the old
ones to be seen flying up at hawks, or other birds of prey, scream-
ing and fighting with all vigor to defend their helpless offspring.
Several years ago we witnessed a desperate battle between a cock
partridge and a black snake, which rather singular combat would,
however, have soon proved fatal to the former if we had not so
opportunely come to his rescue, as the serpent had already caught
the exhausted bird by the wing; and so deadly was the grasp that
THE PARTRIDGE. 1a
he even held on to his affrighted but nevertheless courageous vic-
tim after we had broken his back with a blow from a large stick.
On searching around in the grass, we discovered two very young
partridges, somewhat mutilated, and nearly dead; both of which,
no doubt, had been seized by his snakeship as a dainty meal, which
he was not, however, permitted to enjoy, owing to the bold attack
of the parent bird.
Such encounters between birds and serpents, we are convinced,
are not uncommon, but of daily occurrence, as few of us at all
familiar with country life but have witnessed like incidents in our
rambles over the fields. We also believe that similar conflicts be-
tween the parent birds and these ruthless desecrators of their nests
have given rise to the popular fallacy that snakes possess the
power of charming birds, or, in other words, transfixing or draw-
ing them within their reach by the use of certain mesmeric manipu-
lations of their tongue and eyes. We give no credit whatever to
this boasted power of fascination on the part of snakes, but regard
it as one of those vulgar errors which spring up inthe minds of the
ignorant, from their inability to explain or investigate many of the
everyday phenomena of nature.
Dr. 8. Gilman, the author of a very interesting article on the
Venom of Serpents, published in the St. Louis Medical Journal, is
a firm believer in the occult power possessed by serpents of fasci-
nating small animals, and hints at the probability of the king-snake
exercising some power besides mere physical force by which he
overcomes, even when fangless, the most venomous of his fellow-
reptiles.
Dr. Gilman states that he succeeded in making seven venomous
serpents fraternize and dwell amicably in one den. A beautiful
pair of long-bodied king-snakes, known to be fangless, and conse-
quently without venom, were duly installed as members of the
family. The older members manifested some uneasiness, but made
no attempt to destroy the intruders; and the next morning four
of the venomous serpents were found dead, and a fifth was gasping
in the suffocating coils of the king-snakes. The two others re-
T+ LEWIS’S AMERICAN SPORTSMAN.
mained stupid and apparently indiffereht to their fate, and could
not be made to offer the slightest resistance to their enemies. One
of the king-snakes was afterwards inoculated with the poison of a
rattlesnake which he had destroyed, and died immediately, thus
evincing that they must have exercised some power besides physical
force to overcome their fellow-reptiles.
M. Raspail explains the mystery of fascination, apparently very
much to his own satisfaction, by supposing the serpent to possess
the power of emitting two streams of a poisonous and stupefying
gas—one on each side of its mouth—which proceed to unite above
the head of the bird, producing asphyxia, &c. &e.
DOMESTICATION.
The wild nature of the partridge renders its domestication almost
impossible, though in some instances, where the eggs have been
placed under the common hen, they have been hatched and reared
with as much success as if the progeny were of her own species.
The young brood, however, though perfectly familiar with all the
other occupants of the farmyard, and apparently reconciled to
their unnatural mode of life, still exhibited the wandering and
restless disposition of their race, and in most instances have flown
away to their native haunts at the pairing season of the following
year. The American partridge, in common with those of other
countries, cannot bear close confinement; they may appear for a
time to thrive, still, if too much restricted in their movements, in-
variably die. We unfortunately, during the last winter, lost seve-
ral fine birds that were presented to us by our friend G. D.
Wetherill, Esq., owing, we suppose, to the smallness of the cage
in which we had temporarily placed them.
TWO BROODS.
It is a common opinion among sportsmen that the partridge
produces two broods during each season. Whether this be true or
not, we are not prepared to say positively; but one thing is cer-
tain, that the hen is often discovered setting during July, in our
THE PARTRIDGE. 75
Middle States, and birds too small to be shot are constantly met
with in October, and even in November.
This circumstance may nevertheless be accounted for on other
grounds, as it is well known that the female, if disturbed during
the period of incubation, or the eggs be destroyed by some one of
her many enemies, will build another nest and commence setting
afresh. We do not doubt, however, that, independent of these
accidents, in a very favorable season the hen may be induced occa-
sionally to raise two broods of young, more particularly in the
Southern States; but we are not inclined to believe the habit a
natural instinct of the bird, and rather attribute these instances to
causes such as above enumerated.
The period of warm weather in the Middle and Northern States
is rather too short to allow partridges generally to raise two broods
in a season; and, if they should succeed in hatching them, the
second brood, being small and delicate, and not sufficiently well
grown before the cool weather sets in, are unable to endure the
rigors of our boisterous winters, and consequently soon perish,
either from want of food or exposure. These are the birds which
are first caught in traps and sent to market.
FULL-GROWN.
The birds, being full-grown towards the close of September, will
be found associated in coveys from ten to twenty-five; and, im
portions of the country where food is plenty, much larger coveys
may be met with, perhaps two or three broods joining together in
perfect harmony. The call of the male bird during the season of
love, which is thought to resemble the notes produced by pro-
nouncing the words Ah Bob White in slow and measured time, is
now seldom heard except when the covey is flushed and separated ;
and then this plaintive call, in connection with the usual cry of
the species, will be recognised at occasional intervals, collecting
the terrified members of the family together again. The call of
the partridge is a clear whistle, composed of three notes; the first
clear, loud, and sonorous; the second less loud, and the third,
76 LEWIS’S AMERICAN SPORTSMAN.
though louder than the second, not as loud as the first. These
call-notes are perfectly familiar to every sportsman, as they are
often resorted to, to decoy the poor birds from their lurking-places.
If the birds be young, they will soon reassemble or be decoyed by
the imitative whistle of the sportsman; if, however, they be old
and cunning, each one will remain perfectly quiet for a long time,
and not venture to call each other till towards the close of the day,
when all danger is removed.
the two following plans :—‘‘snap-shooting” and ‘deliberate shoot-
ing; both diametrically opposed to each other in practice and
theory, but the same in their results, as either will be found to
answer equally well in the present case. The snap-shot kills the
bird as soon as sprung, and before he enters upon the zigzag
course previously described; the deliberate shot poises his weapon,
and coolly waits till these perplexing meanderings are at an end,
and then pulls the trigger upon his victim with a certainty of
fetching him to the ground. ‘The irregular flight of the snipe is
discontinued if the bird be allowed to pursue its course for a short
distance, and its motion becomes uniform and steady long before
it is out of reach of the gun, as it is very easily killed, requiring
but a shot or two to bring it down.
The following anecdote, just met with in the columns of the racy
“¢ Spirit,” is rather amusing :—
“Tt is known to all snipe-shooters that when the bird rises he
makes a kind of screaming noise, something resembling the sound
of the word escape. A noted shot of our acquaintance invariably
204 LEWIS’S AMERICAN SPORTSMAN.
exclaims, before pulling the trigger, ‘Ill be d—d if you do!’
giving as a reason that it affords him time to take his aim coolly
and collectedly. The plan appears to succeed with him, for a
snipe rarely escapes from his merciless barrel.”
The curious twisting flight of the snipe, when suddenly come
upon, is not altogether natural to the bird, but is rather the result
of circumstances, and has very justly been attributed to fright and
the great anxiety of the bird to make off; and perhaps their indis-
tinct vision in the glare of the day also renders their course, as it
were, undetermined and contorted.
«¢Whene’er you beat for snipes, implore
Old Aolus o’er marsh and moor
Boldly to breathe ; yet always mind
You turn your back upon the wind.”
Snipes almost invariably fly against the wind: it will therefore
be important for the shooter to have the wind at his back; for by
this arrangement the bird presents a much better mark when
coming towards him, and he is also in the proper position to take
advantage of all the cross shots. These birds lie better in windy
weather than at any other time; but are more difficult to shoot,
perhaps, when on the wing, as they fly much farther and swifter
than if the day be warm and mild, when their flight is short and
easy.
This latter assertion seems rather strange, too,—that they should
fly ‘farther and swifter on a windy day than on a mild one ;” for,
considering that they always proceed directly against the wind, it
would be very natural for us to infer that, in consequence of this
singular habit, their flight ought to be proportionably shorter,
slower, and more labored, owing to the powerful resistance offered
by a stiff breeze; such, however, is not the case, as every snipe-
shooter knows.
If, however, snipes have been much hunted after, and are wild,
they make long flights even in the calmest and clearest weather;
and are, as said before, very difficult to be got at, in consequence
of this very “calm and clearness of the atmosphere,’”’ as they pos-
WILSON’S SNIPE. 205
sess very acute organs of hearing, and take wing at the slightest
noise which is “wafted gently o’er the moor,” from all quarters
and from very great distances; and when one rises, if in wisps of
two, three, or more, the alarm most usually becomes general, and
the example is followed by all the others in quick succession.
Notwithstanding these birds are, perhaps, more difficult to be
killed on a windy day than a mild one, there are but few snipe-
shooters that would not prefer a moderately blustering day to a
calm one, as the points in favor of the former certainly overbalance
all that can be said of the latter condition of the elements, and
that very considerably. In this opinion we presume that we are
sustained by nearly all our sporting friends; however, there are
some of our acquaintances—one at least, and, what is more sur-
prising, a very acute observer, too, of all things in general, and
more particularly of every thing appertaining to the sports of the
field—who will, at times, contend for the opposite, and strive most
pertinaciously to support this erroneous opinion, in spite of all the
powerful arguments brought to bear against it by men not his
inferiors in any point of view as sportsmen.
The only argument worth alluding to—and which, in fact, is not
an argument, but merely a position or assertion that these advo-
cates of calm weather adduce in support of their opinion—is the
fact “of the shooter so frequently overwalking the birds on a
windy day, and seeing them get up far behind him after he has
passed over the places where he expected to find them.” This
circumstance, however, is not owing to the state of the atmosphere,
but is rather the consequence of his own ignorance and bad manage-
ment in not quartering the ground properly, which is of the utmost
importance in snipe-shooting, when pursued without the assistance
of a dog. When we say that the sportsman must hunt down wind,
we do not mean that he should walk directly with the wind on his
back, but rather that he should proceed in an oblique course, so as
to quarter the ground in such a manner as to travel within hearing-
distance of every snipe which may be feeding around. By follow-
ing this plan, the birds rise on a windy day within ten, fifteen, or
206 LEWIS’S AMERICAN SPORTSMAN.
twenty feet, as the case may be, circle about for an instant, and
then make invariably towards you or by you, and thus present the
very best shot that could be desired.
When raining, snipes are very uneasy, wild, and difficult of
approach. :
Snipes always lie better in the autumn than they do in the
spring, as they are far more restless, and even shy, at this latter
season than they are when they return from the North, accom-
panied by the young birds, which necessarily are far less cautious
and timid than the old ones, and require more quiet to recruit
themselves after long flights.
DOGS FOR SNIPE-SHOOTING.
There are few dogs which we have ever had the good fortune to
meet with that can be employed with much success in snipe-shoot-
ing; and, when the birds are abundant, most of our shooters prefer
going to the field alone. However, when there is sufficient cover
on the marshes, and the dog is accustomed to his game, snipes will
frequently lie well, and suffer a cunning animal to approach within
a few feet of them.
The dog, however, must be very careful, and not too fast; other-
wise he will overrun his game, and do much more harm than good.
The English, or rather Wilson’s snipe, as every one should call it,
gives forth a strong game effluvium; and it is no uncommon circum-
stance for a careful dog to draw upon one at a distance of twenty,
thirty, or even sixty feet. When the birds are very numerous and
somewhat confined, owing to the locality and small extent of their
feeding-grounds, we would advise a persevering shooter to leave
his four-footed companion at home, provided he is willing to travel
backward and forward over the cover and get all the birds up him-
self; for by so doing he will have a fairer chance to bag them than
if he had the best dog in the world; such, at all events, has been
our experience.
A snipe dog should be stanch, and had better be too old than
too young, as hunting young dogs on these birds is very likely to
WILSON’S SNIPE. 207
prove injurious to them, having a tendency to make them slow,
and perhaps lazy, as they find the birds so easy and the points
succeed each other so fast that they are unwilling thereafter to
put themselves to any great deal of trouble to find other game,
which will generally prove much more difficult to be got at. If
and there
you must, however, take a canine friend along with you,
are, we know, some shooters who cannot stir on an occasion of any
kind without two or more of these favorites,—please recollect that
one, at all events, is quite sufficient. We have seldom found dogs
of much account in snipe-shooting—perhaps because we never had
a particularly good one for this sport—except a first-chop retriever ;
and he can make himself very useful, provided he be intelligent
and well trained to cross the ditches and bring his bird without
coaxing or scolding.
As snipes invariably fly against the wind, it is a good plan to go
around the dog when on a point, and, by thus facing him, we may
get a much better shot when the bird rises. It is hardly necessary
for us to add that you should look out for your dog, otherwise you
may shoot him; such accidents have occurred, and may happen again.
To prove more forcibly this assertion in reference to the danger
apprehended from shooting our dogs in the field, it may not be
amiss to mention that we have just this moment received the sad in-
telligence of the accidental death of a favorite pointer dog which we
presented as a mark of regard to a sporting friend, whom we know
to be scrupulously particular in the handling of his gun, but never-
theless not sufficiently cautious in this one instance to bring upon
himself the reproach of having, I may say, carelessly taken the life
of a good and faithful animal. In his letter to us, commenting
upon the painful mishap, this gentleman very feelingly remarks :—
‘‘ Birds were very plenty, but after the sad accident I felt no dis-
position to shoot, and consequently killed but two, missed one, and
retired quite dispirited from the field, as well as mortified and dis-
tressed at this my first and only misadventure with a gun.”
If, therefore, this careful and very watchful sportsman could
accidentally shoot this dog,—for it was an accident, and we may
/
208 LEWIS’S AMERICAN SPORTSMAN.
say, Without any intention of being censorious, a heedless accident ;
at all events an accident that should not have occurred,—how much
more does it behoove all young sportsmen to look to their dogs
when in the field, and never endanger their lives by any species
of negligence whatever; in fact, should never hold their weapons
so that they can come in range with them!
ADVANTAGES OF SNIPE-SHOOTING: ‘‘DULCIUS EX ASPERIS.”’
Notwithstanding the mud and mire, trouble and vexation, we
consider snipe-shooting a most pleasant diversion, more especially
on account of the great number of shots to be had in the course
of a day, as well as their rapid succession; and we are acquainted
with no kind of sport that so rapidly improves an indifferent shot
as this does. So much quickness, and at the same time so much
judgment, are so absolutely necessary to hit upon the exact mo-
ment for drawing upon the trigger, that the tyro, with a little
practice, will soon have complete control over all his movements;
and it is also necessary for him to be ever on the quz vive, as
nearly every bird that springs presents a different shot.
WHITE SNIPE.
Mr. Copple, an old shooter, showed us, a few days since, a very
beautiful specimen of a pied or white snipe that he had shot the
day previous in New Jersey. This is the first and only specimen
we have heard of. It has been mounted, and we believe is now
in the possession of Mr. Stirley.
WILSON’S SNIPE. 209
MEMORANDA.
1. Snipes are widely distributed over the world, and are equally
esteemed in all parts for their game qualities.
2. To Wilson belongs the honor of describing a marked distinc-
tion between the American and English variety.
3. The snipe is a migratory bird, breeding in the elevated
districts of our Northern States, as well as Canada.
4, They arrive in Pennsylvania about the middle of March, and
soon become fat.
5. Their food consists of worms, insects, larvae, and the tender
roots of aquatic plants.
6. Snipes move farther north towards the close of April.
7. The young brood generally consists of four.
8. Snipes almost invariably fly against the wind; therefore
hunt them with the wind on your back.
9. Old and slow dogs are most suitable for this sport when the
birds are plenty; when scarce, a fast but cautious, as well as ex-
perienced, dog is most serviceable. Young and heedless animals
are far better at home under either contingency.
10. Snipes fly in “wisps,” and not in flocks; therefore say a
?
‘wisp of snipes,” and not a flock.
CHAPTER XII.
REED-BIRD, OR RICE BUNTING. EMBERIZA ORYZIVORA.
THEIR HISTORY AND NOMENCLATURE.
HIS delicate little bird is well known
throughout the whole extent of our
country, and is also a winter visitant to
the West India Islands. In no quarter
of its rambles, however, is its coming
hailed with more delight than in the
neighborhood of Philadelphia. In the
Hastern and Northern States it is called
bobolink, from the peculiar note which it
almost incessantly emits, whether it be
flying, or perched upon the tops of the bending reeds. In Penn-
sylvania they are known only as reed-birds; in Carolina they are
styled rice-buntings ; and in Louisiana, meadow-birds.
‘The rice-bunting is seven inches and a half long
g, and eleven
210
THE REED-BIRD. yon |
and a half in extent. His spring dress is as follows :—upper part
of the head, wings, tail, and sides of the neck, and whole lower
parts, black; the feathers frequently skirted with brownish-yellow,
as he passes into the colors of the female; back of the head a
cream-color ; back black, seamed with brownish-yellow ; scapulars
pure white; rump and tail-coverts the same; lower parts of the
back bluish-white; tail formed like those of the woodpecker genus,
and often used in the same manner, being thrown in to support it
while ascending the stalks of the reed: this habit of throwing in
the tail it retains even in the cage; legs a brownish flesh-color;
eye hazel. In the month of June this plumage gradually changes
to a brownish-yellow; bill reddish color; legs and eyes as in the
male. ‘The young birds retain the dress of the female until the
early part of the succeeding spring; the plumage of the female
undergoes no material change of color.”
THEIR MIGRATIONS.
The reed-bird breeds and spends the larger portion of the sum-
mer months in the Northern States, extending its peregrinations
in this direction as far as Lake Ontario and the river St. Law-
rence. Their nests are built upon the ground, usually in a field of
grass, wheat, or barley, and contain from four to six eggs, of a
bluish-white color, irregularly spotted. They raise but one brood
in a season, and, as soon as the young are able to leave the nests,
they associate with other broods, and thus in a short time form
large families, which are seen making their way over the country
from all quarters towards the banks of the streams and large
rivers, where they feed upon the reeds or plunder the grainfields
of our farmers. Although so very small and insignificant in
appearance, they often do serious injury to the crops, more par-
ticularly to the oatfields of New England, which they visit in
countless multitudes. Towards the middle of August, forsaking
their feeding-grounds in the North, the familiar “clink” of the
reedy is heard on every side in the neighborhood of Philadelphia,
and may be distinctly recognised on a still evening, as they pass
212 LEWIS’S AMERICAN SPORTSMAN.
in multitudes over the city. During the first few days of their
appearance in these parts, they seem to confine themselves to the
cornfields and upland meadows, waiting as it were the further
ripening of the reeds; after this, they descend to the banks of the
Delaware and Schuylkill, which are now overrun with the rank
growth of the wild oats, Zazanza aquatica, which produces a small
seed in great profusion. Feasting luxuriantly for several days on
this nutritious food, they soon become extremely fat,—in fact,
nothing but compact balls of delicious meat, each one a dainty
morsel for the eager palates of our epicurean citizens.
SHOOTING THEM.
The war of musketry is now heard incessantly from bright
morning till dark night, all along the banks of our rivers, and the
‘markets are soon overstocked with the innocent victims of many a
rusty old barrel, only brought imto requisition once a year, in
reed-bird season. If the weather should be very warm, as it
most frequently is at this time of the year, the birds spoil very soon
after being killed, and consequently remain but a short time in the
hands of the hucksters and game-dealers, who are very glad to
dispose of them at from twelve to twenty-five cents per dozen, ac-
cording to the returns of the previous day’s shooting, which, of
course, depends in a great measure upon the wind and weather.
Reed-birds are shot on the meadows below our city, or in the
reeds from a boat. Great numbers are often brought down at a
single shot, as they generally congregate in enormous flocks
towards sunset; it is no uncommon thing to kill four or five dozen
from the well-directed fire of a double-barrelled gun. It would
appear incredible to state all the numbers that have been reported
as killed at one discharge of an old musket, or other heavy gun ;
THE REED-BIRD. 213
we will, therefore, confine ourselves to one single instance, in which
thirteen dozen were picked up,—the result of a raking fire poured
into a flock from an old fowling-piece that “scattered most con-
foundedly.”’ This is not by any means the largest number we
have heard of being bagged at one coup de fusil; but the account
is well authenticated and within bounds of credence, and we give
it to our readers as such, for we have no reason to doubt the vera-
city of the party who told us.
NETTING REED-BIRDS.
During the last year or two, a French gentleman of our city
has been amusing himself in netting these birds upon the meadows,
and has been quite successful in the sport, catching immense num-
bers, oftentimes several hundreds at a single draw of the net. The
process of taking reed-birds in this way is very simple; but, as we
are opposed to all kinds of poaching and unsportsmanlike modes
of taking any kind of winged game, we will not dwell longer on
the subject.
COMPARED WITH THE ORTOLAN OF EUROPE.
The flavor of the reed-bird is extremely juicy and rich, and
assimilates as near as possible to that of the ortolan of Europe,
which interesting fact we very unwittingly tested at a celebrated
eafé, in company with some others of our green countrymen who
were in Paris at the same time, and, greatly to our surprise as
well as indignation, were forced to pay for the information at the
rate of a dollar per head for these delicate little morceaux. At
this rather recherché but expensive feast—for we devoured the
poor ortolans in nearly the same numbers as we were wont to do
the reed-birds at the height of the season in our own city—we
think that the flavor of the French bird was indelibly stamped
upon our palate in about perhaps the same ratio as the impression
made at the time upon our purse, which, en passant, was not very
light, we can assure the reader, as we were all Philadelphians,
and consequently death on reed-birds, and, in course, ortolans
214 LEWIS’S AMERICAN SPORTSMAN.
also. As far as we can recollect the particulars of this déjeuner
@ la fourchette,—which, by-the-by, afforded us all much merriment
for a long time afterwards,—the company, pretty generally, when
partaking of the feast, in the goodness of their hearts, or rather in
the joy of their stomachs, were quite loud in their praises of the
far-famed ortolan; and all pronounced its flavor much superior to
that of the poor unpretending reedy of America. But, before
leaving the café, we must acknowledge there were some long faces
and short purses in the ‘‘crowd,” that seemed rather disposed to
disparage the well-merited compliments which were previously so
lavishly bestowed upon the French bird; and several were even so
ungrateful, after stowing away a brood or two of them in their
stomachs, as to draw invidious comparisons between the two rivals
for gustatory repute. After mature reflection, however, the whole
party, one and all, declared in favor of the reed-bird of America, at
twenty sous the dozen, over the French bird at one dollar a piece.
PROGRESS SOUTH.
As soon as the frost makes its appearance in Pennsylvania, the
reed-birds as well as rails take their departure for the South, and
it is seldom that we find either of them with us longer than
October. After they leave our rivers they continue their course
south, visiting the ricefields of the Carolinas and Georgia, and
often commit great havoc in those regions. Although thousands
upon thousands of these birds have been destroyed in their route
from the North, still, thousands upon thousands of them yet exist,
and every gun is again brought into requisition in their new quar-
ters, to thin down their inexhaustible numbers; but all to no pur-
pose, as they still continue their flight in immense bodies as the
winter advances, and ultimately arrive at the termination of their
‘long voyage in the West India Islands. In Jamaica they are
‘ealled butter-birds; and there, as in all other parts where they
make their appearance, they are highly esteemed for the delicacy
and richness of their flavor.
THE REED-BIRD. 215
CURIOUS FACTS.
Audubon states that when these birds migrate south in the
autumn their flight is diurnal, but when returning in the spring
they travel mostly at night. Such, however, has not been the result
of our observations, as we have noticed the flight of reed-birds,
many times during the autumn, in the still hours of the night; and
in the spring we have also seen them travelling during the day.
Another interesting particular respecting the reed-bird is the sin-
gular change which takes place in the plumage of the male. This
change begins in June, and by the close of the following month
the color has approached so nearly to that of the female that it is
very difficult to distinguish one from the other. This circum-
stance, in connection with the fact that the plumage of all the
young birds also resembles that of the females, has given rise to
the vulgar notion that the male birds never return from the North;
but what becomes of them every one of course is unable to con-
jecture.
AS A CAGE-BIRD.
The plumage of the reed-bird is variegated and pretty, and he
makes a very sprightly and contented captive for the bird-fancier:
soon forgetting his former life of freedom, he resigns himself to
his lot, and sings merrily and cheerily for several months in the
year. His notes are agreeable, and capable of much improvement
by associating him with the canary-bird, with which we have been
told he will pair.
216 LEWIS’S AMERICAN SPORTSMAN.
CHANGE OF PLUMAGE.
We were shown, a few days since, a reed-bird, the plumage of
which was a perfect canary-color; and, if we had not recognised
the bird from its general outline, we should have pronounced it an
overgrown canary, so complete was the change that had taken
place in its appearance.
MEMORANDA.
1. Reed-birds breed in the North, pass the summer in the
Middle States, the autumn in the South, and the winter in the
West Indies.
2. In the North they are called bobolinks; in Pennsylvania and
Delaware, reed-birds; in the South, rice-buntings or meadow-birds ;
in Jamaica, butter-birds.
3. They build their nests on the ground, and raise but one brood
in a season, consisting of from four to six young.
4. The plumage of the males during the summer resembles that
of the females so closely that it is difficult to tell them apart; the
young bird at this season also assimilates the female in its plumage.
CHAPTER XIII.
THE RAIL, OR SORA. RALLUS CAROLINUS.
DESCRIPTION AND NOMENCLATURE.
HIS somewhat mysterious bird, so well
known throughout certain portions of our
country under the appellation of rail,
sora, or coot, resembles very closely both
the water-crake or spotted rail, and the
land-rail or corn-crake of England, not
only in its habits, but also in its general
appearance. ‘There are few, if any, spe-
cies of birds in our country that offer more tempting amusement to
the young sportsman, or a more agreeable delicacy for the table,
than the timid little fowl which now engages our attention. We will
detain the reader for a few moments while we transfer to our pages
an abridged ornithological description of this shy bird, and will
217
218 LEWIS’S AMERICAN SPORTSMAN.
then pass on to a consideration of some of its habits, more parti-
cularly those within the range of our sporting friends, many of
which instinctive peculiarities have very justly been termed by
casual observers mysterious; all of which mysteries, however, we
hope to make perfectly plain to every one before the close of this
article. ‘The rail is nine inches long, and fourteen in extent;
bill yellow, blackish towards the point; stripe down the throat
black; sides of the crown, neck, and upper parts generally, olive-
brown; streaked with black on a brown-olive ground, and edged
with white; wing plain olive-brown; tertials streaked with black
and long lines of white; tail pointed, dusky olive-brown streaked
with black; lower part of the breast marked with semicircular lines
of white on a light ash-ground; belly white; vent brownish-buff;
legs, feet, and naked part of the thighs yellowish-green; eyes red-
dish-hazel. The female bird has little or no black on the head;
the throat is white, and the plumage generally is of a lighter
color, and more inclined to olive, than in the male.”’
HISTORY.
The first thing to be noticed regarding this bird is the cireum-
stance which renders the term ‘mysterious’ particularly appli-
cable to the species. The regular migrations of the feathered
tribes are well known to naturalists, and the favored time and
peculiar conditions under which these voyages from distant parts
are consummated by game-birds have been observed by most
sportsmen; but in the case of the sora every one is more or less
at a loss, both as to their coming and departure from among us.
Whence they spring, or whither they go, both naturalist and sports-
man have been equally at fault, as each is unwilling to grant that a
bird whose flight is apparently so sluggish and feeble, scarcely rising
above the tops of the reeds, should be capable of a long-continued
volitation, or be sufficiently strong to encounter the fatigues of a
journey from the Far North, like other migratory birds. Neverthe-
less, it is an evident fact that rails must come from a distance; and
when they depart from our rivers, they must also travel to still more
S
T HE. OR ABI af
remote parts, if perchance they do not (as has been sagely sur-
mised by some enthusiastic inquirers after truth) bury themselves
in the mud of our river-banks or become changed into frogs.
But who was ever so fortunate as to dig up a petrified rail or
come across an unfinished metamorphosis of this description?
Wilson, however, informs us that this latter theory, ridiculous
as it may seem, had its originator and firm supporter, who boldly
asserted that the transmigration of the sora into the frog was
the true secret of the sudden disappearance of this bird; and,
moreover, that he, the author of the strange notion, had in his
possession for several days an animal of an extraordinary kind,
neither a rail nor a frog,—in fact, something between the two; but,
unfortunately for the progress of science, not being accustomed to
captivity and the over-kindness which was lavished upon it by its
lucky owner, the animal died before the change was complete,
and this remarkable Zwsus nature was thus lost to the investiga-
tions of the curious in such matters. ;
What rendered this singular hypothesis more striking, and con-
firmed the originator in his preconceived notions, was the circum-
stance of the frogs generally ceasing to croak about the time of
the coming of the rails in our rivers. This opinion, however, has
gained but little ground, as few persons are to be found so credu-
lous as to place any faith in a notion so extremely absurd. There
are several species of rails known in England. They arrive there
in the spring in the same mysterious manner which they do with us
in the summer, and depart at the first approach of frost for more
southern climes, in a like unceremonious style, seldom or never
being seen on their passage either to or from the countries where
at certain seasons they abound. So very shy is this bird, that,
although almost every meadow and clover-field in England re-
sounds during the spring with the eternal erek crek of the land-
rail, very few are shot, and the bird itself is scarcely known to the
country-people, notwithstanding they constantly hear its well-
known erek crek whenever they go into the fields. For such is
the secret, skulking, and solitary habits of this little bird, that it
220 LEWIS’S AMERICAN SPORTSMAN.
very seldom takes wing, even when hotly pressed by a dog; and all
our sportsmen know how difficult it is to spring the rail, even with
the assistance of a boat, and a long pole with which to beat the reeds.
Notwithstanding the different notions respecting the movements
of our soras, it is certain that these birds, like many other species,
perform regular migrations from North to South, and return in the
same way during the following spring; and it is also probable
that their flights take place in the night, owing to their instinctive
desire to court concealment. Wilson tells us that it was formerly
no very unusual thing to find young rails on the meadows of the
Delaware and Schuylkill. Mr. Bartram, a gentleman well ac-
quainted with this bird, states that he has often seen and caught
young rails on his own meadows in the month of June; that he has
also seen their nests, usually in a tussock of grass, containing four
or five spotted, dirty, whitish-colored eggs, and that the young ran
as soon as they escaped from the shell, being quite black, and
glided about through the grass like mice, and during this particular
period they resembled the “‘ corn-crake of England.” This cireum-
stance alone proves that the origin of soras is not involved in so
much obscurity as many persons are anxious to make it appear,
and satisfies us that these birds follow the general laws of nature
during the migratory season, and that some few of them, like other
birds of similar habits, remain with us in these latitudes during the
summer, for the purposes of breeding.
Although our sportsmen are unwilling to acknowledge the power
of soras to fly any considerable distance, we have several instances
on record that go to show that this bird is capable of great endu-
rance and of very extended flight, and that in common with other
birds it is possessed of foresight and strength sufficient to enable it
to go in quest of distant climes, congenial to its feelings and modes
of life. Mr. Skipwith, our consul several years since in Europe,
when returning home, off the capes of Chesapeake, caught several
rails that alighted on the ship, and, being well acquainted with the
bird, declares that they were the same as those usually killed on
the James River; and Wilson has also been assured by many gentle-
Pre Rag hi. pall
men and captains that they have often met with these birds between
the mainland and the islands.* These facts, certainly, are suffi-
cient to convince us that rails are capable of very long flights, and
would also lead us to believe that many of them even pass their
Winters in as remote districts as the West India Islands.
SINGULAR CHARACTERISTICS OF THE RAIL.
The mysterious coming and going of the soras is not the only
singular characteristic attributed to the species, as it has been sur-
mised years ago, by a gentleman of respectability and worth of
this city, that rails are subject to bursts of vehement passion, occa-
sioning fits analogous to epilepsy, and relates several instances in
which this singular effect was produced. We never witnessed any
thing of this kind; but some of our sporting friends may have done
so in their shooting excursions, and we should be glad to hear from
them on the subject. It has also been observed, by ‘‘ Brewer,”
that the various species of rails possess a certain power of ven-
triloquism, which is more particularly developed in the corn-crake
of England; and that when crying they often remain stationary,
and throw their voices in opposite directions, at one time as if
within a few yards of the spot where the observer is standing, and
in a second or two appearing in an entirely different position.
We should, perhaps, never have noticed this remarkable fact in
the rail species, if our attention had not been called to it by the
observations of ‘‘Brewer.’’ We are induced to place much confi-
dence in his views upon this subject, from our intimate knowledge
of the habits of the rails of our own country, which we believe also
to be somewhat endowed with this singular power; and the mere
mention of it in this article may possibly throw some additional
light on the subject. It is not at all impossible that nature may
* May 10, 1851.—We were invited by our friend George H. Bryan, Esq., to go
on board of the packet-ship Michael Angelo, just arrived from Liverpool, to see a
rail caught at sea some days previous. The captain assured us that the nearest
land at the time the rail was captured was Cape Sable, distant about three hun-
dred miles.
299. LEWIS’S AMERICAN SPORTSMAN.
have bestowed this power upon these birds for some good purpose,
as well as upon other animals. Captain Lyon, in speaking of the
Arctic fox, states that “it is a singular fact that their bark is so
modulated as to give an idea that the animal is at a distance, al-
though at the very moment he lies at your feet;’’ and he supposes
that these foxes are gifted with this species of ventriloquism in
order to deceive their prey as to the distance they are from them.
THEIR FOOD, ETC.
The soras, like the rice-buntings, are excessively fond of the
seeds of the Zizania aquatica, or wild reed, that grows in such
luxurious profusion along the muddy shores of many of our rivers,
and will be found secreted in the midst of these flourishing plants
as soon as they have acquired their full growth. The Zizania
aquatica grows to a great height and spreads over immense tracts
of tidewater shores, extending for miles along the rivers, and
oftentimes rising to a height of ten or twelve feet and the stems
so strong and closely interwoven with each other that they defy
every effort to propel a boat through them. The seeds of this
plant begin to ripen, in the Eastern and Middle States, early in
August, and the rails soon find their way to the different rivers
whose shores produce it in any considerable abundance. When
they first arrive, they are poor and unpalatable, but soon gain
flesh, and become extremely fat and delicious to the taste. In truth,
we are very partial to this bird, and, when in good condition, prefer
it to most other kinds of game; at all events, we can eat more
THE RAIL. 293
rails, and partake of them more constantly without feeling sated
than of any other game-bird. They are particularly tender, rich,
juicy, and delicate, and do not cloy the stomach by quantity
or pall the appetite by daily indulgence. At this season the
reeds along the Delaware and Schuylkill swarm with these timid
little birds, that pursue their solitary ways in silence and dread,
seldom giving utterance to a single note, if undisturbed. Shoulda
stone, however, be thrown into the reeds, a sharp and rapid erek,
erek, crek will be heard resounding in every quarter; but still not
a rail is to be seen, although hundreds are gliding about through
the reeds in every direction, within a few feet of where we are
standing. If we should be so fortunate as to spy one skulking in
the dense field of reeds before us, he will most probably be seen
jutting up his tail and running with astonishing speed between the
stalks of those plants, more like a water-rat than a feathered
denizen of the air. The flight of this bird being so regular and
feeble, it presents an easy mark to the young sportsman, and per-
haps is the best game-bird that we have on which to commence the
art of shooting on the wing, although it will require considerable
experience to make the tyro proficient in the science of balancing
his body in the boat while it is being pushed through the reeds.
The sora seldom flies more than fifty or a hundred yards at a
time, and often not so far. They merely rise with extended legs,
and flutter, as it were, lazily over the tops of the reeds, and then
drop down again. We have, however, observed them, when hard
pressed by numerous shooters, direct their course across the Dela-
ware, and seemingly gain strength and energy as they pursued
their venturesome way.
When wounded, rails exhibit wonderful cunning, and _fre-
quently display decided ingenuity in their efforts to escape. They
swim with ease, and dive very expertly, occasionally remaining
under water for some moments, clinging to the reeds with their
feet; and we have often observed them secreted and perfectly
motionless under the sides of the boat, or floating under the broken
reeds, with the point of their bill protruding above the surface of
{
224 LEWIS’S AMERICAN SPORTSMAN.
the water, to enable them to breathe, in which position they will
continue until an opportunity offers for escaping from their
pursuer.
In the month of July, the soras are found farther north; and we
hear of them being shot upon the marshy shallows in the neighbor-
hood of Detroit, where another species of reed, to which they are
also partial, is seen to grow; and no doubt there are many places
along our northern frontier that are visited by these birds in their
annual migrations. Rails are very sensitive to cold, and seldom
remain with us longer than the month of October; and it is quite
useless to go in quest of them after a smart frost or two, even if ‘t
should occur quite early in the season, as they will generally be
found to have abandoned their haunts as suddenly as they came to
them. The season of 1846 was a remarkably favorable one for
the stay of the soras in our rivers; and we understand that until
November 25th of that year they lingered in considerable numbers
among the reeds, luxuriating upon their tender seeds, and awaiting
‘the first brumal spell to speed them on their tedious journey to the
South.
SHOOTING RAILS.
The sport attending the destruction of rails is exciting and
exhilarating in the extreme, but perhaps more fatiguing and less
beneficial to health than any other kind of shooting. It is carried
on in this wise :—
Being furnished with a small, flat-bottomed canoe, and a good,
broad-shouldered boatman, yclept “pusher,” from the peculiar duty
that he performs in propelling the bateau through the reeds by
means of a long pole, the sportsman stations himself on the rail-
ground and anxiously awaits the coming of the tide. The water
THE RAIL. 225
having risen to a sufficient height to allow the passage of the boat
through or over the reeds, the shooter places himself in the bow
of the little craft, surrounded by all the necessary paraphernalia
for loading with expedition and safety, and, being ever on the gui
vive, knocks the poor birds down right and left as they rise a few
yards before the boat as it gently glides among the reeds.
It is better to have two double-barrelled guns; for when the
birds get up lively it will be necessary to load and fire so rapidly
that the gun will soon become too hot to handle or charge
without danger, and the chambers and barrels will get so clogged
with powder and leaded with shot that it will be almost impossible
to load with the necessary expedition. It will also be proper to
provide yourself with a good, stout ramrod, which can be handled
with facility and thrown down anywhere in the boat without fear
of being broken. To prevent accidents and insure despatch in
loading—upon which latter circumstance the grand result of the
day’s sport almost entirely depends, even with a moderately good
shot—it is absolutely necessary to be provided with shot-cartridges,
which, together with the caps and powder, may be placed in a handy
box, and set on the bow of the boat, directly in front. The kind
of box we generally make use of is made of tin, about twelve
inches in length, six in width, and five in depth; it is divided into
two equal compartments,—one for powder, and the other for shot
or cartridges; and the latter apartment has a small shelf or divi-
sion at one end of it, sufficiently large to hold a quantity of caps
or cut wads. If cartridges are used, there will be no occasion for
wads; and, as we employ them altogether when shooting rails, we
have no division in our box for holding wads. The box should
be made of good, stout tin, well soldered together, with a cover
or lid sufficiently large to close up either apartment, and so made
that when thrown from the powder it will fall over and cover up
the shot or cartridges, and when the shot is exposed to vi€w the
powder will necessarily be covered up, and thus prevent accidents,
and the provoking consequences arising from the small seeds, stems,
and dirt falling into the powder, when the boat is being propelled
15
226 LEWIS’S AMERICAN SPORTSMAN.
through the high reeds. It is better not to have a handle to the
box, as it would necessarily have to be square, and over six inches
high from the top of the box, so as to allow the lid to pass under
it; and, being made in this way, would have a clumsy appearance,
and be of no particular benefit, but rather interfere with the motion
of the hands when loading with rapidity. If the box is filled with
the necessary ammunition before leaving the house, it may be very
conveniently carried to the boat by tying it up in a stout handker-
chief, or a leather strap may be attached to the box is such a way
as to serve the purpose of a handle. But we prefer taking all our
accoutrements to the boat in a small basket, and then transferring
them to the box, before leaving the shore. The basket also answers
a very good purpose for carrying the birds in from the boat on our
return, as they dry much better, and the plumage looks far more
nice than when dangling to a long string, upon which they become
soiled and ruffled, by dragging on the ground or pitching about in
the boat. However, if a stationary handle is convenient on some
accounts and inconvenient on others, it is easy enough to have a
shifting one put on, that may be taken off at pleasure; but we
prefer the old cotton handkerchief or basket, and so does a valued
friend of ours, a veteran sportsman, from whom we took the idea.
Thus equipped, and provided with a good portion of ice, to allay
the parching thirst that generally attends this sport during the hot
days of summer, the shooter takes his position in the bow of the
boat, with gun in hand, left leg forward, and his body firmly
balanced. Being rightly placed, the sportsman now trusts him-
self to the skill and management of the “pusher” to carry him
through the reeds wherever the rails are most likely to be feeding.
Great dexterity and muscular power are required in a pusher;
for without the former the shooter may be splashed from head to
foot, and perhaps rudely knocked overboard by the awkward
handliig of the heavy pole by which the boat is made to shoot
through the reeds; and, without the latter requisite, the skiff, in-
stead of proceeding in a regular, steady course, will start and
quiver with an uneasy motion, that renders the footing so unstable
THE RAIL. Tbe att
that he may be thrown down, perhaps overboard,—at all events, be
often prevented from shooting when a rail presents itself.
Another important requisite in a “‘pusher’’ is that he be a good
‘‘marker,”’ otherwise one-third of all the birds shot will be lost, as
the eternal sameness of the green reeds precludes the possibility of
an inexperienced hand finding them, when, as is often the case,
there are four or five rails down at one time. Who among our
Philadelphia shooters has not heard of Old Pike, Fowler, and Bill
Rump, of rail-shooting notoriety, all of whom have served an
honorable apprenticeship to the arduous task of ‘pushing,’ and
are not yet to be excelled in these parts? How eagerly are these
three veteran ‘‘ pushers” sought after, and how frequently, almost
universally, do their boats bring in the largest number of birds,
without regard to the skill of the sportsman himself !—as an in-
different shot, with these men, will have double the number of
chances that a better marksman with another “pusher” will get on
the same tide, and consequently may miss a third of his birds and
still be even with the party. The first time we went out rail-
>
shooting, we employed ‘ Bill Rump;”’ and, to our great satisfaction
and surprise, on counting our birds, found that we had beaten
several old stagers at the sport, although—we are loath to con-
fess it—we missed enough of fair shots to quite discourage, if not
at times to totally disgust, our zealous “‘ pusher.”’
However, speaking of ‘“‘beating others at this kind of sport”
reminds us of the great opportunities that those who participate
in this amusement have of chiselling each other regarding the
number of rails actually killed on one tide. To show the fallacy
of betting on the results of such shooting, without the parties are
much closer watched than they usually are at the present time, we
will merely state that there are some individuals, “begging their
pardons,” nothing remarkable for their shooting qualities, who
never can be beaten, or never will be beaten, upon a trial-match at
rail-shooting, no matter how great the number their antagonist kills,
for the simple reason that they are leagued in with their friends
and ‘‘pushers’’ to provide them with the birds when concealed from
228 LEWIS’S AMERICAN SPORTSMAN.
observation in the reeds, even if the stern or bow of the boat is
not stuffed full before leaving the landing; or perchance he may
find a dozen or two cunningly staked out in the reeds, which will
so considerably augment his numbers that no shot, no matter how
good, can easily overcount him.
We know that such tricks have been practised upon our friends,
‘‘and we consider it our duty to expose them, and thus put the
green ones’ on their guard, or, at least, on an equal footing with
99
these wonderful ‘‘rail-shooters,’’ who every season perform such
miracles and make loud boasts of their slaughter and carnage.
As the boat passes through the reeds, the rails usually rise
singly a few feet in advance of the bow, and, flying slowly in a
direct line, present a fair mark for the sportsman. It is seldom
that more than one bird is killed at a time, although two are occa-
sionally brought down with one barrel, when they spring fast and
cross each other in their flight.
It is the duty of the “pusher” to mark the birds which are killed,
as also to notice where those that escape drop down; and when a
rail springs on either side of the boat, he should call out “Mark!”
so that the shooter may be on the alert to bang away in every
direction. The higher the tide the better the sport, as the boat
will glide more freely over the reeds, and the birds, having Jess
shelter, are obliged to spring more frequently when come upon.
The reeds around the boat should be constantly beaten with the pole,
as rails are often concealed within a few feet of our track and
will not stir without being driven to “wing” by this method.
The tides are regulated very much by the wind; and the moon,
also, has no small influence in the production of high tides com-
monly called “spring-tides,” which may occur both at the full and
change, as at both these periods she acts on the earth in conjunc-
tion with the sun.
For rail-shooting in the Delaware or Schuylkill, and, in fact, in
all the tributaries of the former, a southerly or southeasterly wind
will produce the best tides; but we have seen good tides when the
wind was from quite a contrary direction, and no doubt every rail-
THE RAIL. 229
shooter has occasionally been deceived in his calculations on this
head. We have known excellent tides in our river when the wind
was blowing fresh from the northeast.
It is a common observation that soras are fatter during the
increase and full of the moon than at any other time, which has
been accounted for by the fact that the bird is at this time able to
feed both by day and night; and, moreover, the high tides that
prevail frequently at this period enable the rails to get at the seeds
better, and a much greater deposit of them is also left on the mud
at low water, by the breaking down and shaking of the reeds
during the ebb and flow of the water. If the day be somewhat
hazy, it will answer the purpose of the sportsman much better
than a clear sky, as the reflection of the sun from the water upon
one’s face, in connection with the beaming hot rays upon one’s
head, for several hours together, is not the most pleasant position
that a shooter can place himself in.
The sport continues without intermission till the receding tide
warns the “pusher” that all his efforts will soon prove unavailing
to propel the boat through the thick reeds that encompass him
on every side.
It is useless to attempt to give any instructions as to shooting
these birds; as we are convinced that any one who keeps his eyes
open, and points the gun towards the rail, will be sure to kill
them, as they seldom or never deviate from a direct course, but
pursue a bee-line for a few yards and then pop down again. The
only thing necessary to make an expert rail-shooter is a little
quickness in handling the gun, as the bird must be covered as soon
as on the wing, otherwise he flutters for a moment or so and then
drops in the reeds, and, as before remarked, when down after
being flushed, he lies very close, and is difficult to be got up
agaln.
23 LEWIS’S AMERICAN SPORTSMAN.
NUMBERS KILLED.
The number of rails often killed on a single tide by one shooter
is almost incredible, when we take into consideration the circum-
stance that the birds are all shot singly; and, if we had not most
authentic information regarding these statements, we should hesi-
tate to publish them. But, having obtained the memoranda for
1846 from a reliable source, we cannot for a moment doubt its
correctness, and our own observations lead us to believe that the
accounts are not at all exaggerated. The great abundance and
luxurious profusion of the reeds along the shores of the Delaware
below Philadelphia, and the extensive mud-flats which are covered
for miles with these plants, make our river the favorite resort of
rails, as well as reed-birds, and the multitude that are slaughtered
each season are beyond computation. The following extract is
taken from the paper furnished us and carefully compiled by
Major Price, of the National Hotel, Chester, and we select from it
the best shooting of the season of 1846 :—
Sept. 3, J. Irwin killed...... 82 rails. | Sept. 7, J. M. Eyre killed... 90 rails.
BAS oA. WYTO...5ac0eees 122 ‘8, Matzinger....sec25- 122i
“ 4, B. B. Pearson....... LOL. ss SESE. Hy. is ccones 945:
$0 AS Pe LD ULLOW 2.05 sins Saint SF = Os MROMEM is ob nt acts ee oii
Be AeA D LAW ICLIB ccc censane ce ESO), SEP 7 [MEISE BANGER iricersse scenic astet oo
“5, Matainger............ 955, He Mh bt, Ie tei KeiBonsal else SLOT yi
975, JM. ‘Odenheimer. 128 S04) 9 Newboldlisssssacc Si Bit
COD. Nord e-cceaneenanes Sie «+ 9, J. M. Odenheimer. 132 ‘
fo OD, Wells sscesers s4eedes WGAe oh] SPE OEPNY TIGA cease. 10S
Bo #5. Ast WOPPalls 5. dsiea.ces M36 01), eet 102 GB leah ae eee: Soi
6) oO, i. WLS s.tisdsonstades 4 os ho 10nd, Newbold. ccc. 83
fe OL AG, Br Wy rOcsonds cms 108 *“ "O71 Ud ONSEN ron seesic ess 141 “
SON GOig 9s SMIbMs.smseeeceneee OSS, Bee EMO ISs Smoitihe s-aes-caces: HOS AK
CoS els 0) RBI RO a ott eeons TOD 8% cl 8 M0: BoB y tees inas saaseis 115
Oeil 9 Map EEICE Ss cusmasconasne 2. Ci PR DSI Din eee TOT =<
Poe Brin NUSt.cccect ee oes gine 1 H. Widwardss.2.:.-. 107
oo Ts bieRaylor:.: OO ie Oct. 4, Sx Sarthe... .c.ssss.: 104
haere 9 ay ecnda = OS eee
But the greatest exploit of all is yet to be chronicled. On the
8th of September, Mr. J. M. Eyre killed on one tide the sur-
prising number of one hundred and ninety-five rails, which is
THE RAIL. 250
forty more than ever was bagged by one shooter on our river, if we
except, perhaps, the shooting-match that took place many years
ago between Mr. Hubbell and a friend, at which time, we believe,
the former gentleman got one hundred and seventy-five rails. The
birds were very numerous, as we may suppose, on this day, and the
tide very high, insomuch that the rails were obliged to seck
shelter on the meadows,—a very uncommon circumstance. Mr.
Eyre lives in Chester, and is considered one of the very best of
shots on rail, and is ever on the spot ready to avail himself of all
the high tides that make up our river during the rail-season.*
The most indifferent shot may often kill from thirty to forty
rails on a good tide, and fair shots always calculate on sixty or
eighty.
SHOOTING RAILS IN VIRGINIA.
Although soras are generally killed in the way we have endea-
vored to describe above, they are taken along the shores of the
James River, in Virginia, in much greater numbers, by a very
singular process, with which, however, we are not practically ac-
quainted, but will lay it before our readers in the words of Wilson.
The operation of this method is the same as the “fire-hunting of
woodcock”’ in Louisiana:—‘ A kind of iron grate is fixed on the
top of a short pole, which is placed like a mast in a light canoe,
and filled with fire. The darker the night the more successful is
the sport. The person who manages the canoe is provided with
a light paddle ten or twelve feet in length, and, about an hour
before high-water, proceeds through among the reeds, which lie
broken and floating on the surface. The whole space for a con-
siderable way round the canoe is completely enlightened: the birds
stare with astonishment, and, as they appear, are knocked on the
head with a paddle and thrown into the canoe. In this manner,
* During the season of 1849, rails were very abundant, and great numbers were
killed; over one thousand were brought into Chester alone during one day of a
very good lide.
333 LEWIS’S AMERICAN SPORTSMAN.
from twenty to eighty dozen have been killed by three negroes in
the short space of three hours.”
NETTING RAILS.
We have been informed that a French gentleman of our city
conceived the project of driving rails into nets set in the reeds;
but we believe that he was not very successful in the undertaking,—
at all events, not as much so as he has been in the capture of reed-
birds by a somewhat similar process.
FISH PREY UPON RAILS.
Wherever rails abound, eels and catfish are said to resort in
great numbers, anxiously awaiting every opportunity to prey upon
all those that escape the eye of the marker after being killed, or
that die from wounds. It is no uncommon thing to find portions
of these birds, and even whole rails, in the stomachs of eels.
PLACES TO SHOOT RAILS.
It is difficult to say where, upon the Delaware, sportsmen can
find the most rails, as every spot teeming with the Zizania aqua-
tica is filled with these little birds, and great numbers are killed
in the neighborhoods of Trenton, Bristol, Bordentown, Burlington,
Bridesburg, Gloucester Point, Penrose Ferry, Marcus Hook, Laza-
retto, Chester, &c. This latter place is perhaps as good as any,
THES RAIL. 233
being at a convenient distance from the city, and good pushers
and boats are to be had without much difficulty.
EXPENSE ATTENDING RAIL-SHOOTING.
This amusement is somewhat expensive to the sportsman,—at all
events, much more so than partridge-shooting. Good pushers
command high prices for their arduous services, and few, if any of
them, are contented with less than $2 50 or $3 a tide; but if they
perform their duty well, we do not consider these amounts too much,
as their work is of the severest kind. If the generality of them,
however, drank less and pushed harder, it would be a salutary
change for the better among this class of men.
Some of our friends who live upon the river in the vicinity of
the rail-ground take turns in pushing each other during the shoot-
ing season, and thus enjoy in a quiet way this sport, without the
expense of employing “regular pushers.”
234 LEWIS'S AMERICAN SPORTSMAN.
MEMORANDA.
1. Rails migrate regularly, as many other birds, and pass the
breeding season in the North and the winter in the Far South.
2. These migrations are invariably performed under cover of
night, and hence the mystery of their sudden appearance: they
are capable of long flights, and have frequently been caught far
out at sea.
3. Like the reed-birds, they are very partial to the seeds of the
Zizania aquatica, and consequently frequent the river-shores where
this plant flourishes in the greatest profusion.
4. Rails make their appearance in the Delaware and Schuylkill
Rivers early in August, and remain till the frost warns them to
seek the sunny South.
5. Rails are easily killed; two pellets of small shot are quite
sufficient to knock them down. When wounded, they swim and
skulk with great skill.
6. The greatest number of rails as yet killed on any one tide is
one hundred and ninety-five.
CHAPTER XIV.
GREAT RED-BREASTED RAIL. RALLUS ELEGANS.
LOCALITY AND DESCRIPTION.
N his work on the birds of Long Island,
Giraud thus describes this beautiful
fowl:—“ Bill along the gap, two inches
and three-quarters; length of tarsi, two
inches; sides and forepart of neck and
the breast, bright orange-brown; iris,
bright red.” Total length of the spe-
cimen before us, seventeen inches; wing,
six and three-quarters. Adult, upper
part of head and hind-neck dull brown;
from the base of the upper mandible over the eye a dull white
line terminating with brownish-orange; lower eyelids white, loral
space and a band behind the eye dusky; upper part of the body
brownish-black; the feathers broadly margined with light olive-
235
236 LEWIS’S AMERICAN SPORTSMAN.
brown; wing-coverts dull chestnut; primaries dark brown, inner
secondaries and tail-feathers same as the back; throat white;
forepart and sides of the neck, with the breast, bright orange-
brown; abdomen and sides of the body dark brown, faintly barred
with dark brown; lower tail-coverts white, with a black spot near
the end; the middle feathers black, barred with white.
The Rallus elegans is well known to the Delaware rail-shooters as
the king-rail. They frequent the fresh-water marshes of the inte-
rior, and seem to feed upon similar food with the sora rails, as they
are generally found in the same localities. The red-breasted rail
is far more common in the South than it is to the eastward, being
seldom met with beyond the reedy shores of the river Delaware.
The specimen before us is a very beautiful one, and was obtained
while shooting soras below Chester last season.
The flesh of the king-rail is very analogous to that of the sora,
perhaps not quite so delicate, but at times equally as juicy and
tender. The Rallus elegans affects fresh-water marshes only, never
being found on the seaboard; it penetrates far into the interior,
and has the same wild and skulking habits as the other variety ;
its flight is short and apparently labored, and it requires but a
slight “rap” to knock it over. This bird swims and dives, when
wounded, with great dexterity, and resorts to the same artifices to
conceal. itself beneath the water as the sora rail.
We shot one of these birds on an upland marsh in the midst of
a heavy wood, in the interior of Maryland, during the month of
July.
The king-rail is also known as the fresh-water marsh-hen, ina
contradistinction to the clapper-rail, which is often spoken of ag
the ‘‘salt-water marsh-hen.”’
CHAPTER XV.
CLAPPER-RAIL, OR MUD-HEN. RALLUS CREPITANS.
NOMENCLATURE, ETC.
UD-HENS, meadow-clappers, or big rails,
(for by these appellations this fowl is more
familiarly known to the coast-shooters,)
are met with along our whole Atlantic
’ board, from the southernmost extremities
~ of Florida even as far north as the New
i England States. The clapper-rail is a
large bird, and affords at times consider-
able sport to the shooter: the flesh, however, notwithstanding all
the arts of the mditre de cuisine to the contrary, is universally
237
238 LEWIS’S AMERICAN SPORTSMAN.
insipid, dry, and sedgy. This fowl is not known in Europe, but it
somewhat resembles the moor-hen (Furtica chlorophus) of England,
both in its habits, size, and the savorless character of its meat.
Clapper-rails are extremely shy and secret in their habits, and
are only to be found along the salt marshes of the sea-shore and
the large rivers of the Atlantic States. They are always abun-
dant in New Jersey and Delaware, and sometimes quite numerous
in the brackish fens of Long Island. The mud-hen is a migratory
bird, and arrives from the South on the coast of New Jersey and
the neighboring States about the middle of April. Though coming
unobserved in the stillness of the night, they soon make their
presence known to the inhabitants of those districts by the sound
of their harsh and never-ceasing cackle, somewhat resembling the
well-known tremulous cry of the Guinea-fowl. Although the
marshes and sedgy meadows, in the course of a very few days
after their first appearance, resound on all sides with the unmelo-
dious notes of these skulking birds, few or none of them are to be
seen, as they seldom take wing, and when pursued run with amaz-
ing rapidity through the tangled weeds and high grass which always
grow so luxuriantly in the haunts that they affect. In our youth-
ful days we have had many a race after a wounded clapper, and
know full well that our powers of speed and endurance were often
most fruitlessly taxed in the arduous chase.
The mud-hen commences laying towards the close of May; the
nest is simple, but often artfully contrived for concealment, having
the long grass twisted and plaited over it in the form of an arch,
so as effectually to conceal it from the glance of an inexperienced
observer. Hight or ten eggs are usually found in their nests: we
have seen as many as fifteen. The eggs are eagerly sought after
by the residents of these parts, who, in fact, consider them far
superior in delicacy to those of the domestic hen. The wholesale
robbery of their nests is not the only interruption that the clapper-
rail meets with during the period of incubation, as the marshes are
occasionally overflown during the continuance of a northeast gale,
and thousands of eggs as well as old birds are destroyed.
Lo
CLAPPER-RATL, OR MUD-HEN. 239
Wilson mentions an instance where this calamity took place
twice during one season, and, notwithstanding these sad misfor-
tunes, this persevering fowl commenced building anew the third
time, and in two weeks their eggs appeared as numerous as ever.
On these occasions, hundreds of mud-hens are destroyed by the
ruthless hands of idle boys, and even grown persons, many of
whom avail themselves, as before observed, of every opportunity
to sacrifice the lives of the inferior animals, from a mere love of
cruelty, or to gratify a montrous propensity for shedding blood.
The clapper-rail swims expertly and dives with considerable
facility, often remaining under the water for several minutes at
a time, holding on to the roots of the marine plants that grow at
the bottom of the inlets and guts which intersect the marshes
whereon these birds congregate.
It is almost impossible to flush them; and the only chance the
sportsman has to shoot them is by going on the marshes in a light
boat during a high tide, when, from want of shelter, they are
obliged, like the soras, to seek safety in flight, and are then easily
knocked over. When the tide is not sufficiently high for this
sport, many may be killed by moving noiselessly along the guts in
a boat and keeping a sharp look-out on all sides for the many
clappers that will ever and anon be seen stealing down to the
water’s edge, to drink, or to pick up the small shell-fish and aquatic
insects which are deposited upon the banks. A good retriever
would prove a useful dog in these expeditions, to recover and
bring to hand the wounded birds, as when only slightly struck the
clapper-rail is very tenacious of life, and runs with so much ease
through the reeds and matted grass that few sportsmen, no matter
how agile they may be, can overtake them. The dog should be
as small as possible; otherwise he will not be able to follow the
bird through the twistings of the pathways, or rather archways,
which it forms all through the reeds.
The flight of the clapper-rail is very similar to that of the sora;
and being, if any thing, even more slow and labored, it requires
but an indifferent shot to bring them down. We have killed these
240 LEWIS'S AMERICAN SPORTSMAN.
fowls often, when in pursuit of other coast-birds, on the marshes
about Cape May and Cape Henlopen, but never thought it worth
while to go a foot out of our way to procure them, as they are at
best but an unsavory dish for the table; and we trust that we
have never encouraged the weasel-like propensity to take life from
sheer fondness of carnage, or perhaps to indulge a morbid taste to
make a great display by the magnitude of our game-bag.
DESCRIPTION.
‘The clapper-rail measures fourteen inches in length and
eighteen in extent; the bill is two inches and a quarter long,
slightly bent, pointed, grooved, and of a reddish-brown color; iris
of the eye dark red; nostril oblong, pervious; crown, neck, and
back, black, streaked with dingy brown; chin and line over the
eye brownish-white; auricular dusky; neck before, and whole
breast, of the same red-brown as that of the preceding species;
wing-coverts dark chestnut; quill-feathers plain dusky; legs red-
dish-brown; flanks and vent black, tipped or barred with white.
The males and females are nearly alike.
“The young birds of the first year have the upper parts of an
olive-brown, streaked with pale slate; wings pale-brown olive;
chin, and part of the throat, white; breast ash-color, tinged with
brown; legs and feet a pale horn-color.”’
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CHAPTER XVI.
ESQUIMAUX CURLEW, OR SHORT-BILLED CURLEW. SCOLOPAX
BOREALIS.
*‘Soothed by the murmurs of the sea-beat shore,
His dun-gray plumage floating to the gale,
The curlew blends his melancholy wail
With those hoarse sounds the rushing waters pour.”
NOMENCLATURE AND DESCRIPTION.
HIS large and handsome bird is known to
our shooters as the jack curlew, or short-
billed curlew, in contradistinction to the
other variety, the Numenius longerostris,
or long-billed curlew.
“The Esquimaux curlew is eighteen
inches long and thirty-two inches in ex-
tent; the bill, which is four inches and a
half long, is black towards the point, and a pale, purplish flesh-
color near the base; upper part of the head dark brown, divided
16 241
242, LEWIS'S AMERICAN SPORTSMAN.
by a narrow stripe of brownish-white; over each eye extends a
broad line of pale drab; iris dark-colored; hind part of the neck
streaked with dark brown; fore-part and whole breast very pale
brown; upper part of the body pale drab, centered and barred
with dark brown, and edged with spots of white on the exterior
vanes; three primaries black, with white shafts; rump and tail-
coverts barred with dark brown; belly white; vent the same,
marked with zigzag lines of brown on a dark cream ground; legs
and naked thighs a pale lead-color.”’
This bird, like most others of our sea-fowl, is migratory, arriving
in the Middle States from the South early in the spring, and re-
maining a short time, feeding on the mud-flats and salt marshes,
in company with various others of the feathered race. After this
they take up their line of march for the Far North, where they
spend the summer in breeding and rearing their young. The
short-billed curlews travel in large bodies, and keep up a constant
whistling during their journeys. It is possible that some few re-
main the whole summer through in the marshes about Cape May,
for the purposes of incubation: such, indeed, is the opinion of
those employed in shooting these birds for the markets. We have
often met with them in the neighborhood of Cape May early in
July.
During the breeding season, curlews collect in immense numbers
on the Labrador coast, where they remain till the months of
August and September, and then leave in large companies for the
South. During these months, and until the commencement of cold
weather, curlews are very numerous on the coast of New Jersey
and Long Island, frequenting the salt marshes and flats, where
they find abundance of food, such as marine worms, shell-fish, and
various species of aquatic insects, all of which they partake of
greedily. On these mud-flats, where numberless varieties of sea-
birds collect, are great quantities of a particular kind of shell or
craw-fish, vulgarly called fiddlers, upon which the larger fowls
prey and soon become fat. This dainty food, however, though
very nutritious and excellent, does not improve the flavor of the
ESQUIMAUX OR SHORT-BILLED CURLEW. 243
bird, as their meat soon becomes coarse and sedgy after their arri-
val among us. In the North, they keep more to the open grounds
of the interior, and consequently feed chiefly on seeds, insects, and
berries. Their flesh at such times is pronounced delicious, and
even delicate. We have shot them within a few days after their
arrival among us from the North, and always found them more
palatable than at any other time. When these birds associate
with field-plovers and frequent the meadow-lands, their flesh is
quite passable, and even sometimes quite savory; but it is not
often that they are found in such good company. Curlews are
very shy, and require much caution to approach. They fly with
great rapidity when frightened, and require a good blow to bring
them down. There are many ways of shooting this bird: the
favorite plan is rowing through the inlets and guts in a boat, and
killing them as they fly backward and forward to their different
feeding-grounds, or coming upon them by stealth, when, unsus-
picious of danger, they are socially feeding, in company with other
waders, on the insects and shell-fish that they find on the bars and
points along the crecks. Great caution, silence, and a consider-
able degree of mancuvring, are necessary to follow this sport with
much success, as these birds are extremely shy and easily put to
flight. When approaching them, keep near to the shore, and also
under cover of the land: it will also be frequently necessary to
get out of the boat and make a long detour, so as to get in the
rear of the birds: we have often obtained a raking shot at beach-
fowl in this way.
If one be wounded, he should be made use of as a decoy for
others, as they are very kindly in their feelings, and show a great
desire always to assist a distressed companion, whom they will fly
around for a considerable time, and thus offer many opportunities
to kill several before leaving the spot. For all kinds of coast-
birds, when shooting from a boat, it is best to have a gun in re-
serve, as the most of them are enticed within reach by the cries of
a winged bird, and the second volley in such cases is oftentimes
the most destructive.
244 LEWIS’S AMERICAN SPORTSMAN. ,
The great mistake that city shooters make in pursuing coast-
birds is in the size of the guns which they make use of. Partridge-
guns are not suitable for this kind of sport; neither are the full
duck-guns the proper weapon. A medium-sized gun is the proper
instrument: it should not be too light, or the bore too small, and
above all it should be forged to throw the shot with great force at
long distances. When going along the inlets in a boat, keep a
bright look-out on the marshes adjoining the stream, and you will
often discover two or three suspicious-looking heads peering up
from among the high grass, within a short distance of the banks,
offering an easy shot to the marksman. We have obtained many a
good shot in this way which otherwise would have been passed by.
This bird is not the same with the Scolopax phaepus, or whimbrel
of England, as originally supposed, but proves to be an entirely
distinct species.
CHAPTER: X<“Vil
LONG-BILLED CURLEW, OR SICKLE-BILL. NUMENIUS LONGIROSTRIS.
HABITS AND DESCRIPTION.
HIS variety of curlew is larger than the
preceding species, but not, perhaps, as
— numerous; it is a beautiful and noble-
4, looking bird. The habits of the sickle-
/ pills are very similar to those of the
short-billed; they frequent the salt
marshes and sea-shore about the same
time as the other bird, and we are sur-
prised to learn from Mr. Giraud’s work that numbers of them re-
main on Folly Island, near Charleston, during the season of nidifi-
cation, for the purposes of procreation.
“The long-billed curlew is twenty-five inches in length and
three feet three inches in extent, and when in good order weighs
245
246 LEWIS’S AMERICAN SPORTSMAN.
about thirty ounces; but individuals differ greatly in this respect.
The bill is eight inches long, nearly straight for half its length,
thence curving considerably downwards to its extremity, where it
ends in an obtuse knob that overhangs the lower mandible; the
color black, except towards the base of the lower, where it is of a
pale flesh-color; tongue extremely short, differing in this from the
snipe; eye dark; the general color alone of the plumage above is
black, spotted, and barred along the edge of each feather with pale
brown; chin, line over the eye, and round the same, pale brownish-
white; neck, reddish-brown, streaked with black; spots on the
breast more sparingly dispersed; belly, thighs, and vent, pale,
plain rufous, without any spots; primaries black on the outer
edges, pale brown on the inner, and barred with black; legs and
naked thighs very pale light blue or lead-color; the middle toe
connected with the two outer ones as far as the first jomt by a
membrane, and bordered along the sides with a thick, warty edge;
lining of the wing dark rufous, approaching a chestnut, and thinly
spotted with black. The male and female alike in plumage, &c.”’
This bird resembles somewhat the English curlew, (Scolopax
aquata;) but the difference in the plumage and length of the bill is
sufficient to mark it as a distinct species. The English curlew
weighs about the same with the American; the bill, however, is
two inches shorter. During the season of brambleberries, the cur-
lews sometimes desert the marshes and fens, and resort to the old
fields to partake of this fruit, and are then free from that strong,
sedgy taste which they acquire while feeding on fiddlers, snails,
shell-fish, and other strong food.
These birds, like all their congeners, are very shy and hard to
approach. They are often shot down when in company on the sand-
flats with other less wary fowls; they are easily decoyed, while
flying, by imitating their whistle, with which most of our coast-
shooters are familiar, and who often draw them a considerable dis-
tance from their course by sounding their expressive notes. AI sea-
birds should be fired upon while going from us, as they are more
easily killed by striking them with the feathers than against them.
LONG-BILLED CURLEW, OR SICKLE-BILL. 247
The long-billed curlew requires a very hard rap to bring him
down, and will often carry off several large pellets with him. They
usually fly very high and with great velocity, and, when in com-
panies, adopt the wedge form, like ducks.
These birds are pursued upon our coast like other sea-fowls,
either in boats or by tramping over the marshes. im-
pervious to water; but we wish to say that, so far as we are con-
cerned, we have never yet been snipe-shooting without wetting our
feet; but, at the same time, must confess that we are not easily
deterred from crossing a ditch, and neither are we a very expert
hand at walking a rickety fence-rail or a slippery log.
Shooting-boots should never be made too heavy: it is a mistaken
idea to have them made of the stoutest leather and with the
heaviest soles, weighing perhaps several pounds apiece, inde-
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