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Z~-^. : i—'-"^ ---^ — ,i— ■ ytk " —==rL—^ tJV— ; Imw.' &=- -.-■.' f^- SP ■ ^ ^~=- jjjjf^- UJjll — ^ /i ^ l^lUA;. F;.iiCSTEii;8 1S . ; L I) ;S P i> li. T S i^.v ..-. ^ = II AVUii CA. ^ri? irr*»#(S in H. ■; A is m t Mmap i,'**- +* ^"^. -M .,v FRANK FORESTER'S FIELD SPORTS OP THE UNITED STATES, AND BRITISH PROVINCES, OF NORTH AMERICA. There \» exhilaration In the ehafie— Not bodily only. • ♦ • ♦ • It U a mingled rapture, and we And The bodily spirit mounting to the mind.' Sir Egerton Bryitgeg. BY HENRY WILLIAM HERBERT; author of " my 8h00tinq box," " the warwick woodlands," "marmaduke wyvil," "cromwkll," "the brothers," "the roman traitor," 4tc., &g M -^■T m- IN TWO VOLUMES. VOL. I. NEW-YORK: STRINGER & TOWNSEND. (Late Burpesg, Stringer & Co ) S!i3 BROADWAY. 1649. Entered according to an Act of Congress, In the year 1S48 BY STRINORR AND T0WN8END. In tne Clerk's Office of the District Cou.t for the Sonthem District of New-York f i i JoHM R. WiNSER. Stereotyper. 136 Folton-Stieet. COLONEL WADE HAMPTON, Uc, «Vc., i(c., of "8rt)e CZ^ooHlanlis," SoutD CaroUna, ei)is tooctt on t|)e jTiclD Jbports oC t))e BnlteO States ano ]3c(ti«1) ^cotoincea o( Kottl) 2liiwr(ca, ta Vi?rs vespectfullj} tteHicateO, as a trCbute of ])om«ge to Site . (First S9ortsma« in V)t lanO : SS ])i8 mvt Sbetb't Frank Forested. i I I i ':M ■'I 4 i ADVERTISEMENT. M I HAVE little to say in Preluce to the following work on Fio'd S[)ort8 ; my reasons for producing it, at this moment, will be found in the body of the book itself; but, once for all, it ap- peared to me that such a work was needed, at this juncture, and tiiat its publication might possibly tend, in some small de- gree, to avert the impending doom, which seems to have gone forth from the democracy of the land, against game of all sorts. No one abler, or elder, seemed willing to stand forth ; so " with all my imperfections on my head," I have ventured my- self as the champion of American Sport and Sportsmanship ; and — " what is writ is writ, would it were worthier !" I have here, especially and before aught else, to express my obligations for what 1 have boiTowed — the generic distinctions namely, and descriptions of the form, measurement, and plumage, of all the winged game of the Continent— from those distin- guished ornithologists, and good sportsmen, Mr. Audubon and Mr. GiRAUD, to whose " Birds of America," and " Birds of Long Island," I am greatly indebted. I have not scrupled, moreover, to quote largely, on occasion, from Wilson's " American Orni- thology," DeKay's " Natural History of New- York," and God man's "American Natural History," — and to all these vi ^* ATIVEHTISEAIENT. gentlemen I beg to expre^B the high sense I feel of the aid I have derived from their excellent works. To my friend, William T. Pouter, I need not apologise for the two or three pages I have borrowed from his admirable edition of " Hawker ..n Shooting," afl he would pardon, doubtless, a heavier offence to a fellow- worker in the same honorable field with himself. For the illustrations, designed by myself iVom living, or stufTed specimens, I am greatly indebted to Mr. Bei.l, the eminent taxidei-mist and naturalist, who kindly laid open his cabinet for my use ; and I will only add my acknowledgment to Mr. Read, for the Ppint and fidelity with which he has rendered my draw' ings on the wood. This said, nothing remains but to express my hope, that my labors may be not wholly vain, and that my doctrines may meet the favorable censure of those, for whose use they are intended — THE Sportsmen of America. HENRy WILLIAM HERBErlT. Thk Ckdari, August 3rd, IS48. I I I lldVO LIAM T. I havo fellow- Htuffbd minent net for Head, draw- LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS ®f Volume €mt. lat my f meet ended IT. RUFFED GROUSE Fkontispikck. CANADA GROUSE '. ,3 AMERICAN SNIPE ,33 AMERICAN WOODCOCK . . . . . ,90 PINNATED GROUSE . . . . . . ..gs AMERICAN QUAIL ,6^ f m CONTENTS OF VOLUME ONE. Pasi. Introductory Odservationb 1 The Game of North America ...••.. 30 Upland Shooting . . 45 The Pinntited Grouse 49 The Ruffed Grouse 64 The Canada Grouae . . . • ... 71 American Quail • 80 The Woodcock 86 Common Snipe .... ..... 91 Bartram's Tattler 94 The American Hare . 100 The Northern Hare 103 The Mallard 106 Tho Dusky Duck 110 The Blue-Winged Teal 115 The Green-Winged Teal , . 119 The Summer Duck 123 The Pintail Duck 138 Spring Snipe Shooting . . . . ' 137 Summer Woodcock Shooting ........ 169 Upland Plover Shooting •...«.... 209 Autumn Cock Shooting •....••,. 210 Quail Shooting ■••••••,.,. 319 Ru?FED Grouse Skooting ..•••».. 240 Grouse Shooting . . 248 CONTENTS. AuTuiUN Shootino Rail; and Rail Shootino Duck Shooting, on Ini^o Watkrs ' . ' * Sporting Doob . * The Setter . ' ' ' * * • • • The Pointer . ' • • , , The Cocking Spaniel . , Kennel Management Alteratives „ " ' * Xaxatives and Purgatives Distpmper Woims . . ^ ' ' • • Poisons * * Mange ..'.*.'/* " * * Ophthalmia . ' * ' ' • • 4 ^ore Feet * * * * * • • field Management of Doers . * * ' . 268 393 • 313 313 • 338 333 ■ 335 343 • 344 347 350 351 351 353 353 354 • 268 293 • 319 313 • 338 339 • 335 343 • 344 347 350 351 351 353 352 354 *,i FIELD SPORTS OF THE UNITED STATES AND BRITISH PROVINCES. N the occasion of commencing, it is now several years ago, a series of papers in a leading monthly magazine, " On the Game of North America, its nomenclature, habits, haunts, and seasons ; with hints on the science of woodcraft" — I introduced the subject, by the fol- lowing general remariis, and it ap- pears to me that, inasmuch as they are not only still applicable, but have in effect become more and more evidently true, owing to the lapse of time since their publication, during which the evils complained of have increased tenfold, I cannot do better than repeat them, as entirely germane to the matter, and as aptly introductory to that which is to follow. J " There is, perhaps," I remarked, " no country in the world which presents, tc the sportsman, so long a catalogue of the 19 FRANK forester's FIELD SPORTS. ft^tates of North Amenca ; there is none, probably, which counts amly, .n wh.ch the wide-spread passion for the chase can be indulged, under so few restrictions, and at an expense so trifling. Yet all this, notwithstanding, it is to be regretted greatly that here isno country in which the nomenclature of thefe jL na- , /«r«, these roving denizens of wood, wold and water, is so con- fused and unscientific ; none, in which their habits are so little gentle craft of Vener.eis so often degraded into mere pot-hunting- and none, in which, as a natural consequence, thfgame that' swarmed of yore in all the fields and forests, i; all L lakes mers, bays, and creeks of its vast territory, are in such peril' of becoming speedily extinct. ^ " That in a nation, every male inhabitant of which is, with but rare exceptions, a hunter, and ready with the gun almost beyond example, this should be the case, can be exjJained only by the fact that, as I have said before, little is known generally of the habits of game ; and that the rarest and choices! specif are slaughtered inconsiderately, not perhaps wantonly, at such times and m such manners, as are rapidly causing them to disap- pear and become extinct. " That such is the case, can be proved in a few words, and by reference to a few examples. The most evident, perhaps, of these, ,s the absolute extinction of that noble bird, the Heath- Hen, or Ptnnated Grouse, Tetrao Cupxoo, on Long Island, where within the memoiy of our elder sportsmen, they might soli k'.\ ; '"'' "* '^' P"""?^^ ««^««»' but where o1 a solitary bird has been seen for years. In the pines on the south- western shores of New Jersey, and in the oak-barrens of north- eastern Pennsylvania, the same birds were also plentiful within a few years ; but now they are already rarcB aves ; and, after a few more returns of the rapidly succeeding seasons, they will be entirely unknown in their old-accustomed places." The same thing is the case, in a yet greater degree, with re- INTRODUCTORY OB8EUVATION8. 13 pard to the Wild Turkey. It is not yet half a century since tiiese birds, the noblest wild game of the Gallinaceous order, abounded on the slopes of the Warwick and Musconetcong Mountains ; in the Shawangunks ; and, in a word, throughout the whole length of the great chain, which connects the White Mountains of the north, with the AUeghanies proper. I have myself conversed with sportsmen, in the river counties of New York, who, in their boyhood, thought less of killing their half- dozen Wild Turkeys in the morning, than we should now-a-days of bagging as many Ruffed Grouse. At present, with the ex- ception of a few stragglers which, I believe, still exist on the Connecticut, about the rocky steeps of Mount Tom and Mount Holyoake, and a single drove, which are reported to be seen occasionally among the hill-fastnesses at the lower end of the' Greenwood Lake, on the frontiers of New York and New Jersey, none are to be found until we reach the western regions of Pennsylvania. And, in fact, as a bird of sport, they are noty any where on the eastern side of the great Apalachian chain. The Deer and the greater American Hare, which turns white m winter, are likewise already extinct in many places^ where both could be captured, within the last twenty years,, in such numbers as to afford both sport and profit to their pur- suers. In New Jersey, and in New York, south of the forty-second degree of north latitude, with the exception of a small number carefully preserved on the brush-plains of Long Island, the Deer, Cervus Viroinianus, has ceased to exist. And it requires no prophetic eye to see the day when this pride of the North Ame- rican forest shall have ceased to have its habitation any where eastward of Pennsylvania ; unless it be* in the remote northern forests of Maine, in the mountains of New Hamfshire and Ver- mont, and in that small district of New York, lying between the head waters of the Hudson, Lake Champlain, the St. Lawrence and the eastern extremity of Ontario-which latter tract, owin-' to Its singularly rugged av^ t-rproductive character, will proba! bly contain the Deer, the iVi. ose, the Cariboo, the Panther, and 14 FRANK forester's FIELD SPORTS. even the Beaver, after they shall have become extinct, even in the far West. It has been alleged, and by many is doubtless believed to be true, that the increase of population, the spread of cultivation, and the transfiguration of the woods and wastes into corn-lands and pastures, are in themselves an all-sufficient and irremediable cause for the disappearance of all the various kinds of game, the extinction of which the sportsman and the naturalist alike - deplore. Were this the case, it would be needless to waste words on the subject — ^but so far is it from being the case, that with regard to very many kinds of game — several of those already cited, and others, which, though still numerous, will ere long be in the same predicament, so rapidly are they decreasing — the very converse of the proposition is true. The Wild Turkey, the Pinnated Grouse, and its congener, the Ruffed Grouse, as also the much rarer bird of the same order, commonly known as the Spructt Partridge — the very existence of which was unknown to Wilson — all unquestionably do make their homes in the wilderness, the last-named there exclusively. But all the others, without exception, prefer the vicinity of cul- tivated regions on account of the plenty and choicer quality of the food ; and are found nowhere in such abundance as in those localities, which afford the combination of rough wild lying- ground, with highly cultivated land, on which to feed at morn " and dewy eve. Thus, in the Eastern States, if you are in pursuit of the Ruffed Grouse, the surest places where to flush your game will not be the depths of the cedar swamp, or the summit of the mountain horrid with pine and hemlock, but. on the slopes and ledges falling down to the cultivated vales, and in the skirts of briary woodlands, or in the red-cedar knolls, which remain yet unshorn in the midst of maize and buckwheat fields, which never fail to tempt this mountain-loving bird from his native fastnesses. In like manner, in the West, it is on the prairie, but in the vicinity of the boundless tracts of maize and wheat, which the industry of the white man has spread out over the hunting- K^- INTRODUCTORY OBSERVATIONS. ]5 grounds of the Indian, that the Pinnated Grouse is to be found m miUions ; and the Turkey in similar situations, where the forest encircles the jet isolated clearings of the agricultural pioneer. " Thus, of these three species, it is untrue that the spread of cultivation, unless in so far as that involves the increased numbers and increased persecution of the cultivators, has any detrimental effect on their propagation, or in anywise tends to decrease their numbers. For centuries yet to come, let Ame- rican industry develope and extend American agriculture as rapidly as it may, there will be woodlands and wilds in abun- dance to furnish shelter for any quantity of game; and there wui always be fastnesses innumerable, which never will be- cause they never can, be cleared, owing to the roughness of taeir surface, and the sterility of their soil, whether from eleva- tion above the sea, rockiness or swampiness of situation, or other natural causes, which it needs not to enumerate. Other species of game, so far from flying cultivation, or ab- horring the vicinity of civilized man, are literally not to be found except where the works of the ox and the man are conspicu- ous; never being seen at all in the wilderness proper, and gmng cause for some speculation as to their whereabouts, their haunts, their habits, if not their existence on the conti- nent, previous to the arrival of civilized man, from realms nearer to the sun. Neither the Woodcock nor the Quail, Scolopax Minor, and Perdix, sive Ortyx Viroiniana, are ever found in the depths of the untamed forest, aloof from human habitations ; though both genera frequent, nay require, woodland, as a sine qu& non, for their habitation. Moreover, in places where they are entirely unknown to the first settlers, where they do not in fact exist at all, they speedily become abundant, so soon as the axe levels the umbrageous forest, and the admitted sunbeams awaken or mature the germs of that animal or vegetable life, on which the birds subsist. This is, I presume, so generally known as a fact, that no proof thereof ,s necessary. I may, however, mention two or three 16 FRANK forester's FIELD SPORTS. very distinct and remarkable instances of this fact, which have come under my own observation ; one with regard to the in- crease and spread of Quail, the others of Woodcock, into loca- lities where they were previously unknown. Some seventeen years ago, I visited Niagara Falls for the first time, and travelled westward so far as the upper waters of the Thames and the Chenail Ecart^ in Canada West, shooting a little when oc- casion offered, and making many enquiries concerning the va- rieties of game, and the habits of those to be found in the prov- ince. At that time, I enjoyed some extremely good Snipe shooting, close to the village of Niagara, at the embouchure of the river into Lake Ontario ; and, in fact, I saw more birds, and those tamer, than in any other place where I have ever shot them. I had no dog with me, and was completely ignorant of the country ; but in such multitudes were the Snipe feeding in every fallow-field and maize stubble— it was in the spring, immediately on the breaking of the frost— that I made a very large bag, in the course of a very few hours. At that period, the Woodcock was just becoming known on the frontier ; and' a few birds were killed in the season ; they were, however, still extremely rare, and had been known, comparatively speaking, but a short time. Quail were utterly unknown, boih in the Province and on the American side of the river. I had not journeyed many miles, e^e I had outstripped the Woodcock ; and I could gain no tidings of his existence beyond the Ouse! or Grand River of the Mohawks. . At this moment, probably, the best Woodcock shooting on the continent is to be obtained ic the islands situate at the western end of Lake Erie, in the Detroit River, and in Lake St. Clair. Quail are also becoming exceedingly plentiful throughout that region. In the same manner, in the Eastern States, until within the last six years, the Woodcock has been unknown on the Penob- scot River, although abundant in the vicinity of Portland and Casco Bay, and in the older settlements on the Kennebec. What renders it more evident, in the latter case, that it is the absence of civilization and not the severity of the climate, which INTRODUCTORY 0B8KHVATI0N8. ir has so long deterred this bird of passage from visiting the east- ein parts of Maine, is the fact that, in the British Provinces of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, much farther to the north- ward and eastward, and in the old cultivated French country below and around Quebec, the Woodcock has long been an object of pursuit by the sportsman, and of attainment by the gourmet. ^ It may, therefore, be assumed at once, that the spread of agri- culture and civilization, in themselves, has no injurious operation, but rather the reverse, on any kind of winged game; and that' n. some instances, the progress of one is simultaneous with the increased numbers of the other. Even with game of the largest kind, as Deer, Bear, Hares, and the like, it is not the circumscription of their limits by ploughed fields, but the ruthless persecution to which they are subjected, which is gradually extinguishing them, where, within ten or fifteen years, they abounded. In the counties of Hampshire and Berkshire, in Massachusetts, of Dutchess, Putnam, Kockiand and Orange in New York, and of Sussex, m New Jersey, there is an extent of forest land, wilder and more inaccessible, and in every way n.ore suited to harbor herds of Deer, and ten times greater, than all the Deer forests in the H.ghlands of Scotland ; m the former, you have perhaps rather a greater chance of meeting an elephant, thanks to the abundance of menageries, than a hart or hind-in the latter, the Red Deer are more numerous now than they were two centuries ae, whether large or small, throughout the United States of America. Nor is it to be attributed to any other cause than the reckless and ignorant it not wanton, destruction of these animals by the rural population The destruction of the Pinnated Grouse, which is total on Long Island, and all but total in New Jersey and the Pennsyl- van.a oak-barrens, is ascribable to the brutal and wholly wanton havoc committed among them by the charcoal-burners, who fre- 18 FRANK forester's FIELD SPORTS. quent those wooded districts ; and who, not content with destroy- ing the parent birds, at all seasons, even while hatching and ho- vering their broods, shooting the half-fledged cheepers in whole hatchings at a shot, and trapping them in deep snows— with a degree of wantonness equally barbarous and unmeaning, steal or break all the eggs which they can find. To this add the spring burnings of the forest land, and you have cause enough to account for the extermination of the Pinnated Grouse, or Heath-Hen ; who is not now to be shot in such num- bers as to render it worth the while to hunt for him nearer than Michigan or Illinois. I should, perhaps, here state as a farther proof of the correct- ness of my assertion, that, on the little island of Martha's Vine- yard, off" the coast of Massachusetts, where the Heath-Cock, once abundant, had nearly become extinct, the species was preserved from annihilation by the very praiseworthy means, equally de- termined and energetical, adopted by the citizens in general to prevent its extermination. This fine bird is again plentiful in that, its last locality, on the Atlantic coast ; and it is Ijke to remain so, as the people take an honorable prid- in preserving it, and neither kill it themselves, nor allow visitors to do so, except in the proper seasons, and under restrictions as to numbers. For a space, I believe, of five years the prohibition to kill was absolute ; and the fine so heavy, and so rigorously enforced— backed as it was by public opinion — that the desired end was gained. The period, if I am not mistaken, for which the Grouse bar- rens were closed has expired, and, under some limitations, of the the nature of which I am not exactly aware, they may be visited by sportsmen henceforth. The destruction of the smaller and more abundant species is to be attributed to diflferent reasons— but the operation of these is more rapid and more fatal than those which have led to the ex- .tinction of the races we have mentioned. The first of these causes is the very singular, if not incompre- hensible, characteristic of the people of the United States, to dis- INTRODUCTOnr OBSEHVATlOtlS. |. regard .„d violate all law, even I.». „f ,heir „w„ maki„„_,h. ■econd, .h. apachy of .he rural p„p„l„,i„„ „;y, ^spTc. ' ^T •nd .he error ,„.o which they have fallen of regardL all 11 aw, a, p«ed .o .heir de,ri„,e„., and for .he ple»„re of ^ eTwe ' ler» ,„ c,.,e,-.he .hird i,, .he d„ho„e,. glu..„„y „f TJ^J^ n .he e,.,e», „i.h .he exoep.io„ of a few ,por.L,e„_„„d ."; a,., korre,co re/ere..,, the .elf,sh„e«, and „„'„. „f „„!„„ . It themselves of genuine apor..,„,co. " Wi.h regard ,„ .he f.r,. „f .he reasons laid down here, it „„„ be .nken as a mat.er of fae. .ha. no man, bov or fool ;„ « ^„ abs.ains from killing game, in or ou.'of 11^^ e r^I" law ; and .ha, no farmer or landholder will ever give Ir™, o„ .S-njt .he vi„,a.ion of .hi, law, .hough so far if he f f™ „" "»"-l..,g,ous, that one of the principal pleasures of his life is Z »ue,ngh,s neighbors for the smalles. possible sums. The « ceedrng fondness of ,he popula.ion in general for recourse .o civ" and the.r equally evident disregard of criminal, law, is "0/^.' phenomena of .he coun.ry, and .he age in whi'ch J^^^ '""" Secondly ; the apathy of .he farmer arises na.urally enough fi-om .h,s .hat all he has heard of game-laws in for^gn'land t m connectmn w„h feudal rights, individual privile-es, and „I na,d,st,„ct,„ns, which are certainly everywhere", re orll aem:g„gueo:::„:s\redr;r„i:iCot!:^^^^^ XTfo::g*::ir°"'"---°--"--^^^^ Remarkably enough, it has so happened in this countrv tng to the non-residence of wealthy and min 7' °'^" districts of the Northpm Sw i ^ "'"" '" *'^« ''"'■al oi me rsorthern States, that until very recentlv »ll plication for and amendments of a^m. i u """^""^ ^" ^P" .. awellers in cities. ^JX^t^Z^Z^^Z^Z fli M FRANK forester's FIELD SPORTS. try farmers, as a body, have neither the time, the inclination, noi the opportunities for making themselves acquainted with the names, habits, or manners of game-animals ; and consequently could not, if they would, have framed adequate laws for their protection. I believe that if they could now be brought as a body to understand that the provisions of these laws are not arbitrary and intended to suit the wishes of classes, they might be in- duced to lend their hand to the good work of game-preservation. A very few years since, the sportsmen proper-those I mean who shot for exercise, pleasure, and healthful excitement-and the poachers who shot for the markets, both coming from the cities, were the only enemies of the Quail and Woodcock 7 hey were at that time entirely disregarded by the farmers, who had not the art to kill then, on the wing, who did not care foi them as delicacies, or articles of food, and who had no markets to supply with what they considered useless birds. So great was the extent of this disregard, that I have repeatedly, on tinng a great number of shots in small pieces of woodland been questioned by the owners what on earth I found to shoot at- and, on showing some twenty or thirty Woodcock, have been met by a remark that the speaker had lived on that farm all his life and had not seen a dozen such birds in his life-time-and the' name of the bird was unknown to them. At this period, which was the golden age for the sportsman, tra- veiling was, comparatively speaking, expensive ; it was often necessary, in visiting out-of-the-way places, where the best sport was to be had, to hire private conveyances ; and the consequence was that the city poacher was in a great measure precluded from following his barbarous and dishonest trade. Add to thi« that the country people were averse to the market-shoote., ".;,<"„ they discovered his object, and cast obstacles in his wav All this is now changed— the rail-roads by which the country 18 everywhere intersected, enable the city pot-hunter to move about with his dogs, and to transmit the subject of his butchery to the market easily, cheaply, speedily. Nor is this all-the count-y Rev bids fair to monopolize the trade of pot-hunting INTRODUCTORV OBSERVATIOWS. 91 The young men and boys, now-a-days, all shoot on the wing • many of tho.n «hoot extremelv well ; and knowing the country, and being at it all the time, the devastation they make is enor- mous. Their game is easily disposed of by the aid of the conductors, or other employes on the rail-roads, who share the spoils with the killers. The father, fmding that the idle lad, who formerly did an hour .«.• two of work, and bird-nested or played truant quite unprofitably all the rest of the day, now readily earns his three or four shillings a day by loafing about the woods with a gun m h.s hand and a cur at his heels, encourages him in this thoughtless course, and looks upon him as a source both of honor and profit to the family. In the meantime, knowing nothing, and caring less than noth- mg, about the habits or seasons of the birds in question, he judges naturally enough that, whenever there is a demand for the birds or beasts in the New York markets, it is all right to kiU and sell them. * And thanks to the selfish gormandizing of the wealthier classes of that city, there is a demand always; and the unhappy birds are hunted and destroyed, year in and year out, by the very per- sons whose interest it is to protect them, if it be only for the sel- fish object of making the most money of their killing Even now, while I write these lines-February, 1848-owing to the mildness of the winter, which has allured them earlier than usual from their hybernacula in the swamps of the sunny South, the Woodcock are here among us, preparing their nests already ere the snow is off the ground. Each pair of these birds if unmolested now, will raise eight young-perhaps twelve-dur- i.g the season. The bird, moreover, is in no condition at this time of year-his plumage is full of a species of louse, his flesh .8 unsavory, he is thin and worthless-yet the ostentation, rather than the epicureanism of the rich New Yorker demands Wood- cock ; therefore, despite law, common sense, and common hu- manity, the bird is butchered at all times-eccn now. Within ten years to come, if some means widely different from any now 22 FRANK forester's FIELD SPORTS. I and everywhere within , hundred n,iles of any city large enoulh .o airord a marlce.. Within fifty years from the day otwhichl now wr,.e, 1 anj satisfied that the Woodcock will he as ra e i, the ea..ern and n,idla„d scales, as the Wild Turkey and the Hcath-Hen are at present. The Quail wdl endure a little longer, and the Ruffed Grouse will Zh ","-"'' "-^ ''^'""'"^ °f *» '»•-'-* - "^ will see the w,de woodlands, the dense swamps, and the n,ou7 .» s,de,, depopulated and silent. , begin t'o iespair-ItTfe that there ,s no hope for those who would avert the evil day when game shall be extinct, and the last manly exercise out ^; date .n the United r -es of North America. ' ' °' The foregoing remarks contain, in brief, th, reasons which work, on the I ,eld Sports of the United States, and the British Provtnces of North America"_a work, the int ntion a!d r' act r of „h,ch, I shall take this opportunity of stating, are en .u...yd,«e.n.from those of any book herlfore publL^^lt .hi'," "" ^:°"''^" '""'•""^'" I remarked, in connexion with he observat,„„s quoted above, " writer, on all branches of sport- ng h.ve long abounded ; many of them of high birth marlf hem d,st,ngu shed in the world of science a'd of le t« 'anj .ome evenof thegentlersex. Thegreatcst chemis^of hisday Sir Humphry Davy, was not ashamed to record his piscatoryTxp r.ences ,n ' Salmonia,' a work second only in frihness and at tractmn to its prototype, by old Isaak Walton ThTt ^^.^ gentle dame Juliana Berners, deemed it not a:u„lm Lit . k 0 nd,te what, to the present day, is the tex.-book of falcontv and hapless beautiful Jane Grey thought she had given the x' tremestpra,se.to Plato's eloiuence, when she preffrri it to the" mustc of the hound and horn in the good greenwUraiht !f h 'Td'Z'7' -'""'™'' ■"" f°""'i »° -» t° record he feat of her bold and skilful hunters, to build theories on the result INTRODUCTORY OBSERVATIONS. 23 inct every- rd — and in- irge enough on which I ! as rare in >y and the red Grouse h century the moua- r— to feel evil day, ise out of ris which le present le British md char- f, are en- lished in ion with of sport- many of ;ers, and day, Sir y expe- and at- ftir and ine task Iconry ; the ex- t to the the last le feats suits of their experience, or to plead the cause of her persecuted and vf almost exterminated game. f " Within the last few years, indeed, much has been done. A i whole host of sporting writers have sprung up in all quarters of I the land, having their rendezvous and rallying point in the columns of the New York Spirit of the Times. " Still, most of these writers have aspired rather to enter- tain than to instruct ; rather to depict scenes and incidents to the life, than to draw from those scenes a moral and a theory." Even the beautiful edition of that admirable English work, " Hawker on Shooting" — prepared for the American reader by my excellent friend, William T. Porter, known throughout the length and breadth of the continent as a thorough and accom- plished sportsman — does not descend to those minute details of the zoological distinctions, nomenclature, and habits of our vari- ous species of game, which I propose to give to my readers ; nor — though abounding with graphic accounts and highly colored anecdotes relating; to every species of shooting or hunting, does it present any views or suggest any means for the preservation of game, or for the acquisition of skill in woodcraft and gunnery in this country — both being very different on this from what they are on the other side of the Atlantic. This consideration — connected with another, namely, that for the last two years hardly a week has passed without my re- ceiving a letter from some person addicted to field sports, in all, even the remotest, parts of the country, requesting me to suggest some plan for the prevention of, what all see to be imminent, the total annihilation of game within our borders — has led me to believe that the time has airived, when a work of this character is called for by the country in general, and is likely to be as well received as the deficiencies of its author will permit. And now, after these brief introductory observations, I shall state what is my plan for the arrangement of this work, and thereafter plunge at once in Medias Res. In the first place, I propose briefly to ascertain what are the game of the United States and Provinces of America— a point "WfT 24 FRANK forester's FIELD SPORTS. P'aced o„ a scientific I '«.^. '^ "' 'P°"™«°»'>ip .ever can be Tliis done, 1 sliall classify it under it, (l,r„ «ons, of Upland or Wand, Coa^. or f a .ITr'* *"'°" """- Under each head, 1 shall .1^0 M,r' °t '"°" ^"""""S- the best authorities „ „at„rrhi« ''""''"'°°'' '''^"=^ '""^ genera, the colors, haUr brll "^ "'' "'''''"■'""gy, of the -pecies of ga^e-ieX^h' g TJ^J 2t """"' °' ''"'^ modes of killing and preservn. them Tnd . .'"T '"""'^'' -«. on the proper -omenclalre u^g-W 'iL'Ltt '' ' f""' .h^;.p.ovin'i.„isnrr;r^:::ci^^^^^^^ Ot the science of eunnprv th^ * • ■ **n"na^ ot the chase .he acuisition of th^e'rS ttrC" a^Tr't^ "! ''°^' topics, 80 much has been staf^ f .^' ''^^^' ^'"^^^ed Biaine and other greaX ira:!:^ L!^"'"^' ^°-"' sary that I should be verv diffnc. • ^'f ' *^** '* '» not neces- e-, no „„rU on Lu iri: ^f X?" °"- ^"'-"- perfection unless it include these vital su'^lf ."haTT"" '" not pass them over in silence, though I shairdiK. "'""" parts of them as appear to be' mos.le^i ab tlT °° ™'^'' sufficient present ouhliVifxr ^ c ' ^^ ^^^ ^ant of circums.anLo7«'"eM"s;l°rr:er"" "^"""'^""^ '° «>' .He":^no:ir.t!L:-'rd:::t°" "^ — = ::-:^rrd:rbi;7;bi--^^^^^^^^^^^^ kennel-treatment and hunitof^^^^^^ with the noble science of f!l ' '"^ ^^''^^^'^^ ««^'"e<^*ed of Rivers." '^ '"'^°"^y' «"^« '^^-^-^ "the Mystery I have, indeed, often wondered that both f.lrn •«g have not been introduced on the boundf "^ '"'^ ''"''■ "n me boundless prairies of t.'ie INTRODUCTORY OBSERVATIONS. 3ft West, which, for the perfection of the first named sport, are the grounds par excellence of the whole world— the decline of fal- conry on the continent.of Europe, and in England, being caused by the multiplicity of enclosures, which renders it impossible to pursue a chase, blindfold as it were, the eyes being fixed constantly on the manojuvres of the hawk to pounce, and of the quarry to evade his stoop, in the mid-air. Again, Deer-coursing might be practised with undoubted suc- cess on the prairies ; the best proof of which is in the fact, that it has been tried by one gentleman at least, who has imported the rough Scottish deer greyhound for the purpose, in the ex- treme West ; and has been found by him to surpass all his ex- pectations, both for the excitement of the chase and the great sport attained. Deer, of the largest size and finest head, were run into, after a pursuit of three miles or more, in view, and pulled down single-handed— nay, even the enormous Elk was brought to bay unerringly, by these staunch, fleet and noble hounds. With regard to these sports, however, I have said my say j and only expressing my wonder that they should not be adopted, and my advice to all genuine Western sportsmen-I do not mean game-butchers-to adopt them with all due speed-I pass on to what more claims attention. Fishing is, perhaps, scarcely a >W sport ; it is nevertheless so decidedly a branch of sportsmanship— of course I mean fly- fishing, or trolling with the live or dead minnow ; any other mode I can regard only as I would knocking a hare on the head m her form, or shooting a bevy of Quail running, or in a huddle —that I may not leave it unnoticed, lest I should be supposed to rob It and its votaries of the honor due to the gentle science. I know not, whether, before entering on my subject, I owe any apology to my readers for that I, not native or to the manor born, should aspire to treat of a subject so purely indigenous as the field sports of America. Should it be deemed presumptuous in me to attempt it, I must only point, as my excuse, to seven- teen years of apprenticeship honestly devoted to acquiring the lit- '* 86 FRANK forester's FIELD SPORTS. tie I do know of American field sports-and so infinitesimal is that little, that I am almost compelled to own, with the sage of old, " all that I do know is, that I know nothing"— and to a constant and long-maintained habit of intercourse and familiar correspondence with better, though not more thoroughgoing, sportsmen than myself, in every part of the United States, and of the Provinces. Upon any general defence of field sports I do not here think it worth the while to enter. All men whose opinions are worth one moment of attention, have long ago decided that they are the best, the manliest, and the most desirable, in every respect, of national amusements, tending to prevent the demoralization of luxury, and over civilization, the growth of effeminacy and sloth, and to the maintenance of a little manhood in an age, the leading characteristics of which are fanaticism, cant, and hypo- crisy, added to a total and general decay of all that is manly or independent either in the physical or moral characters, alike of individuals or nations. To those who think field sports cruel, immoral, wicked, and brutalizing, I have only to make my lowest bow ; and to en- treat that they will give me and my book, as I shall assuredly give them and their opinions, the widest possible berth ; assuring them that, without the slightest respect for their opinions, I have no idea of intruding upon their premises, nor any desire to convert them from their comfortable and self-hugging creed. In all ages and in all countries, genuine field sports— from which I, of course, exclude the really cruel and brutalizing amusements of bear-baiting, dog-fighting, cock-fighting, and other similar pursuits, which are for the most part followed only by the vicious and worthless population of large cities- have been approved of and encouraged by the wisest men, by statesmen and philosophers and philanthropists, not merely as legitimate pursuits whereon to expend and exercise the buoyant animal spirits, and ardent animal propensities of youth —which must have an outlet one way or another— but as the brst mode of preserving the combined advantages of the mew M 'i niteslmal is the sage of ' — and to a nd familiar •oughgoing, States, and here think i are worth at they are sry respect, loralization linacy and an age, the and hypo- s manly or s, alike of icked, and »nd to en- assuredly ; assuring •pinions, I f desire to creed. )rts — from )rutalizing ting, and followed e cities — iest men, 3t merely ircise the of youth lit as the the mem INTUOpUCTORY OIISEIIVATIONS, 37 anna in corpore aano — of keeping up manhood, and of maintain- ing the physical energies and capacities of the human race at tlieir highest standard. It is an authentic and undeniable fact that the aristocracy and gentry of the British Islands are superior, in physical beauty and power, in robustness, agility, and the capacity of enduring fatigue, to any other class of n()i)ilily in the world. They are, in fact, the only nobililif in existence, which have been enabled to resist the deteriorating influences of wealth, luxury, and breeding-in-and-in, which have corrupted and efi'eininated the nobility of all other lands ; they are the only uobilify, in exist- ence, which not only ecjuals, but exceeds, in physical stature and strength the peasantry and laborious classes of tlieir own country. And to nothing is this, or can it be, ascribed, but to their habit of residence on their rural estates, and their addiction to manly and laborious field sports. To the like cause, may be, in its degree, attributed the superiority, in vigor and robust- ness, despite of ill fare and hardship, of the British peasant and artisan to his equal in society, in France, Spain, Italy, and on the European continent in general. This being, as it must be admitted, true of Great Britain, there are two reasons, worth the consideration of the statesman and the philanthropist, why the encouragement of a love for field sports is even more desirable and necessary in the United States than in that country. The first is this— that the wealthy classes of the northern states eiilirely, and of all the states, in a great degree, dwelling exclusively in large cities, and not residing at all on rural es- tates, or ac(juiring rural tastes and habits, are infinitely more liable to become effeminated and effite than the gentry, not of Britain only, but of France and Germany. And, in fact, the soi dlsante aristocracy, the dandies of our cities, are now softer and more cocknified, as a rule, than the gentry of the European monarchies. The second consideration is this— that, standing armies being out of the question in this republic, the defence of the land and 9R PRANK forester's FIELD SPORTS. Its institu ons must ever be intrusted to the people at large- and the adaptibility of the people to that defence will ever de^ pend on their aptitude to become soldiers at a short notice, and especially on their readiness with the gun. So far as they have been tried hitherto, nothing can be more satisfactory than the results. But, I think, it will appear, on a httle consideration, that the probability of those results continu- ing the same for a large term of years, as far as regards the use ot the gun, IS small indeed and hourly decreasing During the war of the Revolution, every countryman was a rifleman. Burgoyne surrendered as much to the unerring aim of the undisciplined American militia, as to the skill or courage of the regulars. Even in the last war, the northern and mid- land states could produce their hundreds and thousands of rifle shots ; and on the Canada frontier they did good service Along the Atlantic sea-board the rifle is now, already, an unknown arm ; and I doubt extremely whether, between the Kennebec, the Delaware, the great lakes, and the ocean, ""^ the Of the first second and third of these genera, there are but three species found on this continent, one of each. The BrsoN, Bos Amencanus, peculiar to North America. The Rocky Mountain Sheep, Ovis Montana ; and The American Antelope, or Pronohorn. ♦I, ^tV^' f r *''"■' *"■' ^^^ "^^""""^ ^'^""'l »» tJ^e territories of the United States and the Provinces, namely— The Moose, Cervus Alces ; The Elk, Cervm Canadensis; The Cariboo, American Reindeer, Cerms Tarandus ; The Common Deer, Cervus Virginianus ; and The Black-tailed Deer, Cervus Macrotis. Of the Hare there are two varieties known on this continent : The Common HARE-vulg. R^hUi-Lepus Amencanus ; and iHE Northern Hare, Lepus Virginianus. Of the Bear also there are two varieties : The Common Brown Bear, Ursus Americanus ; and The Grisly Bear, Ursus Horribilis. This is the utmost limit that I can assign to the quadruped game of this country; as I cannot lend my humble sanction to the shooting squirrels, racoons, or opossums out of trees, and calling that sportsmanship ; any more than I can assent to shoot- ing thrushes, crow-blackbirds, pigeons, meadow-larks, and reed- birds, and calling them game. In fact, for my own part, I can scarcely bring myself to re- gard the ion or the Bear as game, in consequence of the whole- LU M and British be limited to ve sub-genera t liberal com- Groat, Capra ; pus; and the there are but America, and territories of GAME or AMERICA. 88 \dus ; a continent : icanua ; and ind quadruped sanction to ' trees, and it to shoot- , and reed- self to re- the whole- :% m. sale and butcher-like fashion in which the former are slaughtered, and the total absence of what I should deem sport in gallopping* alongside of a great unwieldly terrified mountain of tlesh, pouring broadsides into him, until he falls for loss of blood ; and looking to the ferocious and noxious character of the latter. Nevertheless, in the West, i?«/a/o.hunting is regarded as sport— therefore the Bison— for, be it observed, there is no such an.mal known tc this continent as the Buffalo— munt take its place among the game of North America ; and, in the south and south-west, the bear is hunted sportsmanly and scientifically with packs of highly-trained and highly-bred hounds. I cannot therefore, deny him a place in the list of animals of game or chase. The Antelope again, and, yet more, the Rocky Mountain Sheep, are so rare, and so little pursued, except by the travellers and trappers of those barren wilds, who kill them-when they can-for their flesh, that they barely come within the sphere of game. There is no mode of hunting or pursuing them practised, except to crawl as near to them as you can, and shoot them if you can ; still they are of species recognised as game elsewhere, which doubtless would afford rare sport, if they were in situations where they could be legitimately hunted; and perhaps will yet af- ford It ,f they be not destroyed by the trappers and backwoods- men, before increasing civilization and refinement brings up a class capable of indulging in the expensive pursuit, and of cher- ishmg a fondness for sport, purely for sport's sake. The Moose, the Elk, the Cariboo, and the Common Deer, are distinctly game in every sense of the word ; and are pursued as such whenever they can be found. The black-tailed Deer is of precisely the same order, and will doubtless afford as good sport when civilization shall have reached his haunts, which are on, and to the westward of, the Rocky Mountains. The two varieties of Hare are likewise emphatically game • and .t .s with these two families only, and but with two or three spec.es of these, that nine-tenths of my readers will ever have to do. VOL. I. 3 84 PRANK forester's FIELD SPORTS. mi Tlie Mouse and Cariboo may be hunted with more or less ■viccess in Maine and Canada, as well as in the Eastern provin- ces of Nova Scotia and New Brunswick. A few linger yet in the north-eastern angle of New York, and on the northern frontiers of Vermont and New Hampshire. There is, however, little prospect of sport in their pursuit, west of the St. Johns, or south of the Canada lines. A few Elk are said to exist still in the western districts of Pennsylvania, and also in Kentucky, but to find them in herds, and in fact to have a chance of killing them, the hunter must go westward of the Mississippi. Even the larger species of hare, which becomes white in win- ter, is becoming rare in New York south of the region of Lake Champlain ; and, except among the craggy hills where h« can laugh at pursuit, he will soon cease to exist as an animal of chase. So that in fact for the great majority of sportsmen, the number of varieties of four-footed game is reduced to two species— the common Deer, and the common Hare— the small grayish brown . fellow, I mean, who is erroneously called Rabbit— (or be it ob- served no Rabbit exists on the continent of North America," and *' no Buffalo; though I suppose to all eternity, men will persist- even men of education, who ought to know, and do know, better —in calling them by the names applied to them by the illiterate and vulgar. I have no patience with the dependent provincial vulgarism of calling all birds, beasts, plants and fishes, by the name of Euro- pean animals or vegetables, to which they bear some fancied resemblance, when no suah things exist on the continent. There is scarcely a wild bird or a wild plant in this country that does not go by some ludicrous misnomer. Thus a Thrush is termed a Robin, a Vulture a Crow, a Grouse a Pheasant or a Par- tridge, a Quail a Partridge— a Rhododrendon, an Azalia, and a Calmia— all three as wide apart from each other, and from the thing they are called, as an ivy bush from an oak tree— laurel ; and so on, of almost everything that runs, flies or grows in the woods or wilds of the United States. more or less istern provin- linger yut in the northern > is, however, St. Johns, or ) exist still in in Kentucky, ince of killing ppi. ivhite in win- gion of Lake Is where he an animal of , the number species — the ayish brown -for be it ob- ^merica, and r'\]l persist^ know, better the illiterate vulgarism of me of F]uro- ome fancied nent, this country a Thrush is tnt or a Par- zalia, and a nd from the ■ee — laurel ; "ows in the CAMS OF AMEHrCA. 86 It is to those stupid misnomers, as I shall show hereafter that one^hulf t e confusion and difficulty arises among spor ;meo with regard to the objects of their pursuit P«"«'nen lesrdiZ.r'"' 'a '^l "'"^'^ ^""' ' "^"'^ ^^••^ -« ''»"^» find ess difficulty m dec.dmg what species are properly game ■ hough, w.th regard to one or two families, much more In arer-' tammg the correct denominations of the birds themselves t bemg no easy task to ass.gn the individuals known by some ba barous n.ckname to any real tribe or order All the game birds, proper, of this continent, then, belong to te rird:^^T,r":' '^"'; ""' '^^ ^^— *hey are c'a„ed-wl! AH our game, coming under the head of land-birds, proper «e o theorder termed by ornithologists Rasores ; and eCto wo famd.es, Pavonida, and Tetraonid•»« regularly the same kiu. They are l^Z- "'""'^ ^'""^ «' 86 r«ANK forester's field sports. 1. The Common American Quail, 2. The Calipornian Quail, 3. The Plumed Quail, 4. The Welcome Quail, 5. The Painted Quail, 6. The Douglass Quail, Ortyx Virgmiana; Ortyx Californica; Ortyx Flumifera ; Ortyx Neoxena; Ortyx Picta; Ortyx Douglasii. Of these six species the first alone is yet an object of pursuit being found everywhere south of the 43rd degree of north lati- tude, from the waters of the Kennebeck to those of the Rio Grande, if not yet farther to the south. The second, third, fourth, and fifth species are all inhabitants of California, as far north as the valley of the Columbia— the third, or Plumed Quail, being found farther north among the Rocky Mountains ; and the last, named after its discoverer, being a denizen of Lower Califor- nia only, and never straying so far northward as his congeners. ^ Still of the third family Tetraonida, we have in the United States and Canada, a second genus Tetrao, Grouse proper, of which three distinct and well marked species belong to the States, if not four. Two more, in addition to the above, inhabit the British provinces, and thence northward to the Arctic Ocean ; and four others are peculiar to the Rocky Mountains, and the valley of the Columbia. Three of these species are tole- rably plentiful, and two of them 1 have myself shot, the one being the Ruffed, and the other the Canada Grouse, respectively vul- garised, as the Partridge, and Spruce Partridge. Within a few years, there is little doubt that the western spe- cies will be exposed for sale in our markets ; and, should Whit- ney's Oregon Railroad go into effect in our days, who knows but we may live to shoot Cocks of the Plains ourselves, and bring them home the next day to dinner at Delmonico's r The ten American species of Grouse are as follows : 1. The Common Ruffed Grouse, Tetrao Umbellus ; 2. The Pinnated GRousE-or the Heath-Hen, Tetrao Cupido , 3. The Canada Grouse— or Spruce Grouse, Tetrao Cana- densis ; 4. The Dusky Grouse, Teirao Obncurm ; '%v* GAME OF AMERICA. 37 irgmiana ; 'alifornica ; lumifera : eoxena ; icta ; ouglasii. ect of pursuit, of north lati- le of the Rio second, third, lifornia, as far illumed Quail, tains ; and the L,ower Califor- is congeners, in the United ise proper, of belong to the above, inhabit o the Arctic :y Mountains, ecies are tole- the one being pectively vul- > western spe- should Whit- ho knows but es, and bring ws : ?llus ; 'etrao CupidOf Tetrao Cana- 6. The Cock of the Plains, Tetrao Urophasianm ; 6. The Sharp-tailed Grouse, Tetrao Phasianellus ; 7. The Willow Grouse, Tetrao Saliceti; 8. The American Ptarmigan, Tetrao Mutus; 9. The Rock Ptarmigan, Tetrao Rupestris ; and 10. The White-tailed Ptarmigan, Tetrao Leucuraa. Of these noble birds, the three species first named are all na- tives of the Eastern States, and a few of all are yet to be found in them ; although the Pinnated Grouse; or Heath-Hen, has been nearly exterminated— as I have before observed— and the Canada or Spruce Grouse, is a shy, forest-haunting bird, rarely met with, and scarcely ever pursued on his own account alone. I never saw but one alive, which I shot on the Penobscot, in Maine. It is, so far as I can learn, nowhere plentiful, not even in its north- ei'n haunts. The seventh species, the Willow Grouse, is stated in the books to exist from Maine to Labrador. I never, however, have heard of one being killed, or seen south of the St. Lawrence, above Quebec. If it be found in the States, it is so rare as to be un- worthy of notice, as a species of game. The fourth, fifth, sixth, and tenth varieties are indigenous to the Rocky Mountains and the valley of the Columbia, and will probably be, one day, added to the list of American game, and fairly pursued, as such. The eight and ninth inhabit the desolate regions northward of Labrador, and Melville Island, and the banks of the Churchill River, where no one is very like to follow them in search of sport. Few of our race have ever seen them living, and they are of course incapable of naturalization to the southward. And here ends the list of our game land-birds, proper— al- though as I have stated, two or three varieties of those which are classed by the naturalist as water-birds, and which are in some sort amphibious, fall under the sportsman's head of Upland shooting. It is on account of this peculiarity, that I propose atter enumerating and classifying the game of the country in general, m its proper orders, families, and genera, to distinguish 38 FRANK forester's FIELD SPORTS. Of game land-birds, proper then Jl u - , OENERA, the wild Turkey the r ? ^" '" ^"* ^"^^'^ America there exists neither PnJs.LZ V "'^''"'^' '^ call the Ruffed Grouse or A^ ^ "* Pahtridge; and to by those namestTo'an M T"\^""^'" '^*^ ^^ -"e^, callthemaamelclKa^dtntlrs^'^"^^ ^^^ ^^ ^^^ ^-^ Moreover, of all the various species bofl, „r r- comnaon to this country, there aTbutt /T'""'' *°"'' The «rst, third, a„a fourth i^r trVt-hr'-T''- the waders, include some of our choicest a^d Vt ""'"■''• cock foro, the types. Of th st:^;d td rtt^ '°' '^ ^°°''- second family al„„e, the^„„„,fa„ of „h Lh Ve d '"^"""""' ""' Ihe type, comes within the snher/ ,7 "'='' "™"""<» five of its six genera-the It 1 , '^ "°"" '^ «'""' •»" heing omitted-Lose, stJtTTj '^ '''™'"«°' ""'^ tain more species than all the r Jt „V ""'' ""'' ""'''' c™" proceed in order, of the flrl, famll "«'. " 'T''"- »»' - --two genera, .„,„, otZfZt:, Ra^ ''^-" ^ eommoJT„tuZ:rvt:::„T:? a^ri^*- ^-" --'^^ ■•» « marshes from Pennsylvania eastward """'"' '"'^' '»'' '"" Of the Rail, three species are well v„„ . men. ™' '"•"wn to all „„r sports. GAME OF AMERICA. in which we ill but THREE Quail. Here ■ continent of iDGE ; and to h are called, would be to e and Quail, former, the iinoh Quail, ' or Canada, (lem. » we have a ; all of two swimmers. lese orders, "avorite va- sh, and the ■olopacidce, the Wood- finiers, the constitutes :ame; but ingo, only iver, con- • But to iders, we hich is a and salt r sports- 39 1st. The Virginia Rail, Rallus Virginianus ; 2nd. The Clapper Rail — Vulg. Meadow, or Mud, Hen — Rallas Crepitans; 3rd. The Common Sora Rail, Rallus CaroUnus, which is the bird killed in such abundance on the flats and reed-beds of the Delaware in autumn. The second family of this order, the Gruidee, of which the Crane is the type, containing all the varieties of Heron, Ibis, and Bittern, I do not regard as game ; and therefore pass in si- lence. Of the next, third, family, CharadriadcB, we have all the genera but one, the Charadrius, Plover, proper, six varieties — the Slrepsilas, Turnstone and the HamatopuSj Oyster-catcher, the last named hardly being entitled to the name of game, the others all, like four-fifths of the next family, being included under the vul- gar appellation of Bay Snipe, or Bay birds. It is unnecessary, at present, to enumerate all the species of these genera, as, in truth, they are generally of small value, with perhaps one excep- tion, the Golden Plover. The fourth family, Scolopacida, contains almost all our best and most delicious species for the table, and those which are most eagerly pursued and most highly prized by the genuine sportsman. All the genera of this family are game, and scarcely one but contains some favorite species. The first is Tringa, Sandpiper, of which we have eight or nine varieties, classed indiscriminately with the next two genera, as Buif birds, by our gunners. The second, Tetanus, Tatler, contains seven species, all of which are common along the Atlantic seaboard, and four, at least, of which are universally known and general favorites. The first I regard, myself, as the best bird that flies, in an epi- curean point of view, not excepting even the world-famous can- vass back. The varieties are — 1. The Upland Plover, Grass Plover, or Frost Bird, Tota- vus Bnrtramius ; 2. Semi-pa lmated Snipe, or Willet, Tetanus Semipalmatus • 40 FRANK forester's FIELD SPORTS. 3. Spotted Tatler, Totams MncuJarms ; 4. Solitary Tatler, Tolams SoUtarius • rtZTr '"^'^ '^^^""' ^^^^^^ ^^''^- ^^^' ^-- m!: a?d""" ''"'"' ''"^'" ^^"^" ^«S, ro/«««, F..> 7. Green Shanks Tatler, Totams Glottis. Of these the Upland Plover, the Willet, and the two Yellow Legs are very general favorites. The first is an excellenrbi d the^oth^s, me ;„..., are, nine ti.es out of ten, uneatably 4' vishsir' '""' ^'"""' ""''^''^ ""^ ^"* -« «P-- -hich The Great Marbled Godwit, or Straight-billed Curlew latlers on the Long Island bays, and the shores of New Jersey The fourth genus, Scolopa^, has three specie, known to eveT^ sportsman ; two his most chosen game. They are- ^ 1. Wilson's Snipe— vuW Enalleb «!n,v^ c i gonii; ^ English b,nv^Q~ScoJopax WiJ. 3. The American Woodcock, Scolopax Minor. The other genera, each containing one species, are the with the exception „f ,he l..t, all falsely terZl L 'sle O .KKV. .hattheRed-hrea.tedS„ipe„fthLa.i^MLoT-«°°" wh,ch frequents the sea-beach or salt n.arshes , the other tS .0 caled are Kovers, Sandpipers, Ta.lers, Wtone a;,,! Phalaropes, and others, whose names are legion- but rma' Smpe among them; and even the solitary Red-breast^ T t^ un er some suspicion of being rather /o^o^eXlkT ir:pt sj;:: '""^' -" '^^ ^"^--^^ -^ -f-'-. 'un ,^i 't;H OAME OF AMERICA. 41 )ecie.s which We now arrive at the last order, Natatores, swimmers, of which, to take cognisance, under the head of its second family, Anatida. The second genus of this family, Anser, Goose, gives us four species, though two, the third and fourth, are far from common. The first and third are decidedly the best of our sea fowl. 1. The Canada Goose — Wild Goose — Anaer Canadenaia j 2. The Barnacle Goose,* Anser Leucopsia ; 3. The Brant Goose — Brant — Anser Bemicla ; 4. The White-fronted Goose, Anser Albifrons ; and 5. The Snow Goose, Anser Hyperboreus. The third genus, Swan, affords two species to North America, but the second only belongs to the Eastern States ; the Trump- eter ranging only through Northern California to the fur coun- tries, from westward of the Ohio. 1. The Trumpeter Swan, Gycnus Buccinator ; and 2. The American Swan, Gycnus Americanus. The fourth genus, Anas, Duck, contains ten species, every one of which, with the exception of the fourth, is well known to all sportsmen ; they are of the finest quality for the table, and pre- ferable to all others, with the exception of the Canvass Back, and perhaps the Red Head. They are as follows : 1. The Mallard — vulg. Green Head — Anas Boschas ; 2. The Dusky Duck — vulg. Black Duck — Anas Obscura ; 3. The Gadwall, Anas Strepera ; 4. Brewer's Duck, Anas Brewerii ; 5. The American Widgeon, Anas Americana ; 6. The Pintail Duck, Anas Acuta ; 7. The Wood Duck, Summer Duck, Anas Sponsa ; 8. American Green-winged Teal,! Anas Carolinenaia. » I have my doubts whether the Barnacle and Brant are not one and the •ame bird, though at different ages, and in different states of plumage. t I believe this bird to be identical with the European Teal, Anas Creccm. 42 FRANK forester's FIELD SPORTS. 9. The B^VE-wmoED Teal,* Anas Discors, and 10. iHE Shoveller, Anas Clypeata. above their race. They are- Prominent 1 . The Canvass Back Duck, Fuligula VaHsneria ; ^- i HE Ked-HEADED DlTCKt — V '^ P ' ^ j t^ . Marina; ' ^''-^'^-l^ead— Fuligula 3. The Scaup Duck, i^«%«/a iif,. . . 4«Jr '''"■'"'^^' ''^^'^' ^'''''' ^-^' ^"^''^ i^«> 5. The Ruddy Duck, Fuligula Mubida ; 6. The Pied Duck, Fuligula Labradara ; 7. The Velvet Duck, Fuligula Fusca ; 8. The Surf Duck, Fuligula Perspiculata ; 9. The American Scoter, Fuligula Americana; 0. The Lider Duck, Fuligula Mollissima ; 1. The Golden-eve Duck, Fuligula Clangula ; 2. The Buffel-headed Duck, Fuligula Albeola ; 13. The Harlequin Duck, Fuligula Histrionica ; n^^a^r^ ^"^'^— ^^- «o-h.southerIy-^«. 15. The King Duck, Fuligula SpectabiUs ; and 16. The Western Duck, Fuligula Dispar. Jr' ''''tT''"' ^''^"*' Merganser, contains three well known species, which, commonly shot and of rare beautv « J T worthless as articles o/food, so rank Z^^^l^^;^ They are, as follows : ^ ^'^"• 1. The GoosANDER-vuIg. Sheldrake-i.f..^„, M«r^«„,^ , 2. The Red-breasted Mero..ser, Mergus Serratl ; and 3. The Hooded Merganser, Mergus CucuUatus. i! :! GAME OP AMERICA 43 een species, it prominent 1 — Fuligula Hgula Rufi' srly— Fu- ell known all nearly teir flesh. ^anser ; ' ; and my of Eu- other way L i I >i9i Here ends what may, I believe, be termed a complete list of all the game, both quadruped and winged, of the United States and the Provinces ; I am not aware of a single omission ; per- haps, indeed, in the latter portion of my catalogue, the fowl es- pecially, I have admitted some genera, which are of so rare occurrence on the coast, as to fall seldom before the gunner's aim ; and which, therefore, can hardly be enumerated as regularly game. I judged it, however, betiei to err on this, than on the other side of the question ; and the error, if error there be, will be rectified when I come to speak of the various kinds of shooting, and the habits of the animals pursued in each. And here I should, perhaps, apologize to my readers for the apparent but necessary dryness of this part of my work. A catalogue never can be rendered entertaining, and yet it is indis- pensable. I think I can promise that future pages will possess more interest to the general reader, although I should strenuously urge it on him, who desires really to make himscif a master of the subject, not to skip or slur over the above list of names, but to fix them in his understanding and his memory, as I shall have constant occasion to refer to them hereafter, and as a know- ledge of them is absolutely necessary tc the acquisition of skill and science in field sports, in their widest range and most liberal signification. I now come to the subdivisions of my subject, according to the different regions of country to which the different kinds of shooting and hunting, and the different species of game be- long. These, it appears to me, are threefold, chiefly. First. Upland shooting, which may be termed particularly the field sports of the Northern and Midland States, consisting in the pursuit of small game— as the Pinnated and Ruffed Grouse, the Quail, the Woodcock, the Snipe, the Upland Plover, the Hare, the Rail, and one or two species of Duck, which are found only on inland streams and marshes — with the double gun, and the trained pointer, setter, spaniel, or retriever. Second. Fowl shooting, whether from sailing-boats, batteries, or otherwise ; and, under this head, I include the killing of the 44 PRANK FORKSTEH's FIELD SPORTS. smaller coast-birds, as Plovers, Sandpipers, and the like, over stools, as they are called, or decoy birds. Third. Western shooting, which may be termed hunting, as It consists of the pursuit of the larger animals, as the Bison, the Elk, the Bear, the Deer, &c., either with the aid of hounds or the speed of horses, but invariably with the rifle instead of the shot- gun. Even the pursuit of the Turkey is a species of still hunt- ing, or stalking, rather than of shooting proper ; as I never have heard of this bird lying to, or being killed over, setters, and not often of his being shot on the wing, or with the fowling- piece. I am, of course, not unaware that all the smaller kinds of eastern game abound to the westward, but as the. mode of kilhng them, over setters or pointers, is identical with that used on the seaboard, and is adopted thence, that does not, I think mihtate against the justice of my distinction. ' Lastly. The hunting of the Northern and Eastern States must, I suppose, find a place ; though, in truth, the deer-hunt- ing IS so Idle and contemptible, now-a-days, in that part of the States, as to be hardly worthy of notice ; while the pursuit of the Moose and Cariboo, although really a grand field sport, and a very noble exercise, requiring pluck, power, wind, sinew, speed, and endurance, is so rare and difficult of attainment, as to present little attraction to the general run of sportsmen TT ^'^^T ^"^^^' '''''"'"^"* ^ "^^ P^^^^^'i t° ' '' ^ame and Upland shootmg, connected with which I shall dis, in their places, the use of the fowling-piece, the art of shoot. flving, the breeds, breeding, diseases and management of dogs, ai ,ch other points as shall appear to flow naturally from the sub,. • and thjs I esteem the principal portion and better part of thJ work before me ; and, as my own especial hobby and chosen sport, I come to deal with it, as a work of love and pleasure UPLAND SHOOTING. 45 UPLAND SHOOTING OF THE NORTHERN STATES AND BRITISH PROVINCES. PLAND shooting as it is under- stood by American sportsmen, is the distinctive term, not, as would appear at first sight, dividing the sport of the hill from that of the plain country, but that of the in- land, from that of the coast. It includes, therefore, not only all game of the order, Rasorea, the home of which is in thickets, mountain-sides, stubbles, or maize-fields, but such also of the Crrallatores, or waders, as dwell either in inland swampy woods, fresh meadows, or river-side morasses ; and, farther yet, such of the Natatores, swimmers, as are found exclusively or prin- cipally on brooks, rivers, above tide water, and spring marshes. By upland shooting, in a word, we understand all that is pursued with the aid of pointers, setters, or spaniels, and the ordinary light fowling-piece ; as opposed to that which is followed in boats with heavy ducking guns, and by the aid of decoys, or, as they are here termed, stools. Of all sports of this country, therefore, upland shooting is that which requires in the sportsman the greatest combination of qualities, the greatest skill with the gun, the greatest know- ledge of the habits and haunts of his game, the greatest science {n the management of his dogs, and the greatest bodily vigor and endurance. i 4ot to be met 'his territory iveen Hemp- the east. ns. By this the preser- ' the passing s J. Bogart, f York. It , as a repre- br the first ' the person Suffolk or ay of Octo- sum of two t>y any per- tice of the id to plain- and if any of any per son, he shall be deemed guilty of the offence and suffer the penalty. But it is provided that no defendant shall be convicted unless the action shall be brought within three months after the violation of the law." The country selected by these exquisite birds requires a more particular description. You already understand it to be the midland and interior district of the island. The soil of this island is, generally speaking, a sandy or gravelly loam. In the parts less adapted to tillage, it is more of an unmixed sand. This is so much the case, that the shore of the beaches beaten by the ocean affords a material from which glass has been pre- pared. Silicious grains and particles predominate in the region chosen by the Heath-Hens or Grouse ; and here there are no rocks, and very few stones of any kind. This sandy tract ap- pears to be a dereliction of the ocean, but is nevertheless not doomed to total sterility. Many thousand acres have been re- claimed from the wild state and rendered very productive to man ; and within the towns frequented by these birds, there are numerous inhabitants, and among them some of our most wealthy farmers. But within the same limits there are also tracts of great extent, where men have no settlements, and others where the population is spare and scanty. These are, however, by no means naked deserts ; they are, on the contrary, covered with trees, shrubs and smaller plants. The trees are mostly pitch-pine, of inferior size, and white-oaks of a small growth. They are of a quality very fit for burning. Thousands of cords of both sorts of fire-wood are annually exported from these barrens. Vast quantities are occasionally destroyed by the fires which, through carelessness or accident, spread far and wide through the woods. The city of New York wUl probably for ages derive fuel from these grounds. The land, after being well cleared, yields to the cultivator poor crops. Unless, therefore, he can help it by manure, the best disposition is to let it grow up to forest again. " ' Experience has proved that in a term of forty or fifty years, the new growth of timber will be fit for the axe. Hence it may 64 FRANK forester's FIELD SPORTS. be perceived that the reproduction of trees, and the protection they afford to Heath-Hens, would be perpetual, or in other words, not circumscribed by any calculable time, provided the persecutors of the latter would be quiet. Benealh' these tres grow more dwarfish oaks, overspreading the surface, sometimes w h here and there a shrub, and sometimes a thicket. These atter are from about two to ten feet in height. When they are the pnnc.pal product, they are called, in common conversation, Amonrih . ; Tl;['' *'^^ ^^°" "^ *^™^^ hrushy plain. Among h.s hardy shrubbery may frequently be seen the creep- ^^::7^^^^ P-idge-berry, covering the sand with ^s on' 1^" '^^y^^P'^^^ ^h«Pl-»t which produces hurtleberries sprouts up an^ong the other natives of the soil. These are the more Z!T' ; though I ought to inform you, that the hills reach ng from east to west and forming the spine of the island, sup- port kalmias, h.ckones, and many other species; that I have seen azahas and andromedas, as I passed through the wilder! ness and that where there is water, cranberries, afders, beeches, mapl ,., and other lovers of moisture, take their stations. This reg.on situated thus between the more thickly inhabited strips or be ts on the north and south sides of the island, is much tra- bl! of patls^^^'"'' '"'^ intersected accordingly by a great num- " ' As to the birds themselves, the information I possess scarcely amounts to an entire history. You who know the dif- ficulty of collecting facts, will be most ready to excuse my deficiencies. The information I give you is such as I rely on For the purpose of gathering the materials, I have repeatedly visited their haunts. I have likewise conversed with several men who were brought up at the precincts of the Grouse ground, who had been witnesses of their habits and manners who were accustomed to shoot them for the market, and who' have acted as guides foi gentlemen who go the ^ for sport. 5«/A^-An adult Grouse, when fat, weighs as much as a barn-door fowl of moderate size, or about three pounds avoirdu- UPLAND SHOOTING. 55 I the protection il, or in other I, provided the ith these trees ace, sometimes licket. These Vhen they are conversation, brushy plains. Ben the creep- I sand with its •erries sprouts are the more e hills reach- > island, sup- that I have 1 the wilder- ers, beeches, itions. This tabited strips is much tra- i great num- >n I possess now the dif- excuse my IS I rely on. 5 repeatedly '^ith several the Grouse id manners, it, and who T sport. much as a ds avoirdu- poise. But the eagerness of the sportsmen is so great, that a huge proportion of those they kill are but a few months old, aiul have not attained their complete growth. Notwithstanding the protection of the law, it is very common to disregard it. The retired nature of the situation favors this. It is well under- stood that an arrangement can be made which will blind and silence informers, and the gun is fired with impunity for weeks before the time prescribed in the act. To prevent this unfair and unlawful practice, an association was formed a few years ago, under the title of the ' Brush Club,'' with the express and avowed intention of enforcing the game law. Little benefit, however, has resulted from its laudable exertions ; and, under a conviction that it was impossible to keep poachers away, the so- ciety declined. " ' At present the statute may be considered as operating very little towards their preservation. Grouse, especially full-grown ones, are becoming less frequent. Their numbers are gradually diminishing ; and, assailed as they are on all sides, almost with- out cessation, their scarcity may be viewed as foreboding their eventual extermination. " ' Price. — Twenty years ago, a brace of Grouse could be bought for a dollar. They cost now from three to five dollars. A handsome pair seldom sells in the New York market now-a-days for less than thirty shillings — three dollars and seventy-five cents — nor for more than forty, five dollars. " ' These prices indicate, indeed, the depreciation of money and the luxury of eating. They prove at the same time that Grouse are become rare ; and this fact is admitted by every man who seeks them, whether for pleasure or profit. " ' Amours. — The season for pairing is in March, and the breed- ing time is continued through April and May. Then the male Grouse distinguishes himself by a peculiar sound. When he utters it, the parts about the throat are sensibly inflated and swelled. It may be heard on a still morning for three or more miles ; some say they have perceived it as far as five or six. This noise is a sort of ventriloquism. It does not strike the ear 66 FRANK forester's PfELD SPORTS. mile or two dfstinf ru- . • l . ""' "^ * ^"'<=e a iwo distant. This note is highly characteristir TK u very neculiar if Jo * i J ^'"ii«ciensiic. 1 hough m.o place, of safety, .Keir anxioujpar Jb J J.^^^ltra;:? bydroop,„g .„d fluttering her wings, ,i„,pf„g Wtt 1° ro.|,„g over .„ the dirt, and other pretenceTonnabiC wt' '•"Foorf.— A favorite article of their diet is the jyea/A 77i,„ / ....r;:bei:r;n:trt::~^^^^^^^^^^ on acorns and the buds of trees which have shil the , ^ In . eir stomachs have been sometimes obJervedlhe 1 v^T, pant supposed to be a winter-green , and it is s W when thev e much pmched they betake themselves to the bids „f he pme. In convenient places they have been know„ .„ 7 c eared fields and regale themselves on .he ^ves riover^J - od gunners have reported that they have been known to .r" r, T" ""'"^^ °' ''""'"'''''' "^ f'-^^ "P '"e grain" their^r nJr ^r„:trr"-'"''"r'"°""'°-'-' - .0 migration. on";r:;t:nt;:rdrgro:^^^^^^^ perch on the upper branches of pi„e trees. Th:y avoid 'll' s-f UPLAND SHOOTING. 67 !s him with the fi, of a voice a ristic. Though mblance to the er. 1 recesses very » ten to twelve sembhng those otected by her much resem-> tly leads them mins of maize elling horses, e passengers, 'he little ones are skulking the spectator ng the path, ility to walk th-Hen plum lurtleberries re occasion- bsist chiefly leir leaves, leaves of a when they 'uds of the n to enter clover, and wn to tres- ins. Jwntoquit ly disposi- now, tliey avoid w et and swampy places, and are remarkably attached to dry ground. The low and open brush is preferred to high and shrubby thick- ets. Into these latter places they fly for refuge, when closely pressed by the hunters ; and here, under a stiff' and impenetrable cover, they escape the pursuit of dogs and men. Water is so seldom met with on the true GRousE-ground, that it is necessary to carry it along for the pointers to drink. The flights of Grouse are short, but sudden, rapid and whirring. I have not heard of any success in taming them. They seem to resist all attempts at domestication In this, as well as in many other respects, they resemble the Quail of New York, or the Partridge of Penn- sylvania '* ' Manners. — During the period of mating, and while the fe- males are occupied in incubation; the males have a practice of assembling principally by themselves. To some select and cen- tral spot, where there is very little underwood, they repair from the adjoining district. From the exercises performed there, this is called a scratching-place. The time of meeting is the break of day. As soon as the light appears, the company as- sembles from every side, sometimes to the number of forty or fifty. When the dawn is passed, the ceremony begins by a low tooting from one of the cocks. This is answered by another. They then come forth, one by one, from the bushes, and strut about with all the pride and ostentation they can display. Their necks are incurvated, the feathers on them are erected into a sort of ruff"; the plumes of the tails are expanded like fans ; they strut about in a style resembling, as nearly as small may be il- lustrated by great, the pomp of the Turkey-Cock. They seem to vie with each other in stateliness, and, as they pass each other, frequently cast looks of insult and utter notes of defiance. These are the signals for battles. They engage with wonderful spirit and fierceness. During thesfe contests, they leap a foot or two from the ground, and utter a cackling, screaming and discordant cry. They have been found in these places of resort even earlier than the appearance of light in the east. This fact leads to the belief, that a part of them assemble over night. The rest join them 68 FRANK forester's FIELD SPORTS. .n he morn.ng. Th,, lead, .„ .he farther belief that they r„.„t o the ground , and the opinion i, confirmed by the discovery of Me r,ng, of dung, apparently deposited by a Hock which had l-^ed the n,gh. together. After the appearance of the su., „7 7r:i. ?"'" ""■"' °' ^'"■"'"'''° "'"«' """ otien dis. IZtoC' """""' """ ' '"" ----^ " >- ^- fo, " 'The destroyer, construct for themselves lurking-holes made of p, e branches, called bougK.kou,e>, within a few yards of the parade, and h.ther they repair with their fowllng.pLes, in he ^t^rpar. of the night, and wait the appearanc'e'f th: bids Waiting the monaent when two are proudly eyeing each other or engaged ,n battle, or when a greater number ca/be see^in a range, they pour on them a destructive charge of shot This ZTJ^IT. T'T """"^ """ -P-tedly disturbed, are afraid to assemble. On approaching the spot to which thei, instinct prompts .hem, they perch on .he neighboring teesf stead of alighting at the scratching-place ; and it remains to bo observed how far the restless and tormenting spirit of the marks! man may alter the nature and habits of the o'rouse, and ob ig. them to new ways of life. They commonly keep ogether fn coveys or packs, as the phrase is, „„.i, the pairing selon A full pack consists, of coarse, of ten or a do^en. Two packt have been known to associate. I lately heard of one whose 21lf: r r T '"'''""' ""^ ^ ■"'•«' ""^ •>«"» »We to shoo' a most a whole pack, without making any of them take win! n like manner, the men lying in concealment near .he scrS ' " mg-places, have been known to discharge several guns e ore e ther he report of the explosion or the sighfof their won Id remaTke t:aT' 7"" """ '""" '° "'"•■'• " >■- ^^ '""^^ nick f r ? ' °°"''"'"'' "'V'^""'" have surrounded a pack of GaousB, the birds seldom or never rise upon their 1. tons while they are encircled; but each runs along un.U i passes the person that is nearest, and then flutters off with h. UPLAND SHOOTING. 59 hat they roost 3 discovery of ck which had e of the sun, Ben often dis- has been for g-holes made yards of the aieces, in the of the birds. ; each other, be seen in a shot. This such an ex- y disturbed, which their ig trees, in nains to be f the marks- and oblige ogether, in season. A Two packs one whose lapt to be le to shoot take wing. - le scratch- Lins before ' wounded sen farther rounded a their pin- g until it M'ith the OT utmost expedition. As you have made no enquiry of me con- cerning the ornithological character of these birds, I have not mentioned it, premising that you are already perfectly acquaint- ed with their classification and description. In a short memoir, written in 1803, and printed in the eighth volume of the iWerfica Repository, I ventured an opinion as to the genus and species. Whether I was correct is a technical matter, which I leave you to adjust. I am well aware that European accounts of our pro- ductions are often erroneous, and re luire revision and amend- ment. This you must perform. For me it remains to repeat my joy at the opportunity your invitation has afforded me to contribute somewhat to your elegant work, and at the same time to assure you of my earnest hope that you may be favored with ample means to complete it. "'Samuel L. Mitchill.'" " Duly sensible of the honor of the foregoing communication, and grateful for the good wishes with which it is concluded, I shall now, in further elucidation of the subject, subjoin a few particulars, properly belonging to my own department. " It is somewhat extraordinary that the European naturalists, in their various accounts of our different species of Grouse, should have said little or nothing of the one now before us, which in its voice, manners, and peculiarity of plumage, is the most singular, and in its flesh the most excellent of all those of its tribe, that inhabit the territory of the United States. It seems to have es- caped Catesby, during his residence and different tours through this country, and it was not till more than twenty years after his return to England, viz., 1743, that he first saw some of these birds, as he informs us, at Cheswick, the seat of the Earl of Wilmington. His lordship said they came from America ; but from what particular part could not tell. Buffon has confounded it with the Ruffed Grouse, the Common Partridoe of New England, or Pheasant of Pennsylvania, ( Te^mo Umhellus.) Edwards and Pennant have, however, discovered that it is a different species, but have said little of its note, of its flesh or !:•■ 60 FRANK forester's FIELD SPORTS. Ill Hill' lormer took his figure and the latter his descriotion • „n,l ♦ \u very dis.. Zic, 'f' nJ^ a"" '''"" "' '"''"»' '"■■ in selecting hCTjf^'"'"''' " ""™'">'J' P""""'"' of life aTd 17, '".'''=""'"■=''■'"» «<'"«»PO"d with hi» mode neve vLi" oZ 7 T""'" '»"'"»»'"■"« «gion» that he W, . * °° ^"""'y.'""'" a. on the bru.hy piainsoT the Indiana and Cer Loli. 1™°' """" ""'' P™"'" "' tion of the late r„v ^°7"'"°' ""'' "'^™'-'''"S 'o the informa- crowded and ,„.„sected with trunk, and arms' f trees that r Je themto.oi,the.,h.timhered";:;Jthttr:::^ in the Barrens. Connected with this fart !« « • '"^'® relafpd fn «.<» K, ^ '^ ^ circumstance J. that one forenoon a Cock-Gaoos. struck the stone chimLy ^o^rd^ix^^rtrd-rr- r --- '»" .a.ery places, whl'h they avo^! dllnll^lt^ri::: 'I; ^ beheved never from .uch places. Even in confi" „"„, h L pecuharuy has been taken notice of. While I was in 7esZ of Tennessee, a person, living within a few miles of Nash; ul UPLAND 8H00TIN0. ei r action, nor de- from which the ion ; and to thi:; and defects of }f different and unely particular nly upon those I with his mode egions that he d with trees, or ivorite haunts, plains of New rushy plains of of Pocano, in i^hole extent of and prairies of 0 the informa- lote plains of ing the same ations will be s and circum- rect and labo- 1 thick forest, Js that require ngs, to which lys observed lere and there circumstance lat county — one chimney dead to the marshes, or m, and it is nement this in the State f Nashville, t| hud caught an old Hen-Grouse in a trap, and being obliged to keep her in a large cage, she struck and abused the rest of the poul- try, he remarked that she never drank, and that she even avoided that quarter of the cage where the cup containing the water was placed. Happening one day to let some water fall on the cage, it trickled down in drops along the bars, which the bird no sooner observed than she eagerly picked them off, drop by droj), with a dexterity that showed she had been habituated to this mode of quenching her thirst, and probably to this mode only, in those dry and barren tracts, where, except the drops of dew and drops of rain, water is very rarely to be met with. For the space of a week he watched her closely, to discover whether she still refused to drink ; but, though she was constantly fed on Indian corn, the cup and water still remained untouched and uiitasted. Yet, no sooner did he again sprinkle water on the bars of the cage, than she eagerly and rapidly picked them off, as before. The last and probably the strongest inducement to their preferring these places, is the small acorn of the shrub- oak, the strawberries, huckleberries and partridge-berries, with which they abound, and which constitute the principal pari of the food of these birds. These brushy thickets also afford them excellent shelter, being almost impenetrable to dogs or birds of prey. In all those places where they inhabit, they are, in the strictest sense of the word, resident ; having their particular haunts and places of rendezvous— as described in the preceding ac- count—to which they are strongly attached. Yet they have been known to abandon an entire tract of such country, when from whatever cause it might proceed, it became again covered with forest. A few miles south of the town of York, in Penn- sylvania, commences an extent of country fairly of the charac- ter described, now chiefly covered with wood, but still retaining the name of Barrens. In the recollection of an old man, born in that part of the country, this tract abounded with Grouse. The timber growing up, in progress of years, these birds. totally disappeared, and for a long period of time he had seen none of them, until, migrating with his family to Kentucky, on entering Ha FRANK forester's FIELD SPORTS. it the Barrens, he one morning recognized the well-known music <>» h,s old acquaintances, the (Jrouse, which, he assure, tp. ...e the very same with those he had known in Pennsylvania isut what appeared to n.e the n.ost reamrkable circun.stance relative to tins bird, ,s, that none of all those writers who have attempted 18 history, have taken the least notice of those two extraordi- nary ba-rs o( yellow skin, which mark the neck of the male, and wh-ch constitute so striking a peculiarity. These appear to be formed 1^ an expansion of the gullet, as well as of the exterior skmo the neck, which, when the bird is at rest, hangs in loose pendulous wrinkled folds along the side of the neck, the supple-' mental wmgs, at the same time, as well as when the bird is lly- mglymg along the neck, But when these bags are inflated with a.r, ,n breedrng-tune, they are equal in size, and very much resemble m color a middle-sized, fully-ripe orange By means of th.s curious apparatus, which is very observable seve^ ral hundred yards off, he is enabled to produce' he extraord nary 's yet difficult to describe by words. It consists of three notes of the same tone, resembling those produced by the Night- Hawks, m the.r rapid descent, each strongly accented, the lattL being tw,ce as long as the others. When several are thus en gaged, the ear is unable to distinguish the regularit/ iZ" ^ pie notes, there being at such times one continued hummnT which IS disagreeable and perplexing, from the impossibry of' ascertaining from what distance or quarter it proceed: w'hi u tenng this, the bird exhibits all the ostentatious gesticulatio ofaTuRKEv-cocK, erecting and fluttering his neck-wings whee ng and passing before the female, and close before hif feTw " as in defiance. Now and then are heard some rapid, ca kl nj no^es, not unlike that of a person tickled to excessive augh .^ ad, ,„ short one can scarcely listen to them without Id L' dsposed to laugh from sympathy. These are uttered by the he males while engaged in fight, on which occasion theT 1 a' up against each other, exactly in the manner of T.hki s seem mglywith more malice than effect. This humming ^olunu^- 1^ A UPLAND SnOOTINO. 63 ell-known music I assure^ tp''^ ..le isylvania. Hut, instance relative have atteini)te(l two extraordi- of the male, and }se appear to be of the exterior 1 hangs in loose, !ck, the supple- the bird is lly- igs are inflated size, and very e orange. By Jservable seve- > extraordinary ily be imitated, of three notes y the NiGHT- nted, the latter I are thus en- "•ity of those ied humming, ipossibility of eeds. While gesticulations wings, wheel- e his fellows, pid, cackling ive laughter ; thout feeling tered by the on they leap RKiEs, seem- ng continues from a little before day-break to eight or nine o'clock in the mornin;^, when the parties separate to seek for food. " Fresh-ploughed fields in the vicinity of their resorts are sure to be visited by these birds, every morning, and frequently also in the evening. On one of these I counted, at one time, seventeen males, most of whom were in the attitude repre- sented, making such a continued sound as, I am persuaded, might have been heard more than a mile off. The people of the Barrens informed me that when the weather becomes se- vere, with snow, they approach the barn and farm-house, and are sometimes seen sitting on the fields in the Indian corn, seem- ing almost domesticated. At such times great numbers are taken in traps. No pains, however, on regular plans, have ever been persisted in, as far as I was informed, to domesticate these delicious birds. A Mr. Reid, who lives between the Pilot- Knobs and Bairdstown, told me that, a few years ago, one of his sons found a Grouse's nest, with fifteen eggs, which he brought home and immediately placed beneath a hen then sitting, tak- ing away her own. The nest of the Grouse was on the ground, under a tussock of long grass, formed with very little art and few materials. The eggs were brownish white, and about the size of a pullet's. In three or four days, the whole were hatched. Instead of following the Hen, they compelled her to move after them, distracting her with the extent and di- versity of their wanderings ; and it was a day or two before they seemed to understand her language, or consent to be guided by her. They were let out to the fields, where they paid little regard to their nurse, and, in a few days, only three of them re- mained. These became exceedingly tame and familiar, were most expert fly-catchers, but soon after they also disappeared. " On dissecting these birds, the gizzard was found extremely muscular, having almost the hardness of a stone ; the heart remarkably large ; the crop was filled with briar-knots, con- taining the larvae of some insect, quantities of a species of green lichen, small, hard seeds, and some grains of Indian Corn." ' — Wilson^s Am. Ornith. 64 FRANK forester's FIELD SPORTS, Next to this fine bird, both in his game qualities and the excellence of his flesh, I note, unhesitatingly, THE RUFFED GROUSE. Tetrao Umbellus. Linn: Wilson: Audubon. La Gelinotte Hup- pel de Pennsyhanie. Bnssot.—The Pheasant, or Partridge. " Male, 18.24. "Common from Maryland to Labrador, and, in the interior, from the mountainous districts to Canada and the Jashatchewan' Columbian River. Resident. ' " Adult Male. " Bill short, robust, slightly arched, rather obtuse ; the base covered by feathers ; upper mandible, with the dorsal outline, straight m the feathered part, convex toward the end, the edges' overlapping, the tip declinate; under mandible somewhat bulg- ing toward the tip ; the sides convex. Nostrils concealed among the feathers. Head and neck small. Body bulky. Feet of or- dmary length. Shank feathered, excepting at the lower part in front, where it is scutellate, spurless ; toes scutellate above, pec tmate on the sides ; claws arched, depressed, obtuse. '' Plumage compact, glossy. Feathers of head narrow, and elongated into a curved tuft. A large space on the neck desti- tute of feathers, but covered by an erectile ruff of elongated fea- thers, of which the upper are silky, shining, and curved forward at the end, which is very broad and rounded. Wings short, broad curved, and much rounded. Tail long, ample, rounded, of eighteen feathers. " Bill brown color, brownish-black toward the tip. Iris hazel Feet yellowish-gray. Upper part of the head and wing part of the neck bright yellowish-red. Back rich chesnut, marked with oblong white spots, margined with black. " Tail reddish-yellow, barred and minutely mottled with black and terminated by a broad band of the latter color, between two narrow bands of bluish-white, of which the one is terminal A 4 UPLAND SHOOTING. lalities and the 65 Gelinottc Hup- , or Partridge. in the interior, I Jashatchewan, tuse ; the base dorsal outline, end, the edges )mewhat bulg- ncealed among r. Feet of or- B lower part in ite above, pec- use. i narrow, and ;he neck desti- elongated fea- ved forward at s short, broad, rounded, of iip. Iris hazel, md wing part 3dnut, marked ed with black, , between two terminal. A yellowish band from the upper mandible to the eye, beyond Avliich it is prolonged. Throat and lower part of the neck light brownish-yellow. Lower ruff feathers of the same color, barred with reddish-brown ; the upper black, with blue reflections. A tuft of light chesnut feathers under the wings. The rest of the under parts yellowish-white, with broad, transverse spots of brownish-red ; the abdomen yellowish-red ; and the under tail coverts mottled with brown. " Length, 18 inches ; extent of wings, 2 feet ; bill, along the ridge, ? ; along the gap, IJj ; shank, li^ ; middle toe, Ij. " Adult female. " The plumage of the female is less developed, and inferior in beauty. The feathers of the head and ruff are less elongated ; the latter of a dull black. The tints of the pluma<, generally are lighter than in the male. " The eggs usually measure an inch and a half in length, by an inch and two-twelfths in breadth, and are of an uniform dull yellowish tint." — Audubon^s Birds of America. " This is the Partridge of the Eastern States, and the Phea- sant of Pennsylvania and the Southern Districts. It is represent- ed as it was faithfully copi 1 from a perfect and very beautiful specimen. This elegant species is well known in almost every quarter of the United States, and appears to inhabit a very extensive range of country. It is common at Moose Fort, on Hudson's Bay, in lat. 51°, is frequent in the upper parts of Georgia, very abundant in Kentucky, and the Indiana Territory, and was found by Capts. Lewis and Clark in crossing the great range of mountains that divide the waters of the Columbia and Missouri more than three tliousand miles, by the measurement, from the mouth of the latter. Its favorite places of resort are high mountains, cov- ered with the balsam, pine, hemlock, and other evergreens Unlike the Pinnated Grouse, it always prefers the woods, is seldom or never found in open plains, but loves the pine-shel- tered declivities of mountains near streams of water. VOL. I. 5 66 FRANK forester's FIELD SPORTS. Ill 11 * This great difference of disposition in two species whose food seems to be nearly the same, is very extraordinary. In those open plains called the Barrens, in Kentucky, the Pinnated Grouse was seen in great numbers, but none of the Ruffed. While in the high groves with which this singular tract of coun- try is interspersed, the latter, or Pheasant, was frequently met with, but not a single individual of the former. The native haunts of the Pheasant, being a cold, high, mountainous, and woody country, it is natural to expect that as we descend from thence to the soa shores, and the low, flat, and warm climate of the Southern States, these birds should become more .rare, and such IS indeed the case. In the low parts of Carolina, and Geor- gia, and Florida, they are very seldom observed, but as we advance inland to the mountains, they again make their appear- ance. In the low parts of New Jersey we indeed occasionally meet with them, but this is owing to the more northerly situa- tion of the country, for even here they are far less numerous than among the mountains. Dr. Burton, and several other English writers, have spoken of a Long-tailed Grouse, said to inhabit the back parts of Virginia, which can be no other than the present species ; there being, as far as I am acquainted, only these two,* the Ruffed and Pinnated Grouse, found natives within the United States. The manners of the Pheasant are solitary, they are seldom found in coveys of more than four or five togetlier, and more usually in pairs, or singly. They leave their seques- tered haunts in the woods early in the morning, and seek the path or road to pick up gravel, and glean among the droppings of the horses. In travelling among the mountains that bound the Susquehanna, I was always able to furnish myself with an abundant supply of these birds without leaving the path. If the weather be foggy or lowering, they are sure to be seen in such situations. They generally move along with great stateliness, the broad, fan-like tail spread out. "The drumming, as it is usually called, of the Pheasant is another singularity of this species. This is performed by the * This is, of course, au error of Wilson's. ■I SI 1 4 UPLAND SHOOTING. 67 scies whose food nary. In those ', the Pinnated )f the Ruffed. ir tract of coun- frequently met be native haunts )us, and woody ;nd from thence climate of the more .rare, and )lina, and Geor- ed, but as we ce their appear- ;ed occasionally northerly situa- less numerous I several other Grouse, said to e no other than cquainted, only d natives within NT are solitary, or fivetogetl.er, i^e their seques- g, and seek the g the droppings ains that bound myself with an le path. If the be seen in such •eat stateliness, the Pheasant, rformed by the malg alone. In walking through the solitary woods frequented by these birds, a stranger is surprised by suddenly hearing a kind of thumping, very similar to that produced by striking two full-blown ox-bladders together, but much louder ; the strokes at first are slow and distinct, but gradually increase in rapidity, till they run into each other : resembling the rumbling sound of very distant thunder dying away gradually on the ear. After a few minutes' pause,'this is again repeated, and in a calm day may be heard nearly a mile off. This drumming is most com- mon in spring, and is the call of the cock to a favorite female. It is produced in the following manner : The bird, standing on an old prostrate log, generally in a retired and sheltered situa- tion, lowers his wings, erects his expanded tail, contracts his throat, elevates the two tufts of feathers on the neck, and inflates his whole body something in the manner of a Turkey- cock, strutting and wheelmg about in great stateliness. After a few manoeuvres of this kind he begins to strike with his stiffened wings in short and quick strokes, which become more and more rapid until they run into each other, as has been already describ- ed. This is most common in the morning and evening, though I have heard them drumming at all hours of the day. By means of this, the gunner is led to his retreat, though to those unac- quainted with the sound there is great deception in the supposed distance, it generally appearing to be much nearer than it really is. The Pheasant* begins to pair in April, and builds its nest early in May. This is placed on the ground at the root of a bush, old log, or other sheltered or solitary situation, well-sur- rounded with withered leaves. Unlike that of the Quail, it is open above, and is usually composed of dry leaves and grass. The eggs are from nine to fifteen in number, of brownish-white, without any spots, and nearly as large as those of a Pullet. The young leave the nest as soon as hatched, and are directed by the cluck of the mother, very much in the manner of the common Hen. On being surprised, she exhibits all the distress and affec- tionate mancEuvres of the Quail, and most other birds, to lead you » All error ! The Ruffed Grouse is polygamou.,, and does not pair at all. 68 PRANK FOBESTER^S FIELD SPORTS. away from the spot. I once started a Hen Pheasant with a single young one, seemingly only a few days old ; there miirht have been more, but 1 observed only this one. Tie mother fluttered before me for a moment, but suddenly darted towards the young one, seized it in her bill, and flew off" along the sur- face through the woods with great steadiness and rapidity, till »he was beyond my sight, leaving me in great surprise at the incident. I made a very close and active search around the spot for the rest, but without success. Here was a striking instance of something more than what is termed blind instinct, in this remarkable deviation from her usual manoeuvres when she has a numerous brood. It would have been impossible for me to nave injured the affectionate mother who had exhibited such an example of presence of mind, reason, and sound judgment as must have convinced the most bigoted advocate of mere instinct. To cxrry off" a whole brood in this manner at once, would have been impossible, and to attempt to save one at the expense of the the rest, would be unnatural. She, therefore, usually takes the only possible mode of saving them in that case, by decoying the person in pursuit of herself, by such a natural imitation of lameness as to impose on most people. But here, in the case of a single solitary young one, she instantly altered her plan, and adopted the most simple and effectual means for its preservation. The Pheasant usually springs within a few yards, with a loud whir- ring noise, and flies with great vigor through the woods, beyond reach of view, before it alights. With a good dog, however, they are easily found, and at some times exhibit a singular decree of infatuation, by looking down from the branches where they sit, on the dog below, who, the more noise he keeps up seems the more to confuse and stupify them, so that they may be shot down one by one till the whole are killed, without attempting to fly off". In such cases, those on the lower limb,^ must be taken first ; for should the upper be first killed, in their fall they alarm those below, who immediately fly off: In deep snows they are usually taken in traps, commonly dead traps supported by a figure 4 trigger. At this season, when suddenly UPLAND SHOOTING. 69 easant with a ; there might Tl"e mother irted towards ilong the sur- rapidity, till iirprise at the ound the spot king instance stinct, in this when she has ble for me to )ited such an judgment as nere instinct. , would have {pense of the lly takes the iecoying the 1 of lameness J of a single, and adopted ation. The » loud whir- ods, beyond g, however, a singular iches where e keeps up. It they may ed, without lower limb* led, in their r. In deep dead traps, >n sudcleuly alarmed, they frequently dive into the snow, particularly when it has newly fallen, and coming out at a considerable distance, again take wing. They are pretty hard to kill, and will often carry off a large load to the distance of two hundred yards, and drop down dead. Sometimes in the depth of winter they ap- proach the farm-house, and lurk near the barn or aboat the garden. They have, also, been often taken young, and tamed, so as to associate with the fowls ; and their eggs have frequently been hatched under the common Hen, but these rarely survive until full grown. They are exceedingly fond of the seeds of grapes, occasionally eat ants, chesnuts, blackberries, and vari- ous vegetables. Formerly they were numerous in the immedi- ate vicinity of Philadelphia, but as the woods were cleared, and population increased, they retreated to the interior. At present there are very few to be found within several miles of the city, and those only singly in the most solitary and retired woody recesses. The Pheasant is in best order for the table in Sep- tember and October. At this season they feed chiefly on wor- tleberries, and the little aromatic partridgeberries, the last of which give the flesh a peculiar delicate flavor. With the former, our mountains are literally covered from August to November, and these constitute at that season, the greater part of their food. During the deep snows of winter they have recourse to the buds of alder, and the tender buds of laurel, I have frequently found their crops distended with a large, handful of these latter alone, and it has been confidently asserted that after being fed for some time on the laurel buds, the flesh becomes highly dangerous to eat of, partaking of the poisonous qualities of the plant. The same has been asserted of the flesh of the deer, when, in severe weather and deep snows they subsist on the leaves and bark of the laurel. Though I have myself ate freely of the flesh of the Pheasant, after emptyi'.g it of large quantities of laurel buds, without experiencing any bad consequences ; yet from the re- spectability of those, some of them eminent physicians, who have particularized cases in which it has proved deleterious and even fatal, I am inclined to believe in certain cases, wl-.eie this 70 FRANK FORESTEk's FIELD SPORTS. u ii lillil kind of food has been long continued, and the birds allowed to remain undrawn for several days, until the contents of the crop and stomach have had time to diffuse themselves through the flesh, as is too often the case, it may be unwholesome, and even dangerous. Great numbers of these birds are brought to our markets at all times during fall and winter, some of which are brought from a distance of more than a hundred miles, and have been probably dead a week or two, unpicked and undrawn, before they are purchased for the table. " Regulations prohibiting them from being brought to market, unless picked and drawn, would very probably be a sufficient security against all danger. At these inclement seasons, how- ever, they are lean and dry, and, indeed, at all times, their flesh is far inferior to that of the Pinnated Grouse. They are usually sold in Philadelphia market at from three-quarters of a dollar to a dollar and k quarter a pair,— sometimes higher. "—Wilson's Am. Ornith. The last of this species which it is worth our while to notice as a sporting bird, is the Canada Grouse, and even it, although Mr. Audubon speaks of it as abundant in parts of Maine, and although it unquestionably exists in the north-eastern angle of New York, is so rarely met, and so shy, as to be known to very few of our sportsmen. The Willow Grouse, or Willow Ptarmigan, perhaps the most beautiful of all the American species, and perhaps to be met with in the extreme north of Maine, is too uncommon to be classed as game. I fear, indeed, that few of my readers will ever have the good fortune to kill the beautiful little Grouse of which we are now speaking. I doubt whether it would ever lie to dogs. It is a soUtary forest bird. irds allowed to its of the crop IS through the ome, ami even rought to our > of which are liles, and have and undraw n, ;ht to market, 36 a sufficient seasons, how^- es, their flesh ey are usually rs of a dollar -."—Wilson's hile to notice 1 it, although Maine, and ern angle of nown to very perhaps the jrhaps to be ommon to be readers will e Grouse of ould ever lie UPLAND SHOOTINO 71 THE CANADA GROUSE. Telrao Canadensis. Linn : Bonaparte : Audubon. Spotted Grouse ; Franklin's Grouse ; Spruce Partridge. " Male, 15J.21J. Female, 151.21. *' Plentiful from the Northern parts of New York to Labra- dor, as well as from Canada to the Arctic Sea, Columbia River. Partially migratory in winter. " Adult Male. " Bill short, robust, slightly arched, rather obtuse ; the base covered by feathers ; upper mandible with the dorsal outline convex toward the end — the edges sharp and overhanging — the tip declinate ; lower mandible slightly convex in its dorsal out- line ; the back broad and rounded ; the sides sloping outward ; the tip rather rounded. Nostrils basal, lateral, concealed by the short feathers. Head small ; neck of ordinary length ; body full. Feet short, rather small ; tarsus short, roundish, feathered. Toes scutellate above, broadly margined and pectinate ; the an- terior ones connected by a web at the base ; the hind toe very small, the two lateral about equal, the middle one much longer ; claws short, arched, compressed, rather obtuse. " Plumage compact, slightly glossed. Feathers of the head very short. Wings short, broad, much rounded and curved, the third quill longest, the fourth next, the second and fifth nearly equal, the first very short. Tail ample, of ordinary length, rounded, of sixteen broad rotundate truncate* feathers, having a minute mucio. " Bill and claws brownish black. Iris| hazle. Fringed mem- brane over the eyes, vermillion. Toes purplish gray. Upper plumage and flanks brownish black, transversely barred with brownish gray ; the tip of each feather with two bars of the lat- ter color ; on the hind parts the bars are larger, and the pale * Truncate — Cut off short and abruptly. t /m— The circle about the pupil of the eye 72 FRANK forester's FIELD SPORTS. Zl """'" lu^ ""''^ ^'°^"- ^"'"« ^"d ^-'S-r coverts, black- ish br the outer edges of the primaries pale brownish gray and those of the secondaries minutely mottled with the same Tad coverts brownish black, minutely mottled and tipped with gray.sh white; tail feathers darker, and tipped with dull brown- ish red. Lower parts black, the feathers on the throat havin.r a white spot near the end ; those of the lower and lateral parti snn T^ ""T""^ ' "^ '^' ^^^^*' ""'^ ^ ^'-< subterminal spot, and the under tad coverts largely tipped with white. Inner ZuhXr^'"'' '"""'^'^ ^^^^^'"^^ '''' ^^•"-'- ^'PP^^ J[^y^: 151 inches; extent of wings,,21?; bill, along 'the back, J^; along the edge, 1^ ; tai^us, Ij ; weight, 17oz. " Adult female. " The female is not much smaller. The superciliary mem- ^Zv" fT ' '"* '' *'^ ""^ ''''''' T^« "PP-^rts are nearly of the same tmts, but more broadly barred; the head, Bides of the neck fore neck, and anterior parts of 'the breast yellowish gray barred with brownish black ; the lower parts grayish bkck, barred with reddish white. The tail is minutely tipped and mottled with brownish red. The younger females have more of the yellowish red tints than the oid onL I„ other respects, the coloring is nearly similar. AM^^^'^^''""^"' """'°''"'»g'.21 ; weight, Ifioz."_ Inasmuch as this rare and beautiful little species of Grouse is almost ent,rdy unknown to our sportsmen, as I have nev found any who have killed it, and very few who are awarHf Its existence; and as, with a single exception, I have never b^ ."hTsIat"' f'M°"^' • ""'' "" ^''"'" °--'°- ««^ fo" ' -> the State of Mame, on the waters of the Penobscot, 1 canno" .peak as .0 ,ts habits or haunts with any certainty, {.oL my In personal expenence, or from the report of sportsmen. I amTn" ehned „ he , eve, however, that it is not a bird which wi^ "e found .0 y,eld much sport, as I doubt its lying to setters „ m P8. er coverts, black- 5 brownish gray, 1 with the same, and tipped with with dull brown- he throat havinor md lateral parts oad, subterminal ith white. Inner ixillaries tipped ; bill, along 'the it, 17oz. )erciliary mem- upper parts are red ; the head, I of the breast, he lower parts, ail is minutely >unger females ones. In other ight, 15oz."-- 3 of Grouse is I have never ' are aware of ive never but tried for it in Jcot, 1 cannot from my own en. I am in- v'hich will be to setters or N ■UPLAND SHOOTING. 7A pointers, or being met with in sufficient numbers to render the pursuit of it pleasurable or exciting. The single specimen which I killed, rose suddenly from the ground, which was covered with snow to the depth of a foot br more, in a little dell or basin, full of tall larch and spruce-firs, just as I came over the brow of the hill ; and I was fortunate enough t kill it at h ng; range, by a snap shot. It was a fine cock bird, agreeing in all respects arrurately with the above de- scription, from the pages of the greatest living naturalist. Feeling that something more than this bare notice is due to this beautiful bird, n with some faint hope that, by calling the attention of sportsmen to the undoubted fact of its existence within our sporting limits, I may add one to our list of game, I shall proceed to quote from the author already noticed, whose ornithological distinctions and descriptions I shall adopt through- out this work, the following graphic account of his experience as relates to this Grouse. I say, that I entertain but a faint hope, because among many intelligent and observing friends, keen sportsmen and good shots, both in Lower Canada and New Brunswick, I have never heard this Grouse named as a bird of game. In fact, believe that no bird which haunts the depths of the North American wilderness can, under any circumstances, afford much sport to the legiti- mate pursuer, though they may be treed with cur-dogs, and shot sitting, in sufficient numbers to supply markets, and to satisfy the sporting aspirations of the prowling, backwoods' gunner. " No sooner had I entered the State of Maine, than I consi- dered the Canada Grouse as one of the principal objects of my ■ enquiry. Every person to whom I spoke about it, assured me that it was rather ab idant during the whole year, and conse- quently that it bred in the country. All this I fortunately proved to be quite true ; but no one told me of the difficulties I should have to encounter in watching its habits ; and although I ultimately succeeded in this, the task was perhaps as severe as any which I ever undertook. i ir Hi 1 m \n Pi' u FKANK FORBsTKb's FIELD SPORTS. " In August, 1832, I reached the dehVhtful Httl« villn r Denn.vi,.e, about eighteen n.l,. distant ^!:e1Z^Z1 I had the good fortune to become an inmate of the kind and mo t neatt; "''^''"'^^ ^'"^«'"' -^« ^- resided therel nearly half u century, and who is blessed with a f^milv T e'lual to any with whom I am acquainted 7or talel ' ""' ance and industrv V.^u e *i. . , ' t'^'ents, persever- L.„c„,„ offered .„ lead .e .„ .ho/e re.Ld ""lUe eZ on Ihe 27th of August, my two sons, accompanvinc us Tl,; ....:/::;or;L *:.,: x : ott d*' ^^-'^ -^ Labrador, where h« „... 7' ^ ''^^P """^^^s of undenakCrel ^rZpTild"' wlT"' ^°''" '' °" .o follow our guide [he wh3e 'i o^e 'falirTre "'"""' .00 much f:; dT; • fsi'h o'fTh " "" T7- ''' -- for home *''"' »'"' ">erefore made search, in comnanv wiih 5 ,. ? "'"y" "'"'"'»' '"y guide me toX," bTe r ' ".'"' ''"' """'^ "» l^" -"« UPLAND SHOOTING. 7ft as tlie most tangled swamps of Labrador. The whole ground is covered by the most beautiful carpeting of verdant moss, over which the light-footed Grouse walk with ease, but among which we sunk at every step or two up to the waist, our legs stuck in the mire, and our bodies squeezed beneath the dead trunks and branches of the trees; the minute leaves of which insinuated themselves between my clothes, and nearly blinded me. We saved our guns from injury, however, and seeing some of the Spruce Partridges before they perceived us, we procured seve- ral specimens. They were in beautiful plumage, but all male birds. It is in such places that these birds usually reside, and it k very seldom that they are seen in the open grounds, beyond the borders of their almost impenetrable retreats. On returning to my family, I found that another hunter had brought two fme females, but had foolishly neglected to bring the young ones, which he had caught and given to his children, who, to my great mortification, had already cooked them when my messenger ar- rived at his house. "The Spruce Partridge, or Canada Grouse, breeds in the States of Maine and Massachusetts, about the middle of May, nearly a month earlier than at Labrador. The males pay their addresses to the females, by strutting before them on the ground or moss, in the manner of the Turkey-cock, frequently rising se- veral yards in the air, in a spiral manner, when they beat their wings violently against their body, thereby producing a drum- ming noise, clearer than that of the Ruffed Grouse, and which can be heard at a considerable distance. The female places her nest beneath the low horizontal branches of fir-trees, taking 'care to conceal it well. It consists of a bed of twigs, dry leaves and mosses, on which she deposits from eight to fourteen eggs, of a deep fawn color, irregularly splashed with different tints of brown. They raise only one brood in the season, and the young follow the mother as soon as they are hatched. The males leave the females whenever incubation has commenced, and do not join them again until late in autumn ; indeed, they remove ()1 ' l'>U '.■- iiii .'fll •-I il irl i 76 FRANK forester's FIELD SPORTS. to different woods, when they are more shy and wary than dur- ing the love season or the winter. " This species walks much in the manner of our Partridge I never saw one jerk its tail, as the Ruffed Grouse does ; nor do they burrow in the snow, like that bird, but usuajly resort to trees, to save themselves from their pursuers. Thev seldom move from thence at the barking of a dog ; and, when roused, fly only to a short distance, uttering a few clucks, which they repeat on alighting. In general, when a flock is discovered, each individual forming it may be easily caught ; for, so seldom do they see men in the secluded places they inhabit, that they do not seem to be aware of the hostile propensities of the race Along the shores of the Bay of Fundy, the Spruce Partridge IS much more common than the Ruffed Grouse ; which, indeed gradually becomes scarcer the farther north we proceed, and is unknown in Labrador, where it is replaced by the Willow Grouse, and two other species. The females of the Canada Grouse differ materially in their coloring, in different latitudes. In Maine, for instance, they are more richly colored than in La- brador, where I observed that all the individuals procured by me were of a much grayer hue than those shot near Dennisville The like difference is, perhaps, still more remark'able in the Ruffed Grouse, which are so very gray and uniformly colored m the Northern and Eastern States, as to induce almost eve.y person to consider them as of a species distinct from those found m Kentucky, or any of the southern mountainous districts of the Union. I have in my possession skins of both species, procured a thousand miles apart, that present these remarkable differences in the general hue of their plumage. " All the species of this genus indicate the approach of rainy weather or a snow storm with fa- more precision than the best barometer; for, op the afternoon previous to the occurrence of such weather, they all resort to their roosting-places earlier by several hours, than they do during a continuation of fine wea- ther. I have seen groups of Grouse flying up to their roost, at mul-day,or as soon as the weather felt heavy, and have observed UPLAND SHOOTING. 77 that it generally rained in the course of that afternoon. When, on the contrary, the same flock would remain busily engaged in search of food, until sunset, I found the following morning fresh and clear. Indeed, I believe that this kind of foresight exists in the whole tribe of gallinaceous birds. " One day, while on the coast of Labrador, I accidentally al- most walked upon a female Canada Grouse, surrounded by her young brood. It was on the 18th of July. The affrighted mo- ther, on seeing us, ruffled up all her feathers, like a common hen, and advanced close to us, as if determined to defend her olikpring. Her distressed condition claimed our forbearance, and we allow- ed her to remain in safety. The moment we retired, she smoothed down her plumage, and uttered a tender maternal cluck, when the little ones took to their wings, although they were, I can venture to assert, not more than one week old, with so much ease and delight, that I felt highly pleased at having allowed them to escape. "Two.days afterward, my youthful and industrious party returned to the Ripley with a pair of these Grouse in moult. This species undergoes that severe trial at a much earlier season than the Willow Ptarmigan. My son reported that some young ones which he saw with their mother, were able to fly fully a hundred yards, and alighted on the low trees, among which he caught several of them, which, however, died before he reached the vessel. " This species is found not only in the State of Maine, but also in the mountainous districts of New Hampshire, and the northern parts of New York, as well as around our Northern Great Lakes and the head-waters of the Missouri. It is abun- dant in the British Provinces of New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Newfoundland and Labrador. " Among the great number, procured at all seasons, of the vear, which I have examined, I never found one without the rufous band at the extremity of the tail ; nor did I see any hav- ing the terminal white spot on the upper tail-coverts, exhibited in figures of this spec' ?s. t '• I {: 'fill ' : i -'■ '♦■: 7S FRANK forester's FIELD SPORTS. " Their food consists of berries of different sorts, and the young twigs and blossoms of several species of plants. In the summer and autumn, I have often found them gorged with berries of the plant which is commonly called 'Solomon's seal.' In the winter I have seen the crop filled with the short leaves of the larch or hackmetack. " I have frequently heard it said that these birds could be- knocked down with sticks, or that a whole covey could be shot, while perched on trees, by beginning at the lowest one ; but I never witnessed anything of the kind, and cannot therefore vouch for the truth of the assertion. During the autumn of 183J, these birds were uncommonly plentiful in the State of Maine. My friend Edward Harris, of New York, Thomas Lincoln, and others, killed a great number ; and the latter gen- tleman procured a pair alive, which were fed on oats and did v/ell. " The flesh of this Grouse is dark, and fit for being eaten only when it has fed on berries. In winter, when it feeds on the leaves of trees and other plants, the flesh is quite bitter and disagreeable. "According to Dr. Richardson, all the thick and swampy black spruce forests between Canada and the Arctic ocean abound with this bird, and considerable numbers exist, in the severest seasons, as high as the 67th parallel. I am informed by Mr. Townsend that it is also plentiful on the Rocky Moun- tains and the plains of the Columbia, from which pnrts I have obtained specimens differing in nothing from others procured in Maine and Labrador. I have also compared those in the Edin- burgh Museum, which Mr. Douglass was pleased to name Franklin's Grouse, with several of ny own, and feel confident that they are all of one and the same species." From this vivid and life-like description of this beautiful little Grouse, its habits, food, motions, and the districts which it inhabits, it will be evident to all that it cannot be denied a plare among the Upland game of the United States and British Fro UPLAND SHOOTING. •9 vinces; while it is, I fear, scarcely less apparent that neither its numbers nor its manners will ever, in probability, allow it to be pursued successfully for the purposes of sport. * In one respect only I must venture to differ from th, great authority and venerable man, whom I have quoted above ; and this on a point only whereon the least scientific may be allowed to differ from the opinions of the wisest ; since it is admitted everywhere that de gitstibus non est disputandum. Mr. Audubon says that in winter the flesh is bitter and disagreeable. I have eaten it in winter, and then only, and while I must admit the almost resinous aromatic bitterness^ I venture to pronounce it delicious in the extreme ; and I believe that all epicures in game will agree with me— all those, I mean, who prefer the back bone and thighs of the Ruffed Grouse of America, or the Moor- fowl of the British Isles, to the tamer white meat of the breast. European readers will understand the flavor I allude to, when I state that it closely resembles that of the Capercaillie, as import- ed from Norway in the winter season. With this species I shall conclude my notice of the Grouse Tetraonidce of America, since the Willow Ptarmigan, Tetrao Saliceti, " Red-necked Partridye,^^ is so very rare that it really cannot be included under the head of Game, even that indefati- gable explorer, Mr. Audubon, having failed to discover it within the limits of the States, although he expresses his con- viction that " it exists in the State of Maine, as well as in the Northern Districts bordering on the great lakes." For the benefit of those who desire to be informed, and to learn tht distinctions between Grouse, Pheasant, and Partrido-e neither of the latter species existing in America, I will state sim- ply and briefly that all Grouse are feathered on the legs, below the termination of the thigh, some quite to the toe nails. The Ruffed Grouse is feathered below the knee— the Pinnated and Canada Grouse to the ancles— the Willow Grouse to the claws. Of many generic marks this is the most decided. No game- bird but the Grouse is feathered below the knee, and he always ! i '' ^ ;. S ^ fiO FRANK forester's FIELD SPORTS. AMERICAN QUAIL. Ortyx Virginiana-Stephens. La Perdnx d^Amerique-Brissot. The Quail,-- The Partridge^^ in Pennsylvania and South- ward, improperly. "Male 10.15. Female 9 j. 14. "Breeds abundantly from Texas to Massachusetts; in tho interior, high on the Missouri, and in all intermediate districts' " Adult male. "Bill short, rohust, rather obtuse, the base covered with feathers ; upper mandible* with the dorsal outline curved the sides convex, the edges overlapping, the tip declinate : under mand.ble nearly straight in its dorsal outline, arched on the edges, the sides convex, nostrils concealed among the feathers Head and neck of ordinary size ; body short and bulky Feet ot ordinary length ; tarsus anteriorly scutellate,t a little com- pressed, spurless. Toes scutellate above, pectinate^ on the sides ; claws arched, obtuse. " Plumage compact, glossy. Feathers of the upper part of the head erectile into a tuft. Wings short, broad, much curved, and rounded ; the fourth quill the longest. Tail short rounded, of twelve rounded feathers. ' "Bill dark brown. Iris hazel. Feet grayish blue. The forehead a broad line over each eye, and the throat and fore- neck white. Lore, auricular§ coverts, and a broad semilunar band on the foreneck, more or less black. Upper part of the head, hind and lower part of the neck, all round, reddish brown Upper back and wing coverts, bright brownish red; the lower par of the back, light red, tinged with yellow.. Primaries dusky, externally margined with blue ; secondaries irregularly barred with light red. Tail grayish blue, excepting the middle * Mandible— division of bill corresponding to the jaws t Scutellate--coyeTed with scal.s overlapping each other like tiles. I rectmate — toothed like a comb. (j Auricular — belonging to the ear. # UPLAND 8H00TINO. 81 feathers, which are dull grayish yellow, sprinkled with black Sides ot the neck spotted with white. Under parts white, streaked with brownish-red, transversely and undulatingly barred with black. Sides and under tail coverts, reddish. " Length, 10 inches : extent of wings, 15 ; bill along the back, 1, along the gap, ^ ; tarsus i ; middle toe nearly the same. " Young Male. " Similar to the adult male in the general distribution of the colors, but the white of the head and throat bright reddish- yellow ; the back of the fore-neck and sides of the head, deep brown ; the under parts less pure and more dusky ; and the tail of a duller gray. " Adult Female. "The female resembles the young male, but is more deci- dedly colored ; the bill darker, the head of a more uniform and richer reddish-yellow ; the sides of the neck spotted with yel- low and black. " Young Female. " The young females are somewhat smaller and lighter in their tints than the yuung males. " Very young Birds. " Bill brownish-yellow. Iris light hazel. The general color of the upper parts, light yellowish-brown, patched with gray ,• sides of the head dusky. ">'— Audubon's Birds of America. "This well known bird is a general inhabitant of North America, from the northern parts of Canada and Nova Scotia, m which latter place it is said to be migratory to the extrei lity of the peninsula of Florida, and was seen in the neighborhood of the Great Osage Village in the interior of Louisiana. They are numerous in Kentucky and Ohio. Mr. Pennant remarks that they have been lately ir.ti-dui.ced into the island of Jamaica, where they appear to thrive greatly, breeding in that warm climate twice in the year. Capt. Henderson mentions them as being plenty near the Belize, at the Bay of Honduras. Thev a. I' \ ' ( } i; 'M \ ; I i * r:l VOL. I. t> 82 FRANK FOBESTEr's FIELD SPORTS. rarely frequent the forest, and are most numerous in the vicinity of well cultivated plantations, where grain is plenty. They, however, orcasionally seek sheltt-r in the woods, perching on the branches, or secreting themselves among the brushwood, but are found most usually in open fields, or along fences shel- tered by thickets of briars; when they are not too much perse- cuted by the sportsman they become almost half domesticated, approach the barn, particularly in winter, and sometimes in that severe season mix with the poultry to glean up a subsistence. They remain with us a whole year, and often suffer extremely by long, hard winters, and deep snows. At such times the arts of man combine with the inclemency of the season for their destruction. To the ravages of the gun are added others of a more insidious kind. Traps are placed on almost every planta- tion in such places as they are known to frequent. They are formed of lath or ihinly split sticks, somewhat in the shape of an obtuse cone, laced together with cord, having a small hole at the top with a sliding lid to take out the game by. This is supported by the common figure 4 trigger, and grain is scattered below and leading to the place. By this contrivance ten or fifteen have sometimes been taken at a time. These are some- times brought alive to market, and occasionally bought up by sportsmen, who, if the season be very severe, sometimes pre- serve and feed them till Spring, when they are humanely turned out to their native fields again, to be put to death some future time secundum artem. Between the months of August and March great numbers of these birds are brought to the market of Philadelphia, where they are sold at from twelve to eighteen cents a piece. " The Quail begins to build early in May. The nest is made on the ground, usually at the bottom of a thick tuft of grass that .shelters and conceals it. The materials are leaves and fine dry grass, in considerable quantity. It is well covered above, and an opening left on one side for entrance. The female lays from fifteen to twenty-four eggs, of a pure white, without any spot.s. Tlie time of incubation has been stated to me by variou.s per- :l UPLAND SHOOTINO. 83 sons at four weeks, when the eggs were placed under the domestic Hen. The young leave the nest as soon as they are freed from the shell, and are conducted about in search of food by the female ; are guided by her voice, which, at that time resembles the twittering of young chickens, and sheltered by her wmgs m the same manner as the domestic fowl, but with all that secrecy and precaution for their safety which their helplessness and greater danger require. In this situation, should the little timid family be unexpectedly surprised, the utmost alarm and consternation prevails. The mother throws herself m the path, fluttering along and beating the ground with her wmgs, as if sorely wounded, using every artifice she is master ot to entice the passenger in pursuit of herself, uttering at the same time certain peculiar notes of alarm, well understood by the young, who dive separately amongst the grass, and secrete hemse ves until the danger is over, and the parent, havin-. decoyed the pursuer to a safe distance, returns by a circuitous route to collect and lead them off. This well known manoeuvre which nme times in ten is successful, is honorable to the feel- ings and judgment of the bird, but a severe satire on man The affectionate mother, as if sensible of the avaricious cruelty of his nature, tempts him with a larger prize to save her more helpless offspring, and pays him as avarice and cruelty ought always to be paid, with mortification and disappointment The eggs of the Quail have been frequently placed under the domestic Hen, and hatched and reared with equax success as her own, though generally speaking, the young Partridges, being more restless and vagrant, often lose themselves and disappear. The Hen ought to be a particular good nurse, not at ail disposed to ramble, in which case they are very easily >aised. Those that survive acquire all the familiarity of com- mon Chickens, an.l there is little doubt that if proper measures were taken and pernevered in for a few years, they mio-ht be completely domesticated. They have been often kept during the first season and through the whole of that winter, but have uniformly deserted in the spring. Two young Partridges that I I KB M FRANK forester's HELD SPORTS. were brought up by a Hen, when abandoned by her, associated with the cows, which they regularly followed to the fields, returned with them when they came home in the evening, stood by them while they were milked, and again accompanied them to the pasture. These remained during the winter, lodg- ing in the stable, but as soon as spring came they disappeared. Of this fact I was informed by a very respectable lady, by whom they were particularly observed. It has been frequently asserted to me that the Quails lay in each others nesls. Though I have never myself seen a ease of this kind, I do not think it altogether improbable, from the fact that they have often been known to drop their eggs in the nest of the common Hen, when that happened to be in the fields or at a small dis- tance from the house. The two Partridges above mentioned were raised in this manner, and it was particularly remarked by the lady who gave me the information, that the Hen sat for several days after her own eggs were hatched, until the young Quails made their appearance. The Partridge, on her part, has sometimes been employed to hatch the eggs of the common domestic Hen. A friend of mine, who himself made the experi- ment, informs me that of several Hen's eggs which he substi- tuted in place of those of the Partridge, she brought out the whole, and that for several weeks he occasionally surprised her in various parts of the plantation, with her brood of Chickens, on which occasions she exhibited all that distressful alarm, and practised her usual manoeuvres for their preservation. Even after they were considerably grown, and larger than the Part- ridge herself, she continued to lead them about ; but though the notes or call were those of common Chickens, tlieir manners had all the shyness, timidity, and alarm of young Partridges, running with great rapidity, and squatting in the grass exactly in the manner of the Partridge. Soon after this they disap- peared, having probably been destroyed by dogs, by the gun, «.r by birds of prey. Whether the domestic fowl might not by this method be very soon brought back to its original savage state. aiid thereby supply another additional subject for the amusement UPLAND SHOOTING. 86 of the sportsman, will scarcely admit of doubt ; but the experi- ment, in order to secure its success, would require to be made in a quarter of the country less exposed than ours to the ravages of guns, dogs, traps, and the deep snows of winter, that the new tribe might have full time to become completely natu- ralized and well fixed in all their native habits. About the beginning of September, the Quail being now nearly full grown and associated in flocks or coveys of from four or five to thirty, afford considerable sport to the gunner. At this time the notes of the male are most frequent, clear, and loud. His common call consists of two notes, with sometimes an introductory one, and is similar to the sound produced by pronouncing the words Bob White. This call may be easily mistaken by whistling, so as to deceive the bird itself, and bring it near. WhUe uttering this he is usually perched on a rail of the fence, or a low limb of an apple tree, where he will sometimes sit repeating, at short intervals. Bob White, for half an hour at a time. When a covey are assembled in a thicket, or corner of a field, and about to take wing, they make a low, twittering sound, not unlike that of young Chickens ; and when the covey is dis- persed they are called together by a loud and frequently repeated note, peculiarly expressive of tenderness and anxiety. The food of the Partridge consists of grain, seeds, insects, and berries of various kinds. Buckwheat and Indian Corn are particular favorites. In September and October the Buckwheat fields afford them an abundant supply as well as a secure sheltei. They usually roost at night in the middle of a field, on high ground, and from the circumstance of the dung being found in such places in one round heap, it is generally con- jectured that they roost in a circle with their heads outward ; each individual in this position forming a kind of guard to pre- vent surprise. They also continue to lodge for several nights in the same spot. The Partridge, like all the rest of the galli- naceous order, flies with a loud, whirring sound, occasioned by the shortness, concavity, and rapid motion of its win, not louder than that of a iiKJuse. They are far inferior to young partridges, in running and skulking, and, should the female be unfortunately killed, may be easily taken on the Bpot."— Wilson's Am, Ornithology. COMMON SNIPE. Scolopax Wilsonii. — 7%e English Snipe. "Male 10J.17. "Distributed throughout the country. Breeds from Vir- ginia northward. Exceedingly abundant in the Southern and Western districts during winter. "Adult male. " Bill twice as long as the head, subulate, straight, depressed toward the end, compressed for more than half its length. Upper mandible with the dorsal line.uaight; the ridge, for a short space at the base, flattish, then convex; towards the end flattened ; the sides with a narrow groove extending to near the tip, which is obtuse and probe-like ; the edges soft and obtuse. Nostrils basal, linear, very small. Lower man- dible with the angle extremely narrow and long, the sides nearly erect, with a groove having several bars across it ; the end of both mandibles covered, after death, with numerous prominences, or rather with reticular depressions, leaving small prominences between them. "Head rather small, oblong, narrowed anteriorly, the fore- head elevated and rounded. Neck rather short. Body rather full. Legs of moderate length, slender; tibia bare below, scutellate before and behind; tarsus with numerous scutella before, smaller ones behind, and reticulated sides ; toes very slender, free, scutellate above, narrow and slightly margined beneath; first very small, third longer than the tarsus; fourth much shorter, but considerably longer than the second. Claws slightly arched, extremely compressed, very acute, that of the third toe longest. " Plumage very soft, rather full, blended ; on the forepart IT '■ :!h ' f 4 r 'c £ i '■ ! P^ i 92 rRANK forester's FIELD SPORTS. of the head very short. Wings of moderate length, narrow, sharp; primaries broad, tapering, but rounded, the first ex- tremely small and pointed, the second longest, the third very little shorter, the rest rapidly graduated; secondaries broad, short, incurved, rounded, the inner very long, tapering, as are the scapulars. Tail short, rounded, of sixteen rounded feathers. "Bill brown, the granulated part toward the tip black. Iris hazel. Feet bluish gray, claws dusky. On the upper part of the head two brownish-black longitudinal bands, sepa- rated by a narrower central pale brown one, and with another pale brown band on each side from the bill over the eye. Then a loral band of dark brown ; chin whitish ; neck pale reddish- brown, spotted with brownish-black. The general color of upper parts is brownish-black, variegated with pale reddish- brown, of which latter color are the outer edges of the scapu- lars and of the lateral feathers on the anterior part of the back. Wing^coverts, and inner secondaries, similarly mottled; the small anterior coverts, the primary coverts, primary quills', anc^ outer secondaries, deep brown more or less tipped with white • rump barred with yellowish-gray and dusky ; upper tail coverts similar, but the larger barred with brownish-red and black Tail feathers brownish-black at the base, with a broad sub- terminal band of brownish-red on the outer web of the two middle, and on both webs of the rest, excepting the outer on each side, which is barred with brownish-black and white the black bars five; the tips of all white. Anterior part of breast like the neck, the rest white ; abdomen and lower tail coverts grayish-yellow, barred with brownish-black ; lower wine co verts similarly mottled. ° " Length to end of tail, 10^ inches ; to end of claws 11 > • extent of wings, 17 ; wing, from flexure, 5 ; tail, 2| ; bill' alonJ the back, 2r\ ; along the edge of the lower mandible 2/- • tar sus, 1/^ ; middle toe, U ; its claw, /, ; weight 3oz. " Adult female. " The female resembles the male, but is rather larger '' Audubon^s Birds of America. UPLAND SHOOTING. 93 " This bird is well known to our sportsmen, and if not the same, has a very near resemblance to the common Snipe of Europe. It is usually known by the name of the English Snipe, to distinguish it from the Woodcock, and from several others of the same genus. " It arrives in Pennsylvania about the 10th of March, and remains in the low grounds for several weeks, the greater part then move off to the north and to the higher inland districts, to breed. A few are occasionally found and consequently breed in our low marshes during the summer. When they first arrive they are usually lean, but when in good order are accounted excellent eating. They are perhaps the most diffi- cult to shoot of all our birds, as they fly in sudden zigzag lines, and very rapidly. Great numbers of these birds winter on the rice grounds of the Southern States, where, in the month of February, they appeared to be much tamer than they usually are here, as I have frequently observed them running about among the springs and watery thickets. I was told by the inhabitants that they generally disappeared in the spring. On the 20th of March I found these birds extremely numerous on the bor- ders of the ponds near Louisville, Ky., and also in the neigh- borhood of Lexington, in the same State, as late as the 10th of April. I was told by several people that they are abundant in the Illinois country up as far as Lake Michigan. They are but seldom seen in Pennsylvania during the summer, but are occasionally met with in considerable numbers, on their return in autumn, along the whole east side of the Alleghany, from the sea to the mountains. They have the same soaring, irregular flight in the air, in gloomy weather, as the Snipe of Europe ; the same bleating note, and occasional rapid descent, spring from the marshes with the like feeble squeak, and in every respect resemble the common Snipe of Great Britain except in being about an inch less, and in having sixteen fea- thers in the tail instead of fourteen, the number said by Bewick to be in that of Europe. From these circumstances we must either conclude this to be a different species, or partially ll 94 FRANK forester's FIELD SPORTS. changed by difTerence of climate ; the former appears to me tho most probable opinion of the two. " These birds abound in the meadows and low grounds along our large rivers, particularly those that border the Schuylkill and Delaware, from the 10th of March to the middle of April, and sometimes later, and are eagerly sought after by our gunners. The nature of the grounds, however, which these birds fre- quent, the coldness of the season, and peculiar shyness and agility of the game, renders this amusement attractive only to the most dexterous, active, and eager of our sportsmen." Wilson' a Am. Ornithology. The last of what may be called the purely Upland game birds of North America, is that commonly known as the Up- land Plover, also called the Frost Bird and Grass Plover, from the places which it frequents, and the periods at which it is found in perfection. It is, in my opinion, with no exception, unless perhaps it be the Canvass Back Duck, the most delicious bird that flies. Though generally known as a Plover^ it does not belong to that species, but to that of Totanus, Tatler, a sort of connecting link between the Snipes and Sandpipers— the Plover proper having no hind toe. This is the only one of the three families above named that is, in the United States, a land bird, its habits being those of the European Golden Plover, the American namesake of which is essentially a shore bird. The Upland Sandpiper, or Tatler, is thus described by Mr. Audubon : BARTRAM'S TATLER. Totanus Bartramius — Upland Plover, Upland Sandpiper, Frost- bird, Grass Plover, " Male, 12^.22. Female, 13.22^ " From Texas along the coast to Nova Scotia. Breeds from Maryland northward to the Saskatchewan. In vast flocks in Louisiana, Oppelousas, and the Western Prairies, in autumn and spring. Rare in Kentucky. UPLAND SHOOTINO. 95 >> the " Adult Male. " Bill a little longer than the head, slender, straight, slightly- deflected at the end. Uppei mandible with the dorsal line straight, the edges convex, the sides grooved beyond the middle, afterward convex, the edges inflected, the tips a little deflected, and tapering to an obtuse point. Nostrils sub-basal, lateral, linear, pervious, nearer the edge than the dorsal line. Lower mandible with the angle very narrow and elongated, beyond it the outline slightly convex, the sides sloping outward and con- cave until the middle, afterward flattened, the edges sharp, the point very narrow. " Head rather small, convex above, compressed. Neck of moderate length, slender. Body rather slender. Feet long and slender, tibia bare about half its length, scutellate before and behind ; tarsus long, slender, having before and behind numerous scutella; the narrow lateral spaces with very small, oblong scales. Toes slender ; the first very short, the second much shorter than the fourth, the third and fourth connected at the base by a web ; the scutella numerous ; claws small, compressed, slightly arched, rather blunt. " Plumage soft ; on the neck and lower parts blended ; on the upper rather distinct. Wings rather long, acute, narrow. Pri- maries tapering and rounded ; the first longest, the second a little shorter, the rest rapidly graduated ; secondari es obliquely round- ed, the inner elongated and tapering. Tail of moderate length, much rounded, of twelve rather narrow feathers. " Bill yellowish-green, tip dusky, the edges toward the base yellow. Iris dark hazel. Legs and tarsi light yellowish-gray, toes rather darker, claws brownish-black. Upper part of the head dark brown, with a median pale yellowish brown line : the margins of the feathers also of that color which prevails along the sides of the head and the back of the neck, which are streaked with dusky ; the eye surrounded with yellowish-white. Throat yellowish-white, without spots ; forepart and sides of the neek, with a portion of the breast and sides of the body, cream- colored, with dusky lines, which gradually become arrow-shaped 96 PllANK forester's FIELD SPORTS. on the breast, forming a double transverse band ; the feathers on the side barred ; the rest of the lower parts and lower wiug coverts white, banded with brownish-black. On the upper parts the feathers are dark brown, glossed with green, with rich cream-colored margins ; the rump darker. On the margins of the scapulars, within the pale edge, is a series of dusky spots which, toward the end, become continuous. Alula, primary coverts, and primary quills blackish-brown, the inner webs crossed by white bands, until about an inch from the end ; the shaft of the first quill white, those of the rest dusky. Secon- daries grayish-brown, their outer margins pale brown with dusky spots ; the inner darker. The two middle feathers of the tail are dark olive, tinged with gray, transversely barred with black, the last bar arrow-shaped, the margins light cream-color, the next feather on each side lighter, and tinged with yellowish- red ; the rest gradually lighter, the outer white, all barred with black. " Length to the end of tail, 12j inches ; to the end of wings, lla ; to the end of the claws, 13^ ; extent of wings, 22 ; wing from flexure, 7; tail, 3?; base part of tibia, A ; tarsus, Ij^f ; first toe, A ; claw, /f ; bill along the ridge, 1 A ; along the edge of lower mandible, IfV ; weight, 6oz. " Female. " The female is a little larger, and weighs 7oz., but resem- bles the male in color. The individual of which the weight is here given, was very fat ; but I have never met with any that weighed three-fourths of a pound, as described by Wilson. " The Bartramian Sandpiper is the most truly terrestrial of its tribe with which I am acquainted. It is even more inclined at all seasons to keep away from water than the Kildeer Plo- ver, which may often be seen along the sandy or muddy mar- gin of the shores of the sea, or of fresh-water lakes and streams. Although not unfrequently met with in the vicinity of such places, it never ventures to wade into them ; and yet the form and length of its legs and feet, would naturally induce a person not acquainted with its habits, to consider it as a wading-bird. UPLAND 8HOOTINO. 97 The dry, upland plains of those sections of Louisiana, call- ed Oppelousas and Attakapas, are amply peopled with this spe- c.es early in spring, as well as in autumn. They arrive there from the vast prairies of Texas and Mexico, where they spend the winter, m the beginning of March or about the first appear- ance of the Martins-^ra«rfo P«r;,«rea-and return about the first of August. They are equally abundant on all the Western Pra.r.es on either side of the Missouri, where, however, they arrive about a month later than in Louisiana, whence they dis- perse over the United States, reaching the Middle Districts early m May, and the State of Maine by the middle of that month, or about the same period at which they are seen in Indiana, Ken- tucky and Ohio. Some proceed as far north as the plains ad- joining the Saskatchewan River, where Dr. Richardson met with this species in May. " It has been supposed that the Bartramian Sandpiper never forms large flocks ; but this is not correct-for in the neighbor- hood of New Orleans, where it is called the ' Papabote ' it usually arrives, in great bands, in spring, and is met with on the open plains and large grassy savannahs, where it generally re- mains about two weeks,_though sometimes individuals may be seen as late as the 16th of May. I have observed the same cir- cumstance on our Western Prairies, but have thought that they were afterward obliged to separate into small flocks, or even into pairs, as soon as they are ready to seek proper places for breeding in ; for I have seldom found more than two pairs with nests or young in the same field or piece of ground. On their first arrival, they are generally thin, but on their return south- ward, in the beginning of August, when they tarry in Louisiana until the first of October, they are fat and juicy. I have observed that, m spring, when they are poor, they are usually much less shy than in autumn, when they are exceedingly wary and diffi- cult of approach ; but this general observation is not without exceptions, and the diflference, I think, depends on the nature of the localities in which they happen to be found at either period * When on newly-ploughed fields, which they are fond of fre- VOL. I, m. i! 98 FRANK forester's FIELD SPORTS quenting, they see a person at a greater distance than when they arc searching for food among the slender grasses of the plains'. I have also thought that the size of the Hocks may depend upon similar contingencies ; for this bird is by no means fond of the society of man. " Like the Spotted Sandpiper— To/antt* Maculariua— they not unfrequently alight on fences, trees and out-houses ; but, whe- ther in such situations or on the ground, they seldom settle without raising both wings upright to their full extent, and ut- tering their loud, prolonged and pleasing notes They run, with great activity, stop suddenly, and vibrate their body once or twice. " When earnestly followed by the sportsman, they lower their heads in the manner of Wilson's Plover, and the species called the Piping, and run off rapidly, or squat, according to the urg- ency of the occasion. At other times, Jhey partially extend their wings, run a few steps as if about to fly, and then cun- ningly move off sideways, and conceal themselves among the grass, or behind a clod. You are unfrequently rendered aware of your being near them by unexpectedly hearing their plain- tive and mellow notes, a circumstance, however, which I always concluded to be indicative of the wariness of their dis- position ; for, although you have just heard those well-known cries, yet, on searching for the bird itself, you nowhere see it for the cunning creature has slipped away and hid itself. When wounded in the wing, they run to a great distance, and are rarely found. " Like all txperienced travellers, they appear to accommo- date themselves to circumstances, as regards their food — for in Louisiana they feed on cantharides and other coleopterous insects • in Massachusetts on grasshoppers, on which my friend Nt t- TALL says they soon grow fat; in the Carolinas on criclets and other insects, as well as the seeds of the crab-gras^ ^wi- taria Sanguinaria — and in the Barrens of Kentucky they often pick the strawberries. Those which feed much on cantharides require tc be very carefully cleaned, otherwise persons eating UPLAND nilOOTINQ, M hem „r. l,.ble to .uflir .cvcrely. Several s„„(:e,„on „f Ne„ , ea„, have e^urej me .ha. .hey ...ve .ee„ pcr.o„. a. di„„." oanno. well be de^r.hed here. When flavorecl wi.h Z i" ..rawberne. o„ which .bey have fed, .heir „e,h iMrul; dell! d„r ^"li' Tu" '""''°""'' '" "''S™«°''» h "ight m well a, by i. Hare, it may f"arrcrsr;':i;-re'r:r-^ andd^r:of::;;i7::;,irt?-"'* ""«"'" ''"'" forZin ■^""-"^^^-' bright fawn or reddish-brown • forehead, cheeks and ears of the same color- all hT 1' p;t-r.ret-r:;rtt^r^^ coir: Hrx:t^L::rv:;7H:rz:"r *" it IS found from Canada as far norjh ». u i , „ southerly to the northern parts of Pe„n 'Vania 7 '^' of Virginia; but in the MiSdle Sta.LTs onT/f"' ''T ''' ''"° tainous and roughly wooded districtl ' ""'' '" '"°"°- "Its period of gestation is about six weeks -.it h.., r four to six young at a litter ' """' "•'"" for .ts moderate goodness. "_JDc%', JYat. Hist. UPLAND SHOOTTNO. 105 With these seven birds and two quadrupeds I might properly enough close my enumeration of our Upland game. There are however, six species of Duck, which I have named above-THF Dusky, ru/gro^/acA Duck; The Mallard; The Blue-winoed and The Green-winged Teal ; The Summer, or Wood Duck ; and The Pintail Duck; all of which, although water fowl, may be regarded with great fitness as Upland game, since they all frequent fresh lakes, marshes, and streams— are frequently killed in swamps far inland, and many hundreds of miles above tide water, and with but one exception, are rarely met with or taken, in very great abundance, on the sea-shores, or even on salt marshes. The Dusky Duck is indeed a frequenter of the bays and of {.oug Island Sound ; I have, however, shot him so often, even over dead points from setters, on inland meadows— his flesh is so far superior when so taken, and above all, he so evidently prefers fresh feeding grounds, so long as the weather will per- mit—that I must regard him rather as Upland than Shore game. The American Widgeon, and The Shoveller, are so rare, except on the great western waters, which are indeed frequented by almost every variety of fowl, excepting only a few of the purely Sea Ducks, that it is needless to do more than name them. The varieties of the Merganser, generally known as Sheldrake, though sufficiently abundant, I can scarce bring myself to regard as game, their flesh being so rank and fishy as to be scarcely eatable. The six varieties above named, as being the most delicious, and in plumage the most beautiful of the whole duck tribe, must not be passed over so lightly. The first of these which I shall mention as being worthy of remark as the parent stock of our domestic Duck and Drake, second in succulence and flavor to none but the Canvass Back and Red-head, and superior to all except the Wood Duck in beauty, is 106 FRANK forester's FIELD SPORTS. THE MALLARD. Anas Boschas—le Canard Sauvage.—Bnasot. The Greenhead. " Male 24.36. Female 22. " Breeds from Texas sparingly throughout the United States, Columbia River, and Fur Countries. Abundant during the winter in all the Southern Districts ; not found in Maine, or Eastward. Adult male. " Bill about the length of the head, higher than broad at the base, depressed and widened toward the end, rounded at the tip. Upper mandible with the dorsal outline sloping, and 4 little concave ; the ridge at the base broad and flat, toward the end broadly convex, as are the sides, the edges soft and rather obtuse ; the marginal lamella transverse, fifty on each ; the unguis oval, curved, abrupt at the end. Nasal groove elliptical, sub-basal, filled by the soft membrane of the bill ; nostrils sub- basal, placed near the ridge, longitudinal, elliptical, pervious. Lower mandible slightly curved upward, with the angle very long, narrow, and rather pointed, the lamellae about sixty. " Head of moderate size, oblong, compressed ; neck rather long and slender, body full, depressed. Feet short, stout, placed a litUe behind the centre of the body. Legs bare a little above the joint ; tarsus short, a little compressed, anteriorly with scutella, laterally and behind with small reticulated scales. Hind toe extremely small, with a very narrow membrane j third toe longest; fourth a little shorter, but longer than the second ; all the toes connected by reticulated membranes, the outer with a thick margin, the inner with the margin extended into a slightly lobed web. Claws small, arched, compressed, rather acute ; that of the middle toe much larger, with a dilated' thin inner edge. " Plumage, dense, soft, elastic ; of the head and neck, short, blended, and splendent. Of the other parts in general, broad' UPLAND SHOOTING. 107 011(1 rounded. Wings of moderate length, acute; primaries narrow and tapering ; the second longest, the first very little sliorter ; secondaries broad, curved inv»rard, the inner elongated and tapering. Tail short, much rounded, of sixteen acute fea- thers, of which the four central are recurved. " Bill greenish-yellow. Iris dark brown. Feet orange-red. Head and upper part of neck deep green, a ring of white about the middle of the neck ; lower part anteriorly, and fore part of breast dark brownish-chestnut; fore part of back light yellowish- brown, tinged with gray ; the rest of the back brownish-black ; the rump black, splendent with green and purplish-blue reflec- tions, as are the recurved tail feathers. Upper surface of wlngo grayish-brow.i ; the scapulars lighter, except their inner webs, and with the anterior dorsal feathers minutely undulated with brown. The speculum, or beauty spot, on about ten of the secondaries, is of brilliant changing purple and green, edged with velvet-black and white, the anterior bands of black and white being on the secondary coverts. Breast, sides, and abdomen, very pale gray, minutely undulated with darker j lower tail coverts black, with blue reflections. " Length to the end of tail, 24 inches ; to the end of the claws, 23 ; to the tips of the wings, 22 ; extent of wings, 36 ; wing from flexure, 10^; tail, 4^; bill, 2^ ; tarsus, ij; middle toe, 2r\ ; its claw i%; weight, from 2^ to 3lbs. " Adult female. " Bill black in the middle, dull orange at the extremities and along the edges. Iris as in the male, as are the feet. The general color of the upper parts is pale yellowish-brown, streaked and spotted with dusky brown. The feathers of the head are narrowly streaked, of the ba-k with the margin and a central streak yellowish-brown, the rest of the scapulars similar but with the light streak on the outer web. The wings are nearly as in the male ; the speculum similar, but with less frreen. The lower parts dull olive, deeper on the lower neck and spotted with brown. " Length, 22 inches ; weight, from 2lbs. to 2^. ilgil 108 rnANK F0nE8TEK'« FIELD 8I>0nTS. t( nn The young acquire the full plumage in the course of the first yfmier."—Audubm'$ Birds of America. « The common Wild Duck is found in every fresh water «ke and r.ver of the United States, in winter, spring, or au- tumn, but seldom frequents the sea shore or salt marshes. Their summer residence is the North, the great nursery of this nume- rous genus. Instances have been known of some solitary pairs breed.ng here in autumn ; in England these instances are more common. Ihe nest is usually placed in the most solitary recesses of the marsh or bog, amidst coarse grass, reeds; and rushes; and generally contains from twelve to sixteen eggs, of a dull greenish-white. The young are led about by the mother m the same manner as those of the tame Duck, but with a superior caution, cunning, and watchful vigilance, peculiar to her situation. " The male attaches himself to one female, as among other birds ,„ U.e.r native state, and is the guardian and protector of her and her feeble brood. The Mallard is numerous in the nee fields of the Southern States during winter ; many of the fields being covered with a few inches of water, and the oattered grams of the former harvest lying in abundance, the Ducks sw.m about and feed at pleasure. The flesh of the common Wild Duck IS in general and high estimation, and the ingenuity of man, in every country where it frequents, has been employed •n .nventing stratagems to overreach these wary birds, and pro- cure a delicacy for the table. To enumerate all these various contrivances would far exceed our limits ; a few, however, of the most simple and efl-ective may be mentioned. In some ponds frequented by these birds, five or six wooden figures are painted so as to represent ducks, and sunk by pieces of lead na, led on the bottoms, so as to float at the usual depth on the surface, are anchored in a favorable position for being raked from a concealment of brush, etc., on shore. The appearance of hese usually attracts passing flocks, which alight, and are shot dow.. Sometimes eight or ten of these painte woode. UPLAND 8H00TIN0. 109 durks are fixed on a frame, in various swimming postures, and secured to the bow of the gunner's skiff, projecting before it in such a manner that the weight of the frame sinks the figures to the proper depth ; the skiflis then dressed with sedge or coarse grass, in an artful manner, as low as the water's edge, and under cover of this, which appears like a party of Ducks swimming by a small island, the gunner floats down, sometimes to the very skirts of a whole congregated multitude, and pours in a destruc- tive and repeated fire of shot among them. "In winter, when detached pieces of ice are occasionally floating in the river, some of the gunners on the Delaware paint their whole skiff, or canoe, white ; and laying themselves flat at the bottom, with the hand on the side, silently managing a small paddle, direct it imperceptibly into or near a flock, before the Ducks have distinguished it from a floating mass of ice, and generally do great execution among them. A whole flock has sometimes been thus surprised asleep, with their heads under their wings. " On land, another stratagem is sometimes practised with great success. A large, tight hogshead is sunk in the flat marsh or mud, near the place where Ducks are accustomed to feed at low water, and where, )therwise, there is no shelter ; the edges and top are carefully concealed with tufts of long, coarse grass, and reeds or sedges. From within this, the gunner, unseen and unsuspected, watches his collecting prey ; and when a suf- ficient number offers, sweeps them down with great effect. " The mode of catching Wild Ducks, as practised in India and China, the island of Ceylon, and some parts of South Ameri- ca, has been often described, and seems, if reliance may be placed on those accounts, only practicable in water of a certain depth. The sportsman, covering his head with a hollow wooden vessel or calabash, pierced with holes to see through, wades into the water, keeping his head only above, and thus dis- guised, moves in among the flock, which takes the appearance to be a mere floating calabash, while suddenly pulling them under by the legs, he fastens them to his girdle, and thus takes as 110 FUANK FORESTEE S FIELD SPORTS. many as he can conveniently stow away, without in the least alarming the rest. They are also taken with snares made of horsehair, or with hooks baited with small pieces of sheep's lights, which, floating on the surface, are swallowed by the Ducks, and with them the hooks. They are also approached under cover of a stalking horse, or a figure formed of thin boards, or other proper materials, and painted so as to represent a horse or an ox. " But all these methods require much watching, toil, and fatigue ; and their success is but trifling when compared with that of the decoys now used both in France and England ; which, from its superiority over every other mode, is well de- serving the attention of persons of this country residing in the neighborhood of extensive marshes frequented by Wild Ducks «i8 by this method Mallard and other kind, may be taken by thousands at a time."- Wilson's Am. Ornithology. Next in size, though neither in beauty nor in excellence, to the Mallard, comes the Dusky Duck, better known in every part of the United States as the Black Duck, the latter being a misnomer as applied to this fowl, and really belonging to a very • different bird, which will be treated of hereafter with the Sea Hxxck^-Fuligul^B. This bird, unlike the former species, which IS common to both continents, Europe and America, if not to Africa and Asia also, is peculiar to North America, rangine from Labrador to Texas; in both of which, strange to say and in all the intermediate localities, it breeds and rears its young. THE DUSKY DUCK. Anas Ohscuror-WUson, Bonap. The Black Duck. <( 'Breeds in Texas, westward, and throughout the United States, British Provinces, Labrador, and Columbia River. UPLAND SHOOTING. Ill Common in autumn and spring along the middle Atlantic dis- tricts. Abundant in the Southern and Western States in winter. " Adult male. **■ Bill about the length of the head, higher than broad at the base, depressed and widened toward the end, rounded at the tip. Upper mandible with the dorsal line sloping and a little concave, the ridge at the base broad and flat, toward the end broadly convex, as are the sides ; the edges soft and thin, the marginal lamellee about forty on each side. The unguis obovate, curved, abrupt at the end. Nasal groove sub-basal, elliptical, filled with the soft membrane of the bill ; nostrils sub-basal, placed near the ridge, longitudinal, elliptical, pervious. Lower mandible slightly curved upward, flattened, with the angle very long, narrow, and rather pointed ; the lamellse about sixty. " Head of moderate size, oblong, compressed. Neck lather long and slender. Body full, depressed. Feet short, stout, placed a little behind the centre of the body. Legs bare a little above the joint. Tarsus short, a little compressed, anteriorly with small scutella, externally of which is a series continuous with those of the outer toe, laterally and behind with reticulated angular scales. Hind toe extremely small, with a very narrow membrane ; third toe longest, fourth a little shorter, but longer than the second ; the scutella of the second and third oblique, of the outer transverse ; the three anterior toes connected by reticulated membranes, the outer with a thick margin, the inner with a margin extended into a slightly lobed web. Claws small, arched, compressed, rather obtuse, that of the middle toe much larger, with a dilated thin edge. " Plumage dense, soft, elastic ; on the neck and head the fea- thers linear-oblong, on the other parts, broad and rounded. Wings of moderate breadth and length, acute ; primaries narrow and tapering, the second longest, the first very little shorter ; secondaries broad, curved inward ; the inner elongated and taper- ing. Tail short, much rounded, of eighteen acute feathers, none of which are recurved. *' Bill yellowish-green, the unguis dusky. Iris dark brown. f i '* ..jMMtMii'- iia FRANK forester's FIELD SPORTS. Feet oronge-re become covl , ^7' '^ '^''"'"* '^"°S ' b^* ^h«» ^« ponds are covered w.th ice they betake themselves to estuaries or inlets o the sea, and their flesh becomes less juicy, and assumes a fishy flavor. Durmg continued frost, they collect into larger bod.es than at any other time-a flock once alighted seeming to attract others until at last hundreds of them meet, especially in he dawn and toward sunset. The larger the flock, however, the more difficult it is to approach it, for many sentinels are seen on the lookout, while the rest are asleep or feeuing along the shores. Unhke the Sea Ducks, this species does not ride at an- chor, as It were, during its hours of repose. "_^„d«6o„'. Bird, of America. THE BtUE-WlNGED TEAL. Anaa Discors. " Male, 16.3U. Female, 15.24. JL^rt t I"""' '"'^ "^'^'"^^^' ^''^' ^-^-^^ Fur Coun- the M ddle Atlantic Districts, as well as in the interior. Abun- dant also m all the Southern States. " Adult Male. "Bill almost as long as the head, deeper than broad at the Whole length, being, however, a little enlarged toward the rounded tip. U,,er mandible with the dorsaf outline firs slopmg, then nearly straight, on the.unguis decurved, the rid Je broad and flat at the base, suddenly narrowed over the ns tr Is bn>ader and convex toward the end ; the sides erect at the b se tr.U.r'. "' ""^^^' '""^ —membranous m r-' gms a litde broader at the end. Nostrils sub-basal, near the ndge rather small, elliptical, pervious. Lower man ibe flat toned, straight, with the angle very long and rather narrow, the 116 PRANK rOHESTER's HELD SPORTS. dorsal line very short and slightly convex, the sides internally er^ct, with about a hundred and twenty lamellje. "Head of a moderate size, oblong, compressed. Neck of moderate length, rather slender. Body full, depressed. Feet short, placed rather far back. Tarsus short, compressed at its lower part, anteriorly with two series of scutella, the rest cov- ered with reticuuited angular scales. Toes with numerous scu- tella above First toe very small, and with a narrow membrane beneath; third longest; fourth about a quarter of an inch shorter ; the anterior toes united by reticulated webs, of which the outer is deeply sinuate. Claws small, curved, compressed, acu e ; the hmd one smaller and more curved, that of the third toe largest, and with the inner margin sharp. " Plumage dense, soft and blended. Feathers of the head and neck very small and slender-of the back and lower parts in general, broad and rounded. Wings of moderate length, rather narrow and acute; primaries strong, slightly curvedftaiering ; the first scarcely longer than the second, the rest rapidly de- creasing; secondaries broad, the outer obliquely rounded, the mner elongated and acuminate, as are the scapulars. Tail short rounded and acuminate, of fourteen rather narrow acumi- nate feathers. "BUI bluish-black. Iris dark hazel. Feet dull yellow • webs dusky. Claws brownish-black, witii the tips grayish-yoi: low Upper part of the head black ; a semilunar patch of pure white on the side of the head before the eye, margined before and be ind with black. The rest of the hL', and the anteri" parts of the neck, of a deep purplish-blue, with purplish-red re- blaTV 1 r ""' ""' '^"^ '"^^-^^'^^^ «f back brownish- black, glossed w.th green, each feather with a curved band of pale re dish-bufT, and a line or band of the same in the cltr th hmd part of the back greenish-brown, the feathers edged with paler. 1 he smaller wing-coverts of a rich ultra-marine blue, silky, with almost metallic lustre. Alula, primary coverts and primary quills, grayish-brown, edged with pale bluish • outer secondaries of the same color, those of the speculum duck- UPLAND SHOOTING. 117 green, changing to blue and bronze, with a narrow line of white along their terminal margin ; the inner greenish-black on the outer web, greenish-brown on the inner, with a central line and narrow external margin of pale reddish-bufF; the more elongated scapulars similar, but some of them margined with greenish- blue. Secondary coverts brown, with their terminal portion white. Tail feathers chocolate-brown, slightly glossed with green ; their margins bufFy. The lower parts are pale reddish- orange, shaded on the breast with purplish-red, and thickly spotted with black, the number of roundish or elliptical spots op each feather varying from ten to twenty-five ; those on the upper and hind parts of the sides running into transverse bars. Axil- lary feathers, some of the lower wing-coverts, and a patch on the side of the rump, pure white ; lower tail coverts brownish-black. " Length to end of tail, 16 inches ; to end of claws, 14^; to end of wings, 14|; extent of wings, 3U ; wing from flexure, 7tV ; tail, 3/2 ; bill along the back, IJ ; from frontal process to tip, U ; tarsus, Ij? ; first toe and claw, ^3 ; middle toe and claw. 111 ; outer toe and claw, lr% ; weight, 12|oz. " Adult Female. " Bill greenish-dusky. Iris hazel. Feet of a duller yellow than those of female ; the head and neck are pale, dull buff", lon- gitudinally marked with brownish-black lines, which are broader and darker on the top of the head ; the fore-parts of the cheek and the throat whitish, without markings. The upper parts are dark brown, the feathers margined with brownish-white. The smaller wing-coverts colored as in the male, but less brilliantly ; no blue on the scapulars, which are also less elongated. On the lower parts, the feathers are dusky-brown, broadly margined with light brownish-gray, of which there is a streak or spot in the centre. The axillary feathers, and some of the lower wing- coverts are white, but the patch of that color, so conspicuous in the male, is wanting. "Length to end of tail, 15 inches ; to end of wings, 14^; to end of claws, 15^ ; extent of wings, 24 ; wing from flexure, 7| ; tail, 2i^'^ bill along the ridge, 2/2 ; weight, lO^oz. ( speaking of the Wood Ducks as a species of which more than five or six inchviduals are seldom seen together. A would-be naturalist in America, who has had better opportunities of knowing its habits than the admired author of the * American Ornithology,' repeats the same error ; and I am told, believes that all his statements are considered true. . For my own part, I have seen hundreds in a single flock, and have known fifteen to be killed by a single shot. They, however, raise only one brood in the course of the season, unless their eggs or young are destroyed. In this case the female soon finds means of recalling her mate from the flock which he haa ioined.''— Audubon's Birds of America. The discrepant statements, alluded to in the last paragraph, concerning the gregarious habits of the Wood Duck, may be probably accounted for by the difference of the bird's manners in different localities. I have never myself seen above eight or nine of these birds together, and I presume that along the Atlantic seaboard, they are rarely seen in greater numbers. On the Great Lakes, and in the unbounded solitudes of the West, they doubtless congregate, as do many other species, in vast flocks. There is nothing which it behoves the observer of natural history more to guard against than a tendency to convert local or accidental peculiarities of individuals into settled habits of species. All wild animals appear to accommodate themselves with infinite facility to circumstances, and to adapt their man- ners to the necessities of the regions in which they chance to be thrown, more readily than is generally suspected. In one place, a species is solitary ; in another, gregarious in its cus- turns— here it is migratory, there domestic ; and to positive and i in 128 FHANK forester's FIELD SPORTS. general dicta, ascribing these habits invariably to this or that species, much confusion and inconvenience may be attributed. As an instance, I will merely state here, what I shall go into more largely hereafter, that the common Quail, Ortyx Virginia- na, which is to the Westward distinctly a bird of passage, with easily defined habits of migration, eastward of the Dela- ware River is unquestionably stationary; and that from this undoubted fact, a question has arisen whether there were not two different species ; and, that hypothesis proved untenable, a doubt, among the less enlightened of B^astern sportsmen, whe- ther the naturalists and travellers who have insisted oii the migratory habits of the Quail, especially on the Ohio and other large western rivers, have not ignorantly or wilfully falsified the truth. Such mistakes should be guarded against with care, anu all conflicting statements, as made by candid and earnest enquirers, regarded with the utmost liberality and allowance ; which, I regret to say, is too seldom practised by naturalists, who fre- quently appear to regard all who difler from themselves, much in the light of enemies, or of heretics, with whom no terms are to be kept. The last water-fowl, of which I shall give a minute descrip- tion as falling uncler the head of Upland Game, is the PINTAIL DUCK, Anas Acuta— Til kon. Le Canard a Longue Queue— Brissott. The mnter Duck, Sprigtail, Pigeontail, vulgo. "Male 29.36. Female 221.34. "From Texas throughout the interior to the Columbia River, and along the Atlantic coast to Maine, during the winter, and early spring. Breeds in the Arctic regions. Abundant. UPLAND SHOOTING. 129 Bill nearly as long as the head, deeper than broad „. .... a«e, depressed toward the end, the frontal angles short and at tl obtuse. Upper mandible with dorsal 1 line at first sloping, then concave-toward the curved unguis nearly straight ; the ridge broad and flat at the base, then broadly convex ; the sides convex ; the edges soft, with about fifty internal lamelte • unguis small, somewhat triangular, curved abruptly at the broad end. Nostrils sub-basal, lateral, rather s.nall, oval, pervious. Lower mandible fiattish, its angle very long and narrow ; the dorsal line very short, slightly convex ; the sides convex ; the edges soft, with about fifty lamellae. "Head of moderate size, compressed, the forehead rounded Neck rather long and slender. Body full and depressed. Wmgs rather small. Feet very short, placed rather far back • tarsus very short, compressed, at its lower part anteriorly with two senes of scutella, the rest covered with reticulated scales Toes obhquely scutellate above ; first very small, free, with a narrow membrane beneath ; third longest ; fourth a little shorter tlie.r connecting webs entire, reticulated, at the end pectinate' ^.laws small, curved, compressed, acute; the hind one smaller and^more curved-that of the third toe with an inner sharp " Plumage dense, soft, blended. Feathers of the head and neck short ; on the hind head and neck elongated Wi„.s narrow, of moderate length, acute; ti^c, first quill longest, the second nearly equal, the rest rapidly graduated ; outer seconda- ries broad and rounded ; inner elongated and tapering, as are their coverts and the scapulars ; first quill serrated on the outer edge, something like that of the Owl. Tail of moderate len-^th tapering, of fourteen tapering feathers, of which the two middle p.oject far beyond the rest. " Bill black ; the sides of the upper mandible li.^it blue Iris brown. Feet, grayish-blue. Claws black. Head, throat, and upper part of the neck anteriorly greenish-brown, faintly mar- gined behind with purplish-red. A small part of hind neck dark-green ; the rest, and the upper parts in general, beautifully u. I. 9 130 FRANK forester's FIELD SPORTS. undulated with very narrow bars of brownish-black and yellow- ish-white. Smaller wing-coverts, alula and primary quills gray — the latter dark brown toward the end. Speculum of a coppery- red, changing to dull green ; edged anteriorly with light brown- ish-red ; posteriorly with white. The inner secondaries and the scapulars black and green, with broad gray margins. Upper tail-coverts cream-colored, the outer webs blackish and green ; tail light gray, the middle feathers dark brown, glossed with green. On each side of the neck is an oblique band of white, of which color are the under parts in general ; the sides, how- ever, are undulated like the back ; the lateral feathers of the rump cream-colored ; the lower tail-coverts black ; those at the sides edged with white. " Length to the end of tail, 29 inches ; extent of wings, 36 ; bill along the back, 2^^ ; along the edge of lower mandible, 2^*2 ; tarsus, hV ; middle toe with claw, 2-^r^ ; wing from flexure, 1 1 ; tail, b\ ; weight 2lbs. " Adult Female. " The female, which is much smaller, has the upper parts va- riegated with brownish-black and light yellowish-brown ; the margin of the feathers and a mark on each side of the shaft be- ing of the latter color. The speculum is dusky green, margined behind with white. The primary quills grayish-brown. The lower parts are of a light brownish-yellow, the sides variegated with brown ; the bill is black ; the iris brown ; the feet light bluish-gray. " Length, 22-] mches ; extent of wings, 34 ; weight, lib. 9oz. " The first observation that I made, on arriving at Labrador, was that no species of Ducks, excepting those which were en- tirely or chiefly oceanic, seemed to resort to that coast ; and I left the country with the same impression. We saw no Mal- lards, Teals, Widgeons, or Wood Ducks there, nor any species of Merganser, except the Red-breasted, which is a marine bird. The Pintail Duck, then, was not known in the parts of that country which I visited ; nor was it known in Newfoundland, on the Magdeleine Islands, or in the British Province of Nova UPLAND SHOOTmo. jg, Scotia at least along its Atlantic boundaries. I„ Kenlucliv and «>.who,e of the Western country, where it is e^re^^abund ant ,„ early autumn, during winter, and up to a very fdvanel fe found. It follows the waters of the Mississippi to New Or rnds'lT" TT" '" *" ^™™' °f OPP»'°-T and I k h Matd t " '" " Massachusetts, beyond w'hich, like the Mallard, ,t ,s very rarely seen. Indeed, this species is at all fmes rare or, the seacoast of the Atlantic, and mus there fore be regarded as an inland bird a must tliere- by".h?tamr,!f s"''">-," "■» United States, is better known by the name of Spngtad, arnves on the Western waters earlv n October, somet,mes even in September ; the period of its ar"^ nva depeadmg on the state of the weather, or the appearance • is intl riv ""'r''"" " '''''" "™-^- Their" ue « .n 8„e cond,t,on when they arrive; their tail feathers are then a, ng as at any other period, and the whole apparel of th adul bird ,s as perfect as in the breeding season. Whdstwith us, the Pintail is found in company with th. Ml art °ltf ™"" T'^""' *' "'-^'"g'" Tea,, and t Mallard more frequently on ponds than on streams , althoush .t sometimes resorts to the latter, when their shores are over- hung w.th beech-trees, loaded with their nutritious fruits, of «^h,ch th,s spec,es „ extremely fond, and in search of which they even ramble a short distance into the woods. Were this Duek to feed entirely on beech mast, , have no doubt that flesh would be excellent. It feeds on tadpoles in sprin,, on eeches m autumn, while, during the winter, a dead mo' se hould , come ,„ ,ts way, is swallowel with as much avidity a,' by a Mallard. To these articles of food it adds insects of aU kmds ; and, ,n fact, is by no means an .expert fly-ealcher The Pintails are less shy in the Wesiern country than most ^peces of the. family ; and in this respect they resemble tTe Bu-W,nged Teals ; which, in fact, might be called stupid birds, w.th as much propriety as many others. They swim rathe deeply, keep close together, and raise the hind f/n of the body 11 1,; !:. 1 I'll' i l| ^ 132 FRANK forester's FIELD SPORTS. like the Mallards. On the water, on land, or on the wing, se- veral may generally Ije killed at a shot. They are scarcely noc- turnal, but rest much in the middle of the day ; basking in the sunshine whilst on the water, whenever they can indulge in this luxury. " The flight of the Pintails is very rapid, greatly protracted, and almost noiseless. They remain at night in the ponds where they feed; and continue there generally, unless much disturbed. On such occasions they keep in the middle of the water, to avoid their land enemies. In the Middle States they are highly esteemed for the table. There they arrive later, and retire sooner toward their breeding places, than in the country west of the Alleghany Mountains." — Audubon's Birds of America This species, like the last, is seldom found, in the northern part of the Middle and Eastern States, in such large flocks, as it would appear to use in the West. It is often found soli- tary ; and very seldom, in my own experience, are more than three or four to be found in company. I entertain some suspicion that the Pintail Duck occasionally breeds in New Jersey and in New York. In the former State, on one occasion, I shot an adult female bird, in full plumage, as late as the twelfth of May. She rose, before a dead point from an old setter, out of a thick tuft of alders on a large marsh mea- dow. I could find no traces of a nest, but can conceive no object but that of nidification which should have induced the bird to seek such a haunt. I have several times shot these birds during spring Snipe-shooting, so late as the end of April. The American Widgeon, Anas Americana., is occasionally found on fresh waters, especially to the westward of the Ohio ; but rarely frequents rivers, except on their estuaries and sand- bars, where it associates more with the FuligulcB, or Sea Ducks, than with its immediate congeners. It is found on the Chesa- peake with the Canvass-back, and is known as the " Bald- pate." UPLAND SHOOTINO. 133 The Shoveller, Anas Clypeata, is rare in the United States ; though they are found in Louisiana, Florida, and the Carohnas m winter; but are abundant on the streams of the Kocky Mountains and in Texas. The Gadwall, Anas Strepera, is also found, though rarely, along the maritime districts of the States. In the interior, espe- cially on the tributaries of the Ohio, Missouri, and Mississippi, It IS said to abound. It is of solitary habits, rarely congregating m large bodies, and is therefore not generally known in the United States. Of the Sea Ducks, the Golden-Eve, Fuligula Clangula, and the Buffel-Head, Fuligula Albeola, better known as the Whistler," and the « Butter-Ball," are at times found on the fresh waters of the interior, but not in sufficient numbers to ren- der It necessary to do more than name them, as it would be a most liberal courtesy which should extend to them the style of Upland game, which may be held to be completed with the Duck last described.- The list thus concluded, the nomenclature established on fixed grounds, and the general habits and territorial limits of every kind of Upland game being thus laid before the reader. I sha 1 proceed to treat, each in its several place and season, of the Upland shooting of the Eastern and Middle United States and the Provinces, in all its various kinds and phases ; touching upon each according to the date of its commencement in the natural year. mi 111 W 134 THANK forester's FIELD SPORTS. THE UPLAND SHOOTING OF ""HE EASTERN AND MIDDLi lATES, AND OF THE BRITISH PROVINCES. PLAND SHOOTING, which, with the interval of about three months in ordinary seasons, may be enjoyed in some form or other during the whole year, in the Eastern and Middle States, may be divided with propriety into four different heads, commencing with the opening of spring, and terminating only with the termi- nation of the year. These heads are " Spring Snipe Shooting ;" " Summer Cock Shooting;" "Upland Plover Shooting;" and "Autumn Shoot- ing," which might be called " general shooting," inasmuch as in the course of a good day's sport, it is by no means unusual to bring to bag almost every variety of game which I have enume- rated above, the Grouse and the Northern Hare alone excepted. A separate head must be given to Grouse shooting, — by which I mean Pinnated Grouse; since they are so nearly extinct in those districts in which alone Upland Shooting is practised sci- entifically and as a sport, that they are rarely, I might say never met with, by those in pursuit of other game. It will be observed that I am now speaking of Upland shoot- ing, as it m; both established by law, and habitually practised, UPLAND SHOtn-WG. 13o in those of the States in which only game is generally piotected by statute; not as I think it should be. For it is my settled opi- nion that Spring Snipe shooting and Summer Cock shooting are both abominations ; and that both humanity and policy forbid the slaughter of these birds of passage, until they have finished rear- ing their young, and until those young have attained their full growth. On this topic I shall enlarge hereafter, under the head of " Game Preservation ;" though I have but slight hopes that any steps will be taken, which can avail to preserve all the winged game of America from speedy extermination. In like manner, I shall defer the observations, which I propose to make on the species, management, diseases, etc., of Sporting Dogs, and and on the qualities and management of the Fowlingpiece, and the art of shooting on the Wing, until I have got through what ) have to say on Upland shooting generally. And here I will remark, once for all, in reply to a question which has already been propounded to me several times, since it has transpu-ed that I am engaged on this work—*' Whether any portion of it will be set apart especially for the instruction of young sportsmen ?»— I am aware of nothing in the science of woodcraft more appropriate to be learned by the beginner, than another. There is no patent by which skill may be ac- quired, no formula to be learned, after which all is plain and easy sailing. So soon as any person has acquired the power of bringing up his gun correctly on an object, and firing it at once without dwelling on his aim, he is fit to take the° field; and after this, all the difference between the old and young, the good and bad, sportsman, natural qualifications which cannot be a.-|uired alone excepted, is the amount of practice, and the extent of observation. He who most thoroughly understands the natural history, the instincts and the habits, both of the animals which he pursues and the animals which he uses as assistants in pursuit will necessarily be the best sportsman ; and all that the best sport- ing writer can accomplish is to give a small number of facts on which to work ; and so to throw out many suggestions, which shall lead the sportsman into the habit of thinking for himself, ]36 FRANK forester's FIELD SPORTS. and seeing with his own eyes; and above all, cause him to avoid regarding the smallest peculiarity he may observe in tlie field of nature unworthy of consideration. With regard to the art of shooting, a very few instructions only can be given, and they can do but little toward the formation of a shot. Practice alone can make a good shot, even of one en- dowed with the greatest natural aptitude ; and, without the gift of natural aptitude, no one can ever hope to be a crack shot on the wing. No one, however, who desires it, need des pair of becoming, in something more than a moderate degree, a proficient in this beautiful art, since the introduction of the percussion system; which has so greatly simplified the art, and diminished the difficulty of shooting on the wing, that it IS a current remark now-a-days that, «a bad shot in 1848 is a rarer thing to meet than a good one was in 1800 " The same thing is in a less degree the case with the man- agement of dogs in the field; there are, it is true, general, aye, and particular rules, which may be laid down for the guidance of the hunter ; which rules, if strenuously put in practice, shall be m themselves all sufficient. But to this end practice is essential-practice in learning when and how each rule is to be put m force; practice in controlling " -patience, in combat- ing temper, in acquiring perfect coolness ' complete seF- command. No man may hope, let him kno, ,w to do so never so well, to govern his dogs, until he ha. -ned first to govern himself. If I were asked to state wha. re the three things most necessary to the formation of the -feet sportsman, I think I should parody the reply of the at Athenian rhetorician, and reply, " Practice ! practice ! practice »" But of these things severally in their places : and now to the field for spring Snipe-shooting. Ui'LAND SHOOTING. la? SPRING SNIPE-SHOOTING American S^iPE.^Scolopax misonii,^y,hich ,s commonly known in this country as the Enghsh Snipe, but which is undoubtedly a distinct species, winters, as we have seen, in the .Southern States, and yet southward of the most southern • being rarebr found in the winter northward, or in the summer south- ward, of the Carolinas. The great multitude breed far to th.e northward, not only of the United States, but of the British Provinces, in the vast marshy tracts which extend inland nearly to the Arctic Ocean. Many however, make their nests and rear their young in the secluded morasses of Maine, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick ; and a few pairs, here and there throughout the Eastern and Middle States, becoming less frequent as they advance toward the South so far probably as the north of Pennsylvania. ' In Western Canada, in the neighborhood of Amherstberg, they are likewise found during the breeding season, and probably on the southern verge of the Great Lakes likewise. They are, however, with us, from New Jersey eastward, essentially a spring and autumn passing visitant ; and this is their character so far northward as Quebec. In New Brunswick and ! 'f M^ M ii Mkiti 138 FRANK forester's FIELD SPORTS. Nova Scotia they may perhaps be regarded as a summer resident ; though I am persuaded that their numbers, even there, in the spring and autumn, will be found vastly to exceed the tale of those which remain and rear their young. Throughout the Southern and Western country they are, on the contrary, winter residents. Now the shooting of these birds in spring, as they are either pairing here preparatory to breeding, or moving northward pre- paratory to pairing, or even actually breeding — as is the case when they are shot in May — is precisely what it would be to shoot Woodcock in February, March, and April, or Quail so late as to the middle of May ; the destruction of the breeders, and con- sequent diminution of the number of the next year's young, being the same in both cases. The American Snipe lays four eggs ; the death, therefore, of every Snipe during spring shooting is equivalent to the death of five of these beautiful and sporting little birds. This, one would suppose, would be conclusive against the practice ; but if he venture to break ground in favor of the abo- lition by law of this unfair, and I must think, unsportsmanlike practice, he is met and silenced by some such exquisite reason as this — that if spring Snipe-shooting were prohibited, we should have no spring shooting at all ; and the same exquisite reason is adduced against the only step which can save the Woodcock from extermination, I mean the abolition of summer cock- shooting. To return, however, to spring Snipe-shooting, as it is. So soon as the spring is fairly broken, and the frost — to use u common phrase — entirely out of the ground, the Snipe begins to appear upon our meadows. This breaking of the spring, and disappearance of the subterranean frost is, as is well known, very uncertain as regards the time of its occurrence. Sometimes, particularly when the winter has been continuous and severe, spring comes upon us suddenly and remains permanent — with no cold squalls and nipping frosts intermediate — increasing still into perfect summer. At other times, most frequently when f may ri'1^~ ^i t fr:^ nrnn i UPLAND SHOOTING. 139 the winter has been uncertain open and variable, and when ibe months of January and February have been, as was the case in 1S43, unusually mild and genial, there is, as it were, no spring at all, winter lingering into the lap of June In the year above mentioned, the ground was white with snow in Philadelphia on the first of that month. In the former of these two kinds of spring, the Snipe compose themselves for a long sojourn, lie well to the dog, grow very fat and lazy, and defer their departure till the weather becomes so warm and dry as to render their migration a matter of necessity. As an example of this, in the spring of 1836 I drove from New York into Orange county, on the 10th of April, in a sleigh, over deep snow; and, within a week afterward, and thence up to the 10th of June, shot Snipe in abundance in New Jersey, both at Chatham and Pine Brook, on the Passaic. In the latter there is sometimes no spring shooting at all ; the birds merely alighting in whisps or small parties, from five to twenty in number, remaining a single day, and then off again Northward, with no tarrying. For several years, latterly, spring Snipe-shooting has been so indiflerent, that few sportsmen have followed it, and that the mar- kets have been badly suj plied. The arrival, however, of the Snipe in New Jersey— in South-j ern New York there is little good Snipe-ground—varies from the tenth of March, which is the earliest date at which I have ever seen them plentiful on the Upland meadows, to the fifteenth of April. If they have not arrived at the latter of these dates, it may generally be taken for granted, that the year will have n9 spring Saipe-shooting. It must be observed that obtaining great sport in spring Snipe- shooting must always, to those who do not reside immediately on the ground, be more or less a matter of good fortune ; since it is not above once, in five or six years, that these birds come on and stay under such favorable circumstances, as cause them to settle, as it is termed, to the ground ; and, when this is not the case, succes- sive flights arriving, tarrying for a few days and passing onward, 140 FRANK FORESTEB's FIELD SPORTS. it Is very possible that a stranger, coming from a distance to shoot will find the meadows which were yesterday alive with Snipe entirely deserted, and vice versa. Still there are signs and tokens both of the weather and of the animal creation— temperatures of the former and coincidences of the latter— by which the observant sportsman may come at con- clusions, even at a distance from his ground, and seldom errone- ously, concerning the arrival and sojourn of Snipe. And again, the biids have habits and haunts, during various aspects and sudden changes of weather, a thorough knowledge of which will enable one sportsman to fill his bag, while another on the same ground shall make up his mind in despair, that there are no Snipe on the meadows. There is no bird whose habits I have studied more closely than those of the Snipe, more especially during b=i vernal visit to our part of the country, for which my residence, nearly adjoining the very finest Snipe-ground, as I believe it even yet to be, in the world, has given me great facilities ; and I have it in my power to point out one or two peculiarities— tending, by the way, more com- pletely to distinguish it from the European species— which have escaped the observation of our great American naturalists, Wilson and Audubon. I have, moreover, shot them from Delaware southward, to Quebec, in the north ; and from the Niagara River to the coun- try about the Penobscot; so that I have not been without oppor- tunity of becoming acquainted in some degree with their habits, throughout the whole geographical area of their spring and autumn migration ; and here I would state, though with much deference, as becomes one diflfering from so high an authority, that neither in this nor in any other of our migratory birds of Game is there so much difference with regard to the time of their arrival and departure within the limits I have named, as Mr. Audubon would make. That eloquent writer and accurate observer, states the arrival of this bird to be a month later, varying with the season, in Maine than in Pennsylvania ; and ten days later yet in Nova UPLAND SHOOTING. 141 Scotia Now I am satisfied that, unless when the winter is ex- tremely short and spring unusually warm and early to the West- ward, this discrepancy is greatly overrated. The average commencement of Snipe-shooting, even in Dela- ware, is not earlier, I am convinced, than the first of April ; and, except in uncommonly early seasons, they appear almost simulta- neously in New Jersey and New York. Early in April, I have shot these birds in abundance close to the Falls of Niagara ; early in April I have shot them in Maine ; and at the end of that same month, I have shot them on the upland pastures around Quebec. On average seasons, that is to say seasons in which the spring is everywhere late and backward, I have found by my own ob- servation, that the arrival both of the Woodcock and of the Snipe is nearly simultaneous, from Pennsylvania to Maine, and I believe on enquiry such will prove to be the case. This is, however, except as a matter of curiosity, tending to throw light on the breeding seasons of our bird in various places, and so to enable us to legislate with most advantage for his pre- servation, a matter of small importance ; for, from the moment of his arrival in each several locality, until that of his departure, he is incessantly persecuted and pursued ; and, as the causes of his arrival are the same in all places, so will, I apprehend, be the signs of his coming also. The next observation that I would make in this place, is to guard the sportsman, in the United States and Canada, from placing the slightest reliance on the maxims, advice or opinions promulgated, even in the best sporting books published in Eng- land, concerning the Snipe, or its congener the Woodcock. The birds are in every respect different from the European species, as to their habits, haunts and seasons ; and one point of difference alone is sufficient to render all that is laid down with regard to the manner of hunting them there, entirely useless here. There they are winter, here more or less summer, birds of passage; so that the localities which they frequent in the two hemispheres are of course nearly opposite. Not an English book but will tell you, and tell you tnily, as u» FBAKlt forester's FIELD SPORTS. regard, ,h. E„gh,h Snipe, that the most favorable weather for the sport « dark, blowing, drizzling days-the very worst co" cetvable for our bird ; which is apt to be as wild Ja HalkTn w.„d e„h ^i,^i^ will sometimes lie till it is difficllt" b; "f rrno'f • "^™' ""-" ''="■ -'* "•» -'-^ '-'-^• In the first place, observe, as regards the arrival of Snipe on be meadows, that i, matters not how fair and mild and wa™ o .U^lZl ";' -r' ""^ ^^- '■"■"-y O'^". overhead not a btrd w.ll be found until die subterranean frost and ice havj been enttrely dissipated , which is rarely the case until after a ^jedays'stonn of rain, withastiff easterly blow.succeeded,; soft, spnng-hke weather. ' Jtrl- 'T ^° """*"'' """• ™ ■"o™'^ "»'' bog -oadows, whether fresh or sat, the underground frost lasts much longe unthawedthan .t does on the uplands. In one instance, I'rl member findmg all the meadows as hard as ice below some six .nches of soft mud, when the frost had disappeared fman^ .n the burstmg buds and springing grass. Of course not a bird was to be found. little Blue-Bxrd ; and so soon as he has taken up his residence with us, and commenced cleaning out his accustomed box, or pre- paring materials for his nest in the hole of a decayed apple-tree we may be sure that the Snipe is not far distant. WTien the buds of the willow trees display their yellowish verdure, and the chxrpmg croak of the frogs rises from every swampy pond, we may ieel confident that he is to be found on the meadows ; but not until the Shad is abundant at the mouths of our rivers, is the bnipe plentiful on the inland morasses. On his first arrival, he generally hangs for two or three days m small whisps, or, ofteneryet, scattered individually, along the salt meadows on the coast, especially in places where fresh spnngs boil up from the ground, or spring-brooks trickle down trom the upland. UPLAND SHOOTING. 143 At such times, a few straggling birds may be picked up on the south side of Long Island, where the trout-streams, below the pond-dams, overflow the salt meadows, before a solitary Snipe has appeared inland. Tlien the salt marshes about the mouths of the Raritan, the Hackensac, and the Passaic, attract them in turn for a few days ; after which they gradually ascend the courses of those streams to the great tracts of morass and bog-meadow, which are spread out for leagues, the very Para- dise of the Snipe-shooter, especially about the last-named river. Here, if the weather is favorable and settled, they remain for many weeks ; and may be pursued with much success and sport, by the skilful sportsman, whatever may be the nature of the day, unless it has been preceded by a very sharp frost. The most favorable time is, undoubtedly, the first fine warm day after a long, easterly rain-storm ; and, so thoroughly am I convinced of this fact, that for many seasons, while resident in New York, it was my habit to order my horses, and set out on the third day of a north-eastern storm, if the sky showed the slightest prospect of clearing, before the rain had in the least abated. It has more than once happened to me, thus setting off late in the evening, while it was yet raining, to see the sky gra- dually clear up, and to hear the shrill squeak of the Snipe travel- ling overhead faster than myself, though in the same direction, before reaching my shooting-ground, scarce twenty miles distant ; and I have been amply rewarded for mj' trouble by an excellent and undisturbed day's sport, over meadows well stocked with birds, and as yet virgin of gunners. In such cases, it will often, however, happen that the weather on the one or more days which can be spared for shooting, proves wild, windy and unfavorable ; yet the sportsman who has trav- elled from a distance must take it as he finds it — if he reside on the spot he can, and of course will, pick his own days ; which, it he be wise, will be those soft, moist, silvery mornings, which so often follow slight hoar-frosts, when the heaven is covered with the thinnest filmy haze, through which the sunbeams are poured down warm but mellow, and when there is just enough of low m b '111 5g»--»l.-Hfe»» 144 FRANK forester's FIELD SPORTS. southerly wind abroad to dry the herbage and to give the dogs a chance of scenting their game. As the stranger cannot thus choose, it is most important that he should know how to make the best of bad circumstances ; for even m the worst weather, if there be birds at all upon his range knowing his ground and the habits of his bird, he will be aole' nme times out of ten, to make a fair day's work. ' I once shot three successive days over the Long Meadow, Lewises the Troy and Parsippany Meadows, from Pine Brook, with a friend, in the very worst weather I ever saw for Snipe- shooting-dry, keen, cutting north-easters, with the dust flyL one half hour, and the sun shining clear but cold, and hailstones pelting down the next. The birds were, of course, as wild as can be imagined ; drumming high up in the air, and performing, all kinds of unusual antics ; yet, by dint of good dogs, desperate fagging, and a perfect knowledge of our ground, we picked up sixty-two couple of Snipe, besides a few Duck, in the course ot three days. No great work, it is true, nor much to boast of; but, mark me »ot«-during those same three days, two other gentlemen, as good shots as ourselves, perhaps better, beat the same meadows, put- ting up at the rival tavern, and hunting .o exactly the same line of country with ourselves, that we met and conversed with them more than once each day. These gentlemen bagged, in all eleven Sr.pe and a Sandpiper; and that for the simplest reason imagmablo-they did not know where to look for Snipe in wild weather, while we did. It is, of course, unnecessary to tell any person acquainted with the first elements of Shooting, that the Snipe feeds, not on sue tion, but on small worms and other insects, which he collects by boring ,n moist earth with his long sensitive bill. His favorite feeding-grounds are, therefore, soft, sloppy tracts, where the soil IS rich vegetable loam, or bog-earth, interspersed with springs, and sparsely covered with low, succulent grasses ;-enrth, from the s^urface of which the waters have recentlv subsided, and on Which a muddy, rust-colored scum has been deposited, on their PPLAND SHOOTING. Ud subsidence or evaporation, abounds with food of the kind they most rehsh ; and in such places they are often seen to feed. But m such, as the ground is either bare or but sparsely covered, they will rarely he, so as to afford sport, until late in the season, when the young grass has acquired some height-when the sun has gamed power, and repose and epicurean habits have rendered the J>nipe tame and lazy. If, however, we can find ground such as I have described, inter- spersed w.th tussocky bogs and tufts of long grass, affording shelter to he b:rds, ,nto which they will run, and among which they will skulk m ordinary weather, so soon as they discover the ap^ proach of mtruders, the chance of sport will be very considerable m cold dry winds, however, the birds will nni evon feed much less he to the dog, on such ground ; and consequently we must m such weather look for them in very different places; places, indeed, m which no books of natural history, that I know tie? , r '' "'' '''"' ^"' '" ^^"^^ ^' -h^ 'h ^he authol' ties tell us they are never to be found. But, to proceed in order; the Snipe when flushed «e.er rises, down . d the resistance of the air appearing to be necelar"^ e.ab e him to get under way. On his first rising, which he does for the most part about breast-high, he hangs on the air a little before he gathers wing, and then darts away „;, wind, if possible' If not, across wind, tack and tack, with extreme rapidity, and w.th a. g-zag flight, which renders them puzzling object to a begmner. I think, however, that to a person accustomed to their motions, they are as easy a bird to kill as any that flies Mr Audubon states, in allusion to this supposed difficulty of killi„. Snipe, that he who can kill thirty in succession, without missing one IS a good hand at any kind of shooting. I suppose Mr Audubon IS speaking ironically; for if by can kill, he means habitually, or even frequently kills, he speaks of an impossibility No man ever lived who could kill, in that sense, either thirty Snipe, or thirty of any other bird that flies, in succession I have seen many crack shots in my life, both here and in Eng- land ; but I never saw the man, and never expect to see him VOL. I. 10 '» : I'M I MM! r^wmBK0Ht^SbmKmmmimm 146 FRANK forester's FIELD SPORTS. who, shooting at every bird that rises in distance, can kill four out of five under the most favorable circumstances, day in and day out. He who bags three out of five, in covert and out of covert, from March Snipe to December Quail, is a top-sawyer ; and can hold his own anywhere, and against any one. Some men may perhaps kill twenty shots in succession, picked out of fifty birds which ought to have been shot at ; but my word for it, they will get easily beaten by the man who pretends to no such feat, but who pulls his trigger, whenever there is a chance of killing. The real test of shooting, no less than of sportsmanship, is the finding and bagging the greatest number of birds within a given Ume, without the smallest reference to the number of shots fired. The surest of all M-ays to ensure the never becoming a good shot, is to be afraid of missing. Shoot at everything that rises within distance, remembering always, as an old Yorkshire game- keeper, by whose side I bagged by first Snipe some eight-and- twenty years ago, was wont to admonish me, that t' Snaipe was i' t' maist danger. If you miss, say with Jacob Faithful, "bet- ter luck next time," and endeavor to observe and remember how and why you missed him ; whether you shot above, below, or to the right or left of him ; this will give you steadiness and cool- ness it first ; and, when you succeed in remembering, will have done much already toward preventing you from missincr fair shots at least. For the rest, birds will dodge, at times, just when the trigger is drawn ; boughs will be in the way; the sun will shme in the face of the best shots— moreover, the steadiest nerves will sometimes be shaken or unstrung, and the quickest finger will be a thumb on some days to the best sportsman. I know a right good shot, and a good sportsman too, and a good friend of mine to boot, who does not pretend to kill quite three out of five, year in and year out ; but who is wont to say, which is very wrong of him, though I believe perfectly true, that he'll be d— d if he can't beat any man, who can kill twenty shots in succession. So much for thine encouragement, my young beginner. (iood more, c from sa did, nor This, of Game digressio moment he utters with him gathers a shoot thi of time in the trigge shoulder. The ol twisting, stuflf, like raising th baiTelled Would km in success! was painfi quickest b Anothei the best d( slow Point lieve, nine could be bi or Water ^ the dead oi slow gunnii The best money — thi Setters, for but Pointer UPLAND SHOOTING. 117 fill I'll I' !' ill more, even ,„ thick covert; but that is a very different thin, from saying can kill them. That I am s^iilJ ^ did, nor ever will do. ' ^'^ °° """" ^^^"^ dtresln Mr A .' K "'""' "^"'^ '^^^ ^^^ "^« *« ^^^ ''ttle aigression, Mr Audubon remarks that he has fonnrl iU. ^. ! h uteer, h« peculiar .hrill .,u.ak ; .„d i\us I perfecZg^t fhlnHl, Y '/ "" """"""'^ """ ">e mo,t killing way to oft,™ in wh,ch he hang, on the wind-that is to sav to nuD Lir ""'"' '"'"■" *» ^"'""-- ^- 'our ,r The old school method was to wait tiU the bird had done toff r!' Tt"" "' """^ '""^ ^"'* "«'— i "u, aVtha ™«mg the gun, was well enough for the days of W ainrie^ bart^elled g„ns with flint locks. A good shot of the prird t would knock over his dozen couple of right and left'^h'^t^ waspamfullyp,ck,.gup his half dozen. Ca,teru paHiu. the quickest shot is the best shot. Anodier maxim of the same age and the same school is, that flie best dog over which to shoot Snipe is an old broken-d^wn low Pointer-perhaps ha i, for a pot-hunter! Indeed I 12 heve, nme times out of ten n« ^,„„ i,- j 7 could be bagged without a dog at all , „r with a Newfoundland or Water Spaniel, kept entirely at heel, and only used to "trie e The best dog» for Snipe are the best dogs that can be got for Setteis for my use, seeing that I prefer them for all purposes • but Pointers, if you will. »' purposes , i 148 FRANK forester's FIELD SPORTS. If they be staunch, and have good noses, and back well, and drop to shot, where they are, without stirring from the spot, and without being shouted at, they cannot be too fast ; and, if they wi:I not do these things, it matters not -hether they be fast or slow — they are worthless. The most effective-sized shot for Snipe shooting is unquestion- ably No 8. With coarser shot, the charge will be so much dispersed that so small a bird as the Snipe will constantly escape being hit, even when covered fairly; with smaller, birds will continually be wounded only, within point blank distance; and will frequently go away entirely unharmed. Farther than this, it is very rare to find a lever-topped belt or flask-which IS by far the best implement for canying shot- that will not suffer any shot smaller than No. 8 to escape, even when the spring is down. Mauy Ens&h writem, I observe, recommeml the use ef two d.ffe,ent ,„ed ki„d of .hot, „„e in ei.he,- l,„r,el , l,„t thi, is, i„ my op,„,on, neither sportsmanlike nor effecve. In all events he barrels of a gnn ought to be fired alternately, otherwise,' « fi-e smgle shots are fired for one double, one ba,™l will be worn out wb.le the other is, con,,>aratively speaking, new. Mv own expertence ha, taught me that for all our Upland shootin/ except tha, of the Pinnated Grouse, at all seasons of Z"2 Teart-n nf " "'°"'-»'"'«™8 S'™. P™perl, brought to bea., w,Il nddle Us targe, thoroughly at the same distance. All hat ,. gamed ,, weight and power by the nse of larger shot is ost ,n the condensation of a charge. This will be e.Sly uX. s.oo,l when the reader i, informed tha, an ounce of No 8 shot cont.,„s s,x hundred grains, or pellets, while No. 7 contains 1„ rtree hundred and f-„rty-„„e, so that at the same di„an e wttb tl.e same gun, the chances are nearly as two to one in favor of h,t..ng a small mart with No. 8 over the yJ,JlZ .be greater the d.stance, the greater the advantage in th.^ ' e ,' •f the smaller pellets, inasmuch as all sho. fre ptope e o„ DPLAND SHOOTINO. liU tliverging lines; and consequently, the longer the range the greater will be the interval between the grains. When birds are very wild, however, I strongly recommend the use of Eley's wire cartridges, of the same No. 8 shot, which I consider an invention in gunnery second only to percussion I will state here briefly, for the benefit of those who have not seen this missile, that the object of the contrivance is to propel the charge, like a single ball, for some fifteen or more yards from the gun's muzzle. After this distance the case bursts, and the shot diverges as in an ordinary charge. The gain, there- fore, in distance, is precisely that to which the case is driven unbroken. This differs in the three different kinds of cart- > ridges, blue, red, and green. The last of these must never be used, except in fowl-shooting on the bays, as the range is pro- digious, and on Upland dangerous. The blue, which is the common kind, will increase the range of every gun, in close- ness as in strength, from fifteen to twenty yards; and the red from twenty to forty. The more heavily you charge with powder, the more closely will the cartridge carry ; the converse of this proposition being true of loose shot. It is useless, however, for any person to use Eley's cartridge, who is not cool enough to let a bird, which gets up under his feet, go away twenty yards before firing at him ; and who cannot shoot well enough to kill at forty, with an exceedingly close canying gun. I have shot Snipe, when very wild, and Quail in open ground, very late in the season, with blue cart- ridges in my first, and red in my second banel, and that with great success. I would, however, prefer the use of loose shot and a blue cartridge. With regard to dress, it may be well here to say a word or two ; for Snipe shooting is a difficult and dirty business, as far as the walking is conceraed, and requires an athletic frame, and a hardy constitution. .For my own part, I have never found any contrivance succeed in keeping the feet dry ; for a siiin^le fall, or heavy splash, things of common occurrence, will fill the tops of the longest and most secure water-proof boots; 100 FRANK FORESTKR's FIELD SPORTS. Indian rubber is an abomination ; aa, if it excludes water, it also excludes- air, prevents ventilation, and enclosing all the exudations and transpirations of the pores, is equally uncom- fortable, unwholesome, and filthy. The moment boots are full of water, they are a dead weight, and of course a disadvan- tage ; I have, therefore, in all ordinary ground, long abandoned the attempt to keep dry ; and invariably use laced ancle boots of heavy cowhide, for all sorts of sporting. These may be worn either with short gaiters and trousers ; or, what I consider in every particular superior, and especially in the facility, they give to movement in encumbered ground, or among brushwood and stumps, knee-breeches, and leathern leggins, buttoned on the outside. The breeches may be made of corduroy or fus- tian for spring and winter, of duck or drilling for summer shooting ; and, if made long and loose from the hip to the knee, I believe no walker who has once adopted them in this climate' will ever return to heavy boots and trousers. If, however, the Snipe-shooter is determined on endeavoring to keep himself dry, he had better provide himself with long boots from Canada, which he can procure, perfectly water- proof and of excellent quality, of any maker in Montreal or Quebec, for eight dollars a pair ; whereas the same, not equal- ly well-made, would cost him double the price, in New- York. I will here, farther state, that Mr. Cullen, No. 119 Broad- way, New- York, is the oAly workman on this side the Atlantic, whom I know, that can turn out a real- working-shooting-boot or shoe. If you adopt my plan, reader mine, you must make up your mmd to get wet through in five minutes after going out, and to continue wet through, until your return home at night ; but be- lieve me, as in many other cases, ce n'cst que le premier pas qui cmte, the first shock is all that you have to dread ; the water within the shoe immediately becomes warm, by contact with the foot, and you think no more about it, after five minutes; while in a long day's fag the absence of the heavy, dragging UPLAND SHOOTING. 161 watcr-!o^ged jack-boots will make a difference in favor of yotir comforts, that words can hardly describe. About a shooting-jacket, I have only to say that it cannot be too easy, or have too many pockets. For material, every man has his own fancy ; I 2)refor strong corduroy for winter, and drilling or Russia duck for summer. Game-pockets filling the whole inside of both skirts will be found to carry a large bag with much less exertion to the sportsman, than the ordinary game-bag. A low-crowned, broad-brimmed hat is as good for ojxn shoot- ing as any other head gear ; but for covert work, a close skull- cap, with a long peak, is the thing. The best preparation for keeping boots, or leathern leggins, soft, is currier's dubbing, which can be procured of any tanner. The best water dressing is equal parts of tar, tallow, and Venice turpentine, melted together in an earthen pipkin, and brushed slowly and gradually into the leather, before a slow fire, with a painter's sash-tool. This should be repeated every time the boots are used ; and it is well to observe that sun-heat is far su- perior to fire-heat for the drying of wet boots ; and that it is scarcely possible to dry saturated leather too slowly. These short memoranda, with regard to dress, will do once for all ; they are equally applicable to all seasons and sports, and I am not aware that anything more of real advantage could be said in a volume on this subject Now fully equipped with all things necessary for our sport, we will take the field ; and supposing the morning to be flivor- able, with a light breeze from the south-westward, the sky sunny, yet shadowed by floating clouds, the herbage underfoot drij, but the soil moist and succulent, we may make sure of sport. In the first place we will begin to beat, and persist in beating our ground down-wind, even if we have to make a large and te- dious circuit in order to do so. The advantage of this, arising from the habit of the Snipe, before mentioned, of rising invana- hhj up-wind, is that the wild birds will be compelled to cross us 16S THANK forester's FIELD SPORTS. to the ritrht or loft, affording much closer and oo-^r uh^' . than >r wo hunt thorn in the ordinary manner T a,n awaro that thoro in an objection to this, in the fact that tho do,, .n some decree lose the favor of the wind ; hut dogs p. ;. -ly broken to this sport, should ,ua.ter their .ri.un.l r fu.' " ly Lnloro y,.,, working with their noses up-wind. and crol . . an rccrosHing at every forty or fifty yard's, and wi fi a I d.fhculty m pomting such birds as will lie to them ins wonderful how easily dogs, which are always shot over J he same man-he being one who knows his b^iness-wil learn to cross and requaiter their ground, turning to the slilt thevt tfV:.''^" ""^'^^ ^°^"'''^ their master's eye. f old ,ed nsh setter, which had been stone-deaf for his two las" eas b , .Hich I found no more difficulty in tu^:! rt an any other dog. so accurately did he know when to look L the un7noM" t"^ ''"' '"r ^'"'"^'^ ^^^^ " ^« by h'« ™-t«r's will, and not by his own, that he is to beat his ground, it is extraor dmary how eagerly he willconsult. and how readily he wil ^oon come to perceive, his pleasure. ^ " and ^r '"^T^'y '^''-<^'^- two modes of shooting Snipe, up a !./«.« wmd ; and thatwithdogs of all kinds and cond tij -1 T have no es.tation in declaring my conviction, that by work vhe IXS .r^''^^ ^" '"^'y -"^ -^ ^-y -n Jy weather. When b,rds he the worst, one-third more shots may be got and oube the number of birds killed, than by giving ^our dogs a^ no : :^ : "•"' '"/^^'^ "--• I" the latter mode.'; is pointin J an ""'^ ^ ^^^ -"^--"y drawing, and perhaps seeing hL ' ' "'^' ""' ^^^ ^'''^''^^' ^nd of Ten vorir^""^^-^^ " away up-wind. at a rate which sets even your blue cartridge at defiance. yofrsdflf """";"'' " ''' -"^-^y^the birds, headed by yourself and your dog. are likely enough to got confused and tTPLAND SHOOTING. 16$ t I bothered, and to lio hard ; and ovon if your Bottor or pointer do nin m upon two or throe, in a day's shooting, tho <,dclH aro, us Snipo-Bhooting is always more or less *««/. shooting, that you will got a long cross shot at those, and perhaps bag them ; and at all events, for every bird you lose thus, you will lose four which will whistle away unshot at, dead in tho wind's eye, if you beat up-wind. I had once an actual trial of this kind accidentally, and on my part unconsciously, with a rather famous English dog-breaker and market shooter, on the Big Piece, a superb and very exten- «vo tract of Snipe-meadow, just above the Little Falls, on the Passn.c, tho result of which I will mention as tending to exem- phfy the fict I have been insisting on. I did not at the time know this fellow, tliough subsecjuently I have kn(,wn him to my cost ; though I afterwards heard that he was acquainted with my person, and had made some small bet, or other, on beating my bag; which, but for his want of know- ledge on this point, he would have done, for I believe he is a better shot, and he had decidedly bettor dogs than I on that day; the best of which became mine in consequence. It was a very wild morning, indeed, early in April, the wind blowing almost a gale from the westward ; and immediately on entering the meadow, I perceived a man in a black velveteen jacket with three very fine dogs, one the red setter I have named before, beating up-wind at some three hundred yards distant I sot to work after my own way, and so we perse- vered all day long, he beating up, nnd I down wind, often within a hundred yards' distance. There were a great many birds on the ground, and I had very fair shooting, getting at least three shots to his two, and those much fairer sliots ; in proof of which I may observe, that I killed three or four double shots during the day, while he did not Jire one. At about four in the aftei^ noon we parted company, not having interchanged speech, and I thought no more about him until I returned to mine inn, when I earned that D had called to inquire how many birds I had kil.ed, and expressed his wonder that a person who. as he was 154 FRANK forester's FIELD SPORTS. fhnTi'? ""7'V" '"^' ^'^ ''"'" '"""''''^''^ ^^«-t shooting, should be such a flat as to shoot Snipe doum-mnd. In the even ing he came into the bar-room, and there found, first of all, that I had beaten „m by some half-dozen birds, which he said he expected ; and, secondly, that it was for a reason, and not for the want of one, that I shot Snipe down-wind. He admitted at once that he saw throughout the day that I was getting more and better shots than he, whereat he marvelled, seeing h! knew hxmself better dogged than I ; but that he still marvelled why I should shoot down-wind. He was, however, open to convic- s;;;!:;: ''''''-' -" ^^^^^ ^^ ^-^-^ ^ --» - .-for Double shots at Snipe are by no means uncommon-com- moner, I thmk, than at any other species of gamc-for although as a general rule the snipe is a solitary bird, both in his habits' of fligh and feedmg, and acts independently of his neighbors, you wm usually find numbers of them feeding nearly together andn earl ,^,,„^^ X flv off t ,^^«%^-^-^--s, however, th.y do not usu- ally fly off together, hke a bevy of quail, or a plump of wild fowl, but scatter, each at his own will. Now as the wildest birds always spnng first, it often happens that your discharge, at a long shot, flushes another much nearer by ; I therefore strongly urge zt on begmners to be a Httle patient, and not to blaze away botk barrels m succession at the same bird, or even at two birds nearly out of distance, since by doing so they will very often lose a good chance of bagging a bird close at hand It IS, moreover, a very absurd and unsportsmanlike practice to fire at Snipe out of shot, yet it is a very common one. The Snipe 18 a very small bird, and offers, particularly when flying directly from the shooter, an inconceivably small target It is not possible that one can be killed, with anything like certainty at above fifty yards,--I name an extreme limit. Now, in ordU nary weather, the odds are about three to one, that a bird flushed and not uselessly- shot at, at this distance, will alight again with-' m three or four hundred yards, or upward, and perhaps afford UPLAND SHOOTING. 155 h good chance, and lie to a point. But blaze at T v and per- haps sting him with a stray shot, and he shall fly you a mile at a stretch ; besides that, your shot has disturbed the meadow, and perhaps flushed half-a-dozen others. Let it not be supposed, however, that I would incukate slow and poking shooting ; on the contrary I abhor it. The most unsportsmanlike thing that a man can do, in this line, is not to fire at a bird, when there is a reasonable chance of killing it ; the next, is to fire at a bird when there is not a rea- sonable chance of killing it. Snipe-shooting being practised ninety-nine times out of a hundred in perfectly open ground, the birds can be marked by an experienced hand at the work, to a ^reat distance, and to a great nicety. But there is a good deal of knack in it ; an^ I hardly ever saw a countryman, who did not shoe t, who did mark even decently. An ordinary observer, when ho loses sight of a bird flying low, is apt to suppose he has stopped at the point where he last saw him, a conclusion than which nothing can be more erroneous. Every bird has his own fashion of alighting from the wing, and that of the Snipe and Woodcock is very peculiar ; they both jerk themselves a Httle way up into the air, make a short turn, and pitch down backward. Once noticed, this motion cannot be mistaken ; and once made, you may be sure that the bird has dropped. All that remains to be done is to mark the place, so as to find it again, which in an expanse of open pasture or meadow-land, waving with even grass, or covered with tufts of rushes, each one precisely like its neighbor, is far from an easy matter. The better way is to raise the eye slowly from the spot toward the horizon — in case the ground is quite devoid of any near landmark of stump, bush, pool, or the like — where you will be nearly sure to find some tree, building, hill-top, or other emi- nent object, which you may bring into one line with your bird, after which you will have no difficulty in finding him. In marking dead birds within a near range, you should evei endeavor to fix the very leaf, or branch, or bunch of grass, on ill. . Ill : f^^ 1.. I iili^ 156 FRANK forester's FIEtD SPORTS. Which It has fallen ; and I have found it a good plan, on step, pmg HP after loading to look for your game, to drop your hat. or handkerchief, on that which you conceive to be the exact spot ; otherwise, while looking round among the grass, it is not uncommon to lose the direction altogether. In covert shooting m markmg a bird, whether shot at or not, which flies behind a' brake, impervious to the sight, cast your eye quickly forward to the next opening, a little above the line of the bird's flight if he 18 rising, or below, if dropping on the wing, to make sJe that he does not pass it. If a killed bird is hidden from you by the smoke of your own fire, and you perceive by the stream of fea- thers that he is dead, allow a little for the speed and direction ol his flight, which, if he was going fast when stmck, will often throw him many feet forward of the spot where the shot smote him. The shot itself, if close by and hard hit, will at times pitch him a yard or two out of his course. A Snipe will sometimes, but not generally, carry away a good many shot ; but when he docs so, if marked down, he almost in- vanably rises again. Neither he nor his congener, the Wood- cock, IS in the habit-so common with the Quail, and sometimes with the Ruffed Grouse-of flying away with his death-wound and dying before ho falls. A Quail or Grouse, shot through the heart, or through the brain, will constantly tower, as it is termed directly up into the mid-air, with a perpendicular flight and quick beating of the wings, which are kept up till he vital spark leaves the bird literally in the air, when it turns over on its back and falls hke a stone. In windy weather many Quail are lost thus, drifting out of reach ; but I never saw this occur with a Woodcock, and never but once with a Snipe, which then only flirted up a {ew feet, with an expiring effort. ^ When, therefore, a Snipe goes away hard hit, mark him care- fully, and approach the spot stealthily,— it is all a toss-up whe- ther he lies like a stone, or whirls up at sixty paces, when he hears you coming. But however hard he may lie, never relax your watchfulness, or put your gun under your arm or over your shoulder, till he is bagged. I have seen a crippled bird UPLAND SHOOTING. 167 marked to a square yard, get away, owing to the conviction of the pursuers that he was dead, after the ground had been beaten to and fro by a brace of capital dogs, and trampled all over by as many men ; and I should like to know what can be more pro- voking than such a consummation. For Snipe shooting, the most effective party that I can Con- ceive, will consist of two men, provided that they are sufficiently well acquainted each with the other's style of shooting and hunt- ing dogs, to work well together, — and two dogs, both belonging to and hunted by one man. In this case the sportsman can hunt their dogs alternate days, he whose turn it is not to hunt carefully abstaining from uttering a word, or making a gesture to the dogs. This, of course, can be only done by two old sportsmen, who know each t>^e other's style of sporting, and will consent to give and take mutually something. The advantage gained is this, that a brace of dogs, used to one another, knowing one another's ways, and accustomed to work and live together, will do twice as much, and five times as good work, as a pair of strangers, jealous, and very likely broken in to different styles of action. No two men hunt their dogs precisely alike, — and, conse- quently, no two strange dogs, hunted by two different strange men, can or will work harmoniously together. If each man in- sists on hunting his own dog each day, the men will have bet- ter sport by hunting singly. But, in my opinion, one man wants a brace of dogs in the field, — and yet a brace of dogs are enough for two men. When the number exceeds two guns, for Snipe shooting, by far the better way is to divide into two parties, beating, if you please, in sight each of the other, and so driving the birds backward and forward, — but not sufficiently near to allow the dogs to mix, or become jenlous. The difficulty of getting dogs accustomed to different styles of sporting, to work well together, will be evident at once, if we consider that one sportsman trains his dog to drop to shot where he is when the shot is fired ; another, to come in before ■•■■% i" *i TW^r'""»!W"^P"- 158 FRANK forester's FIELD SPORTS. woS /;\ r '"'*''' '" ^'' '^"^ p"'"^^"^ '"« 'i-^d birds before fetchmg the„. ; another suffers his to go on and fetch as soon as he has loaded ; and yet a third takes no i eed at all. but suffers his brute to rush in as soon as the gun is discharged. The last IS, of course, a barbarism, to which no one worthy of being called a sportsman will resort ; the others are still held to be mooted points ; and there are sportsmen who hold to both I do not myself admit any doubt on the . ibject ; nor do I esteem any dog broken, which does not drop to charge, at the report without stimng from the place.-which does not lie at charge' until ordered to "hold up." and which does not point his dead game, until desired to " fetch." Still, so long as diversity of opinion exists on these points, and dogs are broken according to the good or bad judgment of owners and breakers, different animals cannot be expected to hunt harmoniously together ; and . o unfortunate > the propensity both of men and beasts to learn evil more easily than good knowledge, that two or three days companionship with a rash, headstrong, rushing brute will. It 18 hkely. play the very deuce with your carefully broken dogs, and cause them tc '-ontract tricks, which it will cost you much pains and trouble to eradicate. ^ It is so very common an occurrence, while in pursuit of spring Miipe, to find different kinds of Wild Duck, particularly rhe two varieties of Teal, the Wood Duck, the Mallard, and the Pintail, that it is well worth the while to cany a few red car tndges of No. 1 or No. 2 shot,-Col. Hawker obsei-vin^ of these missiles. " that for a wild open country, or shooting by day at wild fowl, he cannot say too much in their favor in their present improved state." It is scarcely necessary to state here, that when two persons are shooting in company, neither must on any account think of firing at a bird which, however fairly it may rise to hi^^self flies across his companion. Each sportsman should take the' bird which flies outwardly from the common centre ; by doinir which he will not only avoid the incivility of shoothig across hit friend's face, but will, in the long run, bring many more birds UPLAND SHOOTING. 159 to bag ; for, without some such understanding, both charges will constantly "be delivered into one bird, while others are going away unshot at. It is a most uncourteous and clownish fashion, that of shoot- ing across a companion's face, if committed from ignorance only, or carelessness, — if done from jealousy, and a grasping desire of making a larger bag, it is unpardonable and ungentleman- like. A fellow who would do it, should be sent at once, nem. con., to Coventry. The genuine sportsmen will always give, rather than take ; and, even in the case of single birds flying forward in a direct line before two guns, the shot should always be yielded, espe- cially by the person who hunts the dogs, and who may be in some sort regarded as at home, and therefore bound to do the honors to his comrade. Where two persons shoot much together, it is well to take such shots alternately ; and there is another advantage gain'^d by this, as there is by the practice of all punctilios in sporting, that it tends to promote equanimity and coolness, without which nothing great can be effected in this line. So long as the weather holds fair, and the birds lie well to the dog, there remains, T beheve, no more to be said on the subject. But it must be observed, that in wild, windy weather, early in the season, if we know that there are birds on the range, that they have been killed on the meadows in numbers, and for successive days, and that there have been no heavy frosts to ba- nish them from the district, they will be found, as I have before hinted, in haunts altogether different from their usual feeding ground. So soon, therefore, as it is evident that they are not to be found at all, or in anything like adequate numbers, on the meadows, it ^s advisable to turn your attention instantly to the skirts of the nearest woodlands, under sheltered leesides of young plantations, among willow, alder, and briar brakes, and, in short, wherever there is good soft springy feeding ground, perfectly sheltered, and protected from the wind by trees or shrubbery. !-:i;ii i ^m". 160 FRANK FOnESTER's FIELD SPORTS. I first observed this habit of the American Snipe, which is ut- terly at variance with the habit of its European congener, at the J^nghsh Neighborhood, on the Hackensack River, where by mere accident. I stumbled on a number of birds in the cow- paths, among thick brushwood, far above the salt meadows, to- ward the Upland. I next found them in similar ground on a very wild day. at the end of March, or the beginning of April, on the Long Meadow at Pine Brook. On that occasion the birds were all busily employed in drumming,_a habit of the tsn.pe, as it is generally stated by naturalists, during the breed- ing season. I have myself, however, never witnessed it, except immediately on their arrival in this district, long before they had even begun to pair. The habit is. however, clearly connected with their nuptial and vernal propensities, and probably conti- nues from the commencement of their sexual intercourse, to the end of thmr incubation. It is performed, I believe, solely by the male bird, which rises in the air till he is almost out of sight where he disports him for hours in mid ether, sailing round and round m small circles, and at times letting himself fall, fifty feet or more, plumb down, before he again sails on his wing. It is during these perpendicular descents, that this strange, powerful and musical hum is uttered.-it is comparable to no other sound that I can name, and must be heard to be conceived. It is very pleasing and sonorous, and may be distinguished at a great dis- tance Once heard, it can be mistaken for no other noise, made by either bird or beast.-nor will the sportsman be apt to for- get It, as It IS to him strangely ill-omened ; for„while it is goinff on, birds will rarely or never suffer themselves to be approached within gun8hot,-rising, as soon as flushed, spirally into the air each seeming to call up another by the sound, and sporting to- gether aloft, " whiriing round each other," to borrow the elo- quent language of Mr. Audubon, " with extreme velocity, and dancing as it were to their own music ; for at this juncture, and durnij the space of five or six minutes, you hear rolling notes mmghng together, each more or less distinct, perhaps according to the state of the atmosphere." I was surprised'to find that UPLAND SHOOTING. 161 Mr. Audubon here states his doubts, whether this sound is pro- duced by the feathers of the wing,— or rather almost asserts his conviction" that it is vontriloqous. I have lain on the turf for hours, watching them when in tliis mood, and when all farther attempt at pursuit of them would have been useless, and have observed their motions with a good glass. I am myself satis- fied that the sound is produced by the fact, that the bird, by some muscular action or other, turns the quill-feathers edgevvise, as he drops plumb through the air ; and that, while in this posi- tion, during his accelerated descent, the vibration of the feathers, and the passage of the air between them, gives utterance to this wild humming sound. Such likewise is the account given by European naturalists of the same sound which is produced by the Snipe there at the same vernal period ; they mention, moreover, a peculiar cry of the male bird at this season, different from his shrill squeak, on being flushed, which is precisely identical in the American and European species— this they describe as resembling the word " Peet;' thrice repeated in a shrill whistle. This I never have noticed in the American birds ; but, on two different occasions, when the birds were at the very wildest, diiimming away for hours at a stretch, and not giving even a chance of a shot, I have observed another cry, which I cannot find recorded either by Wilson or Audubon, any more than the practice, by which it is accompanied, of alighting on fences, stumps, and even on tall tree-tops. This cry is a sharp, reiterated chatter, consisting of. a quick, jarring repetition of the syllables, kek-kek-kek-Jcck-kek, many times in succession, v/ith a rising and falling inflection, like that of a hen which has just laid an egg. This singular sound is uttered as the bird is descending from its gyrations and musical performances ; and, afler having descended, while it is skim- ming low over the surface of the bog meadows, previous to alighting. While in this humor, I have never seen them alight directly into the grass, but have invariably observed them to set- tle first on the stump of a dead tree, or on a rail fence, anc" VOL. I, 11 ■^il mk^ 163 FRANK forester's FIELD SPORTS. thereafter drop into the rushes. On both of these occasions, the birds Hghted many times on the very topmost branches of the willows, and other trees, which lined the fences ; and on one oc- casion, 1 saw a Snipe take flight from a branch, rise upward, and resume his drumming, without firet returning to the level ground. On the day when I first witnessed these performances, which astonished me, I confess, little less than it would have done had they begun to sing " God save the King," or " Hail Columbia," which would perhaps have been more appropriate— I observed that when, at length, they ceased dnimming, which they did as the day grew hotter, they all flew off" in one direction, toward some meadows overrun with brakes, cat-briars, brambles and thorn bushes ; and herein I had good sport with them for seve- ral hours, after having despaired, in the moniing, of getting a shot at all. Since that time, I have repeatedly found them in similar ground at Chatham, yet higher up on the course of the Passaic, where there is a great deal of covert of that particular nature- low stunted bushes, and briar patches, growing in boggy, springy ground. So notoriously is it the case that Snipe, on their first coming, there frequent such localities, whenever the weather ia not more than commonly warm and genial, rh'at it is the habit of many old sportsmen to beat for them regularly in such places, without trying the meadows at all, on their first arriv- j. I have killed hundreds of couples in such places ; and have put up scores, at a small enumeration, of Woodcock, then sitting m their eggs, from the self-same coverts at the same time. Indeed, the same brakes, a little later in the season, afford the very best cock-shooting. Once, and once only, at the same place, Chat- ham, during a snow-squall, I shot several couple of Snipe in a very thick piece of swampy woodland, among tall timber-trees with heavy undercovert— precisely what one would call admi- rable summer Cock-ground— the Snipe flew in and out of tl,e brakes, and thridded the branches, as rapidly as Quail or Cock would have done, in similar thickets. W'hat has happeni'd UPLAND SHOOTING. 163 once, espocinlly in the ways of animals, is like to occur ajrain ; and 1 should not hesitate, when there was no tract of low springy underwood near at hand tp Snipe meadows, to heat high wet woodlands for this bird, during the permanence of cold storms and violent winds, sufficient to drive them from fho open fields. At all events, let the sportsman remember that in the Middle and Eastern States, bushy ground, briar-patchcfi, alder and willow brakes, and the like, are as regular haunts of Snipe in spring, as bog tussocks or marshy meadows; and tlmt there is no more propriety in his omitting to try such ground for them, than there would be in neglecting to beat thickets and dingles for Quail, because they ordinarily feed on stubbles. While I am mentioning the peculiar habits of the American Snipe, such more particularly as it is not generally known to possess, I may obsei-ve that although not web-footed, or even semi-palmated, this little bird swims rapidly and boldly. I was previously aware that, on falling wing-tipped into the water, it was able to support itself, and even to struggle away from a dog ; but I had no idea that it would take the water of its own accord, till I was a witness to the fact under rather singular circumstances. I was standing still, loading my gun, both bar- rels of which I had just discharged, on the brink of a broad spnng-fed ditch which runs along the lower side of the Long Meadow, when a bird, flushed by a friend at some distance, flew over my head and dropped within ten feet of me, on a spot of bare black soil, between two or three large grassy tua- socks, and the ditch. I had never, at that time, observed the natural motions of the Snipe, when unalai-med ; and I stood watching him, for some time, as he walked gracefully to and fro, and stooped down once or twice and bored in the mud, bringing up each time a small red angle-worm in his bill, utteriy unconscious of my presence. After a minute or two, he delib- erately entered the ditch, and oared himself across it, as easily and far more gracefully than any water-fowl could have done. I have since regretted, that I did not show myself at this mo- mcint, in order that I might have ascertained whether it pos- - Ik- I; tl|| }: 164 FRANif forester's FIELD SPORTS. Bessed the power of taking wing from the surface of water, which I am grentiv irirlincd to doubt. I was well aware pro- viously of thu fuel, that many of the Shore-birds and Sand- pipers sw. n on enuryency, but I little suspected the Snipe of possessing the like power. I know not that the being acquainted with this habit of the Snipe can materially aid the sportsman ; but, in ca«o of dogs drawing on the trail of birds, whicTx had i-un and fed, up to^a brook-side, or on the foot of a wing-tipped bird, I should now certainly try forward, across the water, which I should not pre- viously have done. The peculiarities of cry, flight, and perching, which I have related above, are well known to many of our sportsmen here ; and I can readily produce half-a-dozen witnesses to the various facts I have stated, within a dozen miles of the room in which I am now writing ; as well as to the bird's occasional habit of resorting to the interior of woods, which Mr. Audubon positive- ly asserts that he never does. By the way, since penning the above, it just strikes mo that in the Spring of 1840, when the snow was not entirely off the Uplands, in shooting with a friend from Quebec, we moved three Snipe from a little piece of white-birch woodland, one of which was shot by my companion, and retrieved by my setter in the bushes, and a second of which I killed over a point in the next field, not very far from Lorette. I am inclined to believe all these habits to be purely local, M concerns tlie American bird. Not local, owing to any peculiar circumstance of the place, but of the seasons in which the bird visits or frequents the places. In other words, I sup- pose them all to be connected with the amorous and sexual intercourse of the birds, and to commence and terminate with the breeding season. In the summer, when I have shot a few young birds during Cock-shooting, and m the autumn when I have killed five times as many as I have in spring, I never heard any cry from the Snipe except the regular " scaipe r nor have I ever seen UPLAND SHOOTING. 1C5 it manifost the (tlighteBt inclination to alight on fence, rail, log or tree. I therefore, suppose these hal)its to be, lik«! (immming, peculiar to the season, and analogous to the circling and strut- ting of Doves, the fan-tailing of Peacocks, and the like. I should be curious to leam, however, from my Southern friends, who kill them during the winter in far greater numberH on their Georgia and Carolina rice fields than we can pretend to do on our barren bog meadows, whether they are ever known there either to take to woodland coverts, or to tree. The English Snipe, I am certain, never does either, both f?om my ow, experience, and from the observation of many ol.der and better sportsmen than myself. I have «l)ot the English bird constantly, and for several successive springs, in the fiins of Cambridge and Norfolk ; and I liave heard him drum t i ore more frequently than I have here, but I never heard him chat- ter, or saw him take the tree ; and I am certain that he never does so. While speaking on this subject I must observe, again re- spectfully differing from Mr. Audubon, who asserts that " there is as great a difference between the notes of the English and American species of Snipe, as thore is between the American Crow and the Camon Crow of Europe," that in my opinion the cry of the two Snipes is prrfrrthf identical ; and in this view I am corroborated by the judgment of several English sportsmen, with whom I have habitually shot for many seasons here, and who, like myself, had killed nundreds of couples of Snipe, before visiting America. The number of feathers in the tail of the European and American species differs ; and I am nearly certain that the English bird is somewhat largrr and heavier — Wilson, who first discinguished the two species, noti- ces th' difference in size — but otherwise in appearance, and in all their ordinary habits, they are identical. I lay, how- ever, great stress on the difference of note, in the breedinn- season, and in the other peculiarities alluded to, as settino^ tlie question of variety on a much broader and more distinct base, . (. If I 1, jLtli- loa ntm PORKTER's PlEtD SPORTS. ^ .1,0 ,Ii.,i„c,:„„ b„,„eon .ix.eo„ and fo„.tao„ tail-foathe™, will an inch ,„„,„ „r !„.« i„ |t.„g,|, he,,,, ,1,™ ,.„,k,„ I,,,,, ,„y,„^ p„, J hat., me I have more clea,ly di,corn„d i„ ,^ali.y; an,l l,avo n c„„,o,,„„nce leamod ,„ ,„„k for ,h„m, and fi,fd .hem „„ where 1 »,,„„M „. .„„„ ,,,„ „,„ _^^ - oo iw lor a Snijie, u, England. With ,ega,.d ,„ ,h„ habi.. of ,h„ hinl in summer, I know lit le , 1,„. .ha, h..]e i, onongh .o enable me .o say ,La. ,hey are n no »„e d,«bren, from his an.umnai cn..oms. TheSn"" .w,v !„ ? '", ■''".^' ""' '' "' "■" '■""'• »■"' •"•« drive* •w y by the (,xi«, ,|,o. in immense „nmbe„ on .he mashes a doCi s^r* °"° '":,"'• ^"' '""''-" »f -her p,:: Nf :\l.s^.;;;:r„,^^^^^^^ ^e rrriSL r and acco,di„gly as .he season sets in ea,;"; k.e std '7' regnla.o tbeir ar.ival wi.h, and de„a,ture from n The .7 e». period a. which I have ever l^, ,s tne i,ith ol beptember: when in !Ri9 I hagged fourteen couple and a-half in . A u ' ». Chalham. The la.e,, d.! \ u ^ , '"^ bog-meadow ».h of Novembe . S ,e b;;! ita 7 """ '''"• '' *« -.-. hy an e.ceUen. sprrt^rn";- „J 'Ze'lT;:"' fX unparalleled in .his region. There i, ho ''"''"''"'«'' «"•"■ .l-uht of ,he fac., aa, being hLsIf LrrofTu sT ""'"'^ he .ook unusual pains .o Jfy i. hy snffi~v;:„r Th:: UPLAND SHOOTINa. 167 Aad Iwjon, if I do not eiT, a very early fall of enow, succeeded by hard frosts early in November, and after that, uncommonly mild and open weather. In autumn Snipe-Hhooting there ia nothing to bo observed, except that the birds are more composed and less restless than in the spring ; that, unless pensecuted and driven from the ground by iiK^essant shooting, they linger on the same mea- dows, until the coldness of the weather compels thom to travel southward ; that they lie much better to the dog, allowing themselves to be pointed steadily, and rarely flushing out of fair distance ; and, to conclude, that they are much fatter, much larger, much easier to kill, and much better eating than in the spring season. I have never seen them in bushy ground, or even among briars, in the autumn, though I cannot state that they never take to such places. Mr. Audubon states the weight of the American Snipe at 3 oz. The average weight of the English species is 4 oz. I never, but once, weighed any American birds. I was then struck by their apparently unusual size ; when I weighed twenty-five together at the tavern at Pine Brook, and they averaged within a small fraction of 5 oz. each. The Snipe is delicious eating, inferior to no bird that flies, save the Upland Plover, and the Canvass-Back Duck. Like all birds that feed on, or near the water, he must be eaten Jresh. A ti-ue gastronomer abhora Woodcock, Snipe or wild fowl, in the slightest degree high. Gallinaceous game are the better for keeping, wild fowl and waders are ruined by it. If pos- sible they should be eaten within twenty-four hours after being killed. They should be carefully picked by hand, on no account Jrawn — that is a practice worthy of an Esquimaux, as is that of splitch-cocking and broiling them — the neck should be bent downward, and the bill mn transversely through the body, im- mediately below the pinions ; one leg thrust through the sinew of the other thigh — they should be roasted, at the outside, ten minutes before a very quick, brisk fire ; with no condiment, or I I M: -t.iW'- les ritiire fobester's riitD spoets. JO. t e ,„!,,„ Any made gravy or sauce i, an abomination ■ an,l l,e ,,;„,„,,ce of blanke.i„g ,he birds while roastin '"„ "s of fa. bacon should be held the death-warrant of -.nv! i ■ weU regulated family. A little salt, ZTZZT^ 1" may be ea.en with him , and a g,a,s-or if y„„ ~>ol' -of chambemn drank with him-but, as you Le eschew sauces, vegetables, or-small beer I "^ More people, I believe, know better how to kill . «„■ *^^c,/.«,, when slain. I. becomes the spotsma; ,„ bL " ..oh c pac.t.es ; and, though myself I pa.take a little too much of the true Spant'ers quality to care much about eating gZe I »ho„ d at least have him eaten, if eaten he must be. i 172 for gods, not as a carcase for hounds. PPLANP SHOOTING. 169 SUMMER WOODCOCK SHOOTING. HE wisdom of oar pame laws liaa decided that Woodcock BhuU bo kill- ed and taken, by all and Kundry, in the State of New- York, on and after the first, in the State of New Jersey on and after the fifth day of July ; although in the latter State the prac- tice of the sovereign people has de- temiined that the fourth is the day intended by the enactment, and on the fourth, accordingly, the slaughter commences. In Pennsylvania, and Connecticut, practice at least, if not law — and until recently, if there be now, there was no statute on the subject — ^lias prescribed the same, or nearly the same period, for the commencement of Cock-shooting; and even in those counties of New- York to which the enactment of these game laws, such as they are, does not extend, tacit agreement has prescribed the same regulation, at least am^ng sportsmen. So far, indeed, has this practice been canned, that by means of a convention of this sort, the shooting of Woodcock is ta- huoed, until the fourth of July, even in the islands of the Great Lakes and the Detroit River. The example was set by the officers, I believe, of the American and British garrisons at Detroit and Amherstberg, acting in concert, and the practice has almost become common law. The fact is, therefore, that everywhere through the United States and the British Provinces, whether there is or is not any distinct law on the subject, the commencement of July is as '. 11 1^ 170 PRANK forester's FIELD SPORTS. recTiilarly hailed the legitimate time for Woodcock shooting, as the first of September in England for Partridge h«r ^n *?''"y';^'"^'' ^« •» -''"o^* every respect a century be md .„ the ne.ghhoring States, there is a special proviso that on l„s own ground every man may kill all sorts of game whenever he pleases, without the slightest reference to common Bense or humanity, and may give permission, to any one he p C.SCVS to do hkow.e. A proviso, which not only abrogates the whole law, „, pomt of fact, but in truth gives the poacher a clear advantage over the honorable sportsman. There ks, llPvvever, I imagine, no prospect of any alteration' of h. aw, winch :s in perfect keeping with the pig-headed Btup.d. y manifested throughout the legislation of that State Ami why. ,n f.ct. should not a man be allowed to kill Wall c...- whenever he likes on his own ground, in a State wh^et a CO , , ^^ ^.,, ^^^ ^^^^ ^^^^^^ ^^^^^^^^^ n Ike for kn"" r "'""'' ^ ^"' ^^^'-^^ '^^- whatever they like toi killing them into the bargain ? On the first of July, then. Woodcock shooting legitimately by almost all the restaurateurs and hotel-keepers in New- York :::irir^ ^^ ^^^^ ^^-^^-'« ^^"^ - ^^-ontrarji ^ 1 1 • . "^'* grown or ^hereabout somo only bomg a ew weeks old, and others, in late and ad Ze seasons, scarcely hatched. auvtise The Woodcock commences laying as early as the beginning of February, and sometimes lays so late as to the end of Ze or the beginning of July. The eggs are four, and somJ^e^ nve in number, — of no mnr^ fl,a,, *i • i ""t^umts M "I no moie than this does any nafiinU«f ir, h„J un.e. wl,„. become, of a„ y„„„^ ti,,,, „,. „,^ '^ irPLAND SHOOTING. 171 Now, although the length of time occupied by incubation, is not laid down in the books, it cannot exceed eighteen or twenty days, — the young birds run the moment they clip the shell ; and it is stated by Mr. Audubon, I doubt not, orrectly, that ;c six weeks' old, they are strong and quick on the wing. According to this, there should be many birds well on the wing early in April ; and from all we know of the growth of these birds, no difference being manifest after the August moult between the old and young, these should be fully equal to the parents in size on the first of July. I have myself no doubt, that the Woodcock regularly breeds twice, and sometimes thrice a season, although it is certain that young birds of two different sizes, and consequently different hatchings, are never found in July with the same parents. It occurs to me, but I cannot be sure of the fact, as I only speak from vague recollection, that in the few cases where it is possible to be assured, that all the birds killed are of one brood, — as, for instance, in small hill-swales, and the like, containing one resting-place — I have never seen above one old bird with the brood. In adverse seasons — the worst of which are those which, after a favorable and early spring, become cold and wet in May and June, — when the first brood is destroyed by floods, the old birds do unquestionably breed a second time, and hatch a very late brood, so late as to the middle of July. And of this, I think, the following anecdote will be held sufficient proof and confirmation. This anecdote was published by me some two or three years since, in the columns of a leading monthly magazine, in connec- tion with a number of remarks concerning the habits of the Woodcock, on some of which I have since been led to alter my opinion. I was, at that time, inclined to believe that the parent birds retained several broods of young, of different sizes, about them ; but I am satisfied that this view of the case was errone- ous, and was induced by the accident of two or more broods having come in contact, as is perpetually the case on well- atocked ground, under the care of only cac parent bird each. % .(i 172 FRANK forester's FIELD SPORTS. ■ The only way to verify the facts satisfactorily, would be tor-ark down, in the daily return of game killed, the number of old birds in proportion to young, and to ascertain the sex of the former by dissection. The female bird, it is true, is somewhat the lar- ger ; but It IS not safe to reckon on the eye, or even on the sea es^ for the determination of the sex. By the way, I conceive that there must be some error in the printing of Mr. Audubon's statement concerning this relative disproportion. He states the weight of the male bird at 6i oz., which appears to me, beyond all question, inadequately low,-and that of the female, at 81 oz • while m length the female exceeds the male only by j\ of an mch. This difference is inconceivable, not to say impossible. The understatement of the male Woodcock's weight struck me at first sight ; and I endeavored to account for it to myself, by supposing that Summer Cock had been assumed as the base of calculation. I presume now, that 6| oz. is a typographical er- ror for 8) ; which I should have stated, if asked suddenly, as about the average weight of a full-grown Woodcock. The bird from which the accompanying wood-cut was taken, shot bv mv- self on the 23d of October, 1843, weighed 9| oz.. measured 13 •nches from bill to claw, and 18 from wing to wing extended ; but this was an uncommonly large bird. I have, however heard of their being killed up to 11 oz. Once for all, it appears to me that Mr. Audubon understates the weight of his game birds generally. The coming season I will carry a small scale m my jacket pocket, and would earnestly urge it on every sportsman to do the samr. They can be obtained at any tackle shop, and will weigh up to 10 or 12 lbs., being as portable as a common pencil-case. A few years since— I think it was in 1841— there was a deep fall of snow, covering the greater part of th? St'ate of New York near eighteen inches deep, so late as the 12th or 15th of May It thawed, of course, immediately, and produced a complete in- undation, the early spring having been rather uncommonly dry From this I augured ill for the prospects of the shootin-^ season' But fine weather followed, and by most persons the Spring sno" storm and freshet were forgotten. UPLAND SHOOTING. 173 On the first of July I went with a friend, a good shot and ea- ger sportsman, to a favorite shooting ground, in Orange county, N. Y., on a part of which — for it had a very large range, and contained many varieties of lying — we had bagged on the pre- vious year a hundred and twenty-five birds in a single day's shooting. We shot the first day on the low meadows, and killed hardly any birda ; not, to the best of my recollection, above ten or a dozen, in a severe day's walking. They were well grown birds, but not a single old one in the number. My companion, greatly annoyed, insisted that the ground had been hunted before that season, and all the birds killed off, except the handful that we had found. From this conclusion I dissented, arguing that if such had been the case, we should have found old birds, the young being the easier both to find and to kill, especially for cockney sportsmen, who alone may be presumed to hunt before, that sea- son. My friend grew almost angry, and asked me, " "Where, then, are the birds V I answered, " Wait till to-morrow even- ing, when we shall have beat oar other ground, and I will tell you.' The next day we did beat the other ground ; wet swales, and sloping woods of small extent in valleys watered by little stream- lets from the hills. Thevesult was the same, a wretched day's sport, and no old birds, or at least hardly any. As usual, each held his own position ; my friend again asked, " How do you account for tliis ]" J replied, " All the young broods have been destroyed by the freshet, except the very few which got off before the May Hood. , This accounts for the few- ness of the birds, and for the uncommon size of those few. The old birds are now hatclnng tlieir second broi ds on the ridges and hill sides. I will show you that I am right, to-norrow." And to-morrow 1 did show him that the ridges and sapling coverts — sprouts, as the country people call them — were full of old birds, horcring, and no young ones. Still ny crdiipanion was incredulous as to the second broods, until in the afi onioon, as I was passing through a little clump of 174 PRANK forester's FIELD SPORTS, alders, not above two or three yards square, I flushed a bird vvluchflewouttohim. He fired. I called out to enquire whe- ther he had killed, and as he answered " yes," I heard the bird flapping Its wings on the ground, in the death-struggle, as I ima- gined. Knowing that he could recover the bird, in the open ground, I beat out the thicket thoroughly, and left it, satisfied that It contained no other bird, though I had some difficulty in getting one of my Setters away from what I supposed to ).e a field mouse. On joining my friend, he told me that the bird had flapped up, when he was in the act of laying his hand upon it, and had staggered away, seeming every moment on the point' of falling, so that he did not care to fire at it again, until if got out of shot ; but that he had marked it down to a yard, in a thick btush fence, three or four hundred yards away. On going to the place, the dogs took the scent readily; but, while they were traihng it, the bird rose, a hundred yards off, flapping and stacr- genng aboiji, as if severely hurt ; and flew some three or fi,ur hundred yards farther from the thicket in which we first started It, ond dropped again in a piece of thick hill-side coppice. I marked the bird accurately by the top of a pine tree, and off we set m pursuit, I more than half suspecting that the bird was un- wounded. Scarce had we entered the covert, when up whizzed the identical bird fresh and sound, from the very brak^ in which I had marked him, and away like a bullet through the tree tops So thoroughly convinced was I, that, though I could have killed the bird with ease, I would not fire at it; but to convince my * still doubting friend, we walked back to the little tuft in which we first sprung the cock ; he promising not to fire if we should again flush her. My dogs were not well in the alders b.-fore the bird rose again, and was going away at her best pace, when my friend's shot stopped her, to my infinite disgust. He is a very quick shot, and in the excitement of the moment forgot everything except the game and the fury of pursuit. Almost at the same moment, old Cliance— he was the best re- tiiever I ever saw in any country— picked up from the spot where I had supposed he was snuffing after a field-mouse UPLAND SHOOTING. 175 a young downy, unfledged "Woodcock, less than two inches long. Chance would cairy a hurt hird by the tip of his wing, with- out ruffling a feather ; and though it will hardly be believed, I took the little fledgling from his mouth unharmed, and had the satisfaction of seeing him run away briskly, and hide himself behind a dock-leaf. That day we shot no more, nor indeed that summer ; but before we left Orange county, I went again to the same brake with the old dog, but without a gun, and flushed what I presume to have been the male bird, which, by its simulated crippled flight, again drawing me away from the spot, convinced me that he was watching over his motherless little ones. Had I needed anything to convince me that Woodcock ought not to be shot in July, that scene would have convinced me ; and since that day I have never ceased to advocate a change and simphfication of our game laws, which should prohibit the killing of Woodcock until the first day of October ; and make that one day the end of close time for all game v*^hatever. For the present, however, until the game laws shall be al- tered, and established on a more reasonable and more perma- nent footing, of which I flatter myself there is still a remote hope left to the true sportsman, there is nothing left but to make the best of it, — to take the field ourselves, with the oi ''™''le da- for example, ha i, fou„r areTy in "oZ" '' ""'/""^ '"'"'■ .-«e congregations which tje i TeT: ^ XC^ 7 '"^ m more favored localities s" ill , sportsman ™a,.h land and peat h::-.h!l,T;Ve°:a!rthT^^" T most affects hardly exists- while „„ J , , ^' '™'™ '"' whether the color ^f the sJilb ed ort„ Hh "7, '""*' posed vegetable matter, he may be fi^d t::!:* """"'■ moult, the wLr :-i:': : : : Trr:,::T;"°^ '."^ '-' himself alone, althoudi the s.me I! ? """^'"S: for ^;- to one nei.h.orL:t:::e :;;:x^^^^^^ tin^ in anywise with his fellows until tl e ''' '■'""'^"■ I'-eedinc. reason. ^'onimencement of the At this period of the year, from July I mean to th. 1 • -. of the moult, when the bird ^,.,,1^12 lUn^uX UPLAND SHOOTING. 177 a while, the young broods are found on the ground in which tliey ai*e bred. And there is scarcely any sort of ground, in which the soil consists of black vegetable mould, or rich loam of any kind, and in which there is a sufficiency of water, that is not conge- nial to him as a breeding place— I except always the depths of the primeval forests, in which he aever is found. The narrowest ravines, down which the merest thread of wa- ter trickles among bare gray rocks, provided there is a bed of rich succulent soil in the bottom of the swale, even at the height of 800 feet above tide-water will hold a brood or two; so will the swampy bogs and morasses on the tops of the high' est hills ; but the fVivorite breeding ground of the bird is un- doubtedly level marsh meadows, interspersed with clumps and thickets of willow and alder, maple groves, growing on swampy land, and warm sequestered vallies. In South-West Jersey, they are found in the greatest abun- dance on perfectly open meadows, among bog grass and rushe., in exactly what would usually be called admirable Snipe- ground ; and I have killed them in the neighborhood of Salem IP considerable numbers, where there was not a tree or bush withm half a mile. This approximation of habits between the two kindred species, of Snipe and Woodcock, is very curious and mteresting-the foimer bird, as we have seen above under certain circumstances and in peculiar districts, betakii.cr himself to the wooded haunts of his nearest blood relation, and the lat- ter, when in a treeless country, making himself at home amonrr marshy levels better adapted to the general habits of his cousin" On no ground, however, have I ever seen, or shall. I, I much fear, ever again see this bird in such multitudes, as on what are culled the " Drowned Lands " in Orange county, N. Y. These are a vast tract of level country, surrouTidinir the various branch- es and tributary streams of the Walkill-it extends many miles in length,.and contains every sort of lying— tall open groves impenetrable fastnesses of brake and thicket, wide reaches of perfectly open bocj-meadow, and as wide expanses of open vot.. r. ,r» ^ wumAumnkm^m^fsi |..«|iiWPi ^T^gyp "■ 178 PRANK FOHESTETl's FIELT) SPORTS. plain, covered with rirh, tender grass, and interBpcrsed at every few paces with brakes of aldei's, and willow bushes. The num- bers I have idible. In 18.9 I shot seen, on that ground, are mcred over it, accompanied by my friend, Mr. Ward, of Warwick, who then woiglied above three hundred pounds, and shot with a single-barrelled Westley Richard's gun ; and, in three succes- sive days, we bagged fitly-sovon, seventy-nine and ninety-eiglit Cock, over a single brace of dogs, not beginning to shoot until it was late in the morning. On the following year, with a friend from New- York, I shot on the tame ground all day the first, and until noon on the second ; bagging, on the first, ona hundred and twenty-five birds, and, on the second morning, seventy. The first of these days was intensely hot ; and the ground became so much foiled by running of the innumerab'e birds, that, although we had excellent retrievers, we lost, beyond doubt, forty or fifty birds ; and at four in the afternoon we were entirely out of ammunition. I am perfectly satisfied that, if we had been provided v\ itli a brace of fresh dogs, at noon, with clean guns, and a proj)er sup- ply of powder and copper cap.4, b(jth of which gave out, it would have been perfectly easy, on that day to have bagged from one hundred, to one hundred and fifty couple of Wood cock. The shooting on that ground is now ended. The Erie rail- road passes within ten miles of it, and it is now overrun with city poachers and pot-hunters; besides leing shot incessantly by the farmers' boys and village idlers of the neighborhood, who have beoun to compete with the New York vagabonds in supplying the markets with game. I confess that I have often wondered that the owners of these tracts have not had the shrewdness tcj discover that by enforcino- the laws, and prohibiting trespassers, they might aimually let the shooting of these ranges for very considerable sums. " The Drowned Lands " are in general held in large farms, and the bett shooting is all owned, comparatively speaking, by a very few individuals. I have not the e ightcst hesitation in saying that UPLAND SHOOTING. 179 if some half-dozen or eight farmers, whose land I know, would resolutely put an end to all shooting on their premiwes, they could readily let the rif,'}it of shooting to an association of gen- tlemen, at a price which would put a hundred dollars annually into each of their pockets. I could find the gentlemen who would give it, and be but too glad >r the opportunity; and who, looking forward to enjoy- ment . the same sport in future years, would neither wantonly annihilate the stock, nor do the mischief to the grass crops, and fences, which continually results from the incursions of the loafers and vagabonds, who compose the great bulk of rural sportsmen. I really should greatly rejoice at seeing something of this sort attempted. Its effect would be most beneficial on the preservation of game generally throughout the United States. At the beginning of the Woodcock seascm, to revert to things as they now are, it is an easy matter to find birds, if you are in a good country ; and in truth, except in the immediate vicinity of the large cities, there is no difficulty in finding broods enough to amuse a few leisure hours ; although it is daily becoming more and more questionable whether it is worth the while of dwellers in the Atlantic cities, to keep dogs for the purpose of Cock-shooting, and to make excursions some fifty or sixty miles inland for sport during the season. A due regard to truth compels me to say that such excursions have ceased to be what they were, " ccmsule Flanco," when General Jackson was first President ; yet farther inland there are doubtless still places to be found abounding with the tribe of Scolopax; although from the "Big Piece," and the "Little Piece," from Chatham and the " Drowned Lands," the glory of his house lias, for the most part, departed. In July, then, there is ordinarily but little skill to be dis- played in Ihe mere act of finding the birds, for there is nothing to be done but to beat the ground carefully, thoroughly and slowly, wherever there is water and covert. Unless the brood of the season has been annihilated already, or the ground ii'.> % I 'I ^n. t> IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) // ^/ v. ^ .A- .-■^'.^ /^... ^^^ "V %? 45 1.0 ^i I.I 11.25 2.5 1^ i^ 1^ 6" 2.0 \A. III! 1.6 7] <^ /i '^ W /J. ^#' V Photographic Sciences Corporation ,\ ^ 4v "^O^ % V 'if O ;\ ^^^^%. <^r<^ <^»'>i^ ^o^ 23 WEST MA:^i STREET WE9STER,N.Y. 14560 (V16) 872-4503 C^ • h 5 180 FRANK forester's FIELD SPORTS. persecuted in past seasons as to have been entirely desurted by the breeders, here they must be found. In this country Woodcock are shot altogether over Setters or Pointers— during the whole sixteen years, which I have passed in the States, I have known but two sportsmen who used the Cocking Spaniel, though that is unquestionably the proper dog over which to shoot the bird— and it is obvious that there are many objections to be made to these, in their places, noble animals, as used fur covert-shooting. The proper sphere for both Pointer and Set- ter is the open— the wide, waving, heathery moors, the giassy Snipe-bog, the rich russet stubbles, from which the harvests have been garnered to the fanner's heart-content. To range as wide, as highly, and as dashingly as they can, is their proper vocation, and their highest merit. To work fairly and in full view of their master and of one another, giving plentiful note of the vicinity of game by their actions to the eye, but none to the ear, is the province for which nature destined them, as all their qualities demonstrate. In order to suit them for wood-shooting at all, one of these qualities has necessarily to be diilled out of them, by early and incessant rating, watching and admonition— I mean their speed, range and dash. The highest merit a thorough-bred and thoroughly-broke Setter or Pointer can possess in Europe, on his proper ground, and in pursuit of his proper game, is never, unless he be at a dead point, or down to charge, to be within five hundred yards of his master, always beating his ground, head up and stem down, at full gallop. Here in covert at least, where nine-tenths of his work is done, his highest merit is never to be twenty yards distant from him. He must unlearn his own nature, and acquire that of the Spaniel ; in so far, at least, as to substitute unwearied industry, short, continually-succeeding turns, and the closest possible quartering of the gi-ound, for his natural rating gallop. His eye must be constantly on his master, his ear ever alive to his slightest whistle, which he must obey with the speed of ITPLAND SHOOTING. 181 light. He must be prepared to back his fellow, oftener at the word " Toho!" than at sight of his point; for so difficult is the covert in which his duty is done, that I have more than once seen three several dogs standing within a square of six yards, on one bird, not one of which suspected his comrade's presence. Again, he must be broke to drop where he is when the shot is discharged, instantaneously, and to lie there until commanded to "Seek dead;" when he must draw up to the killed bird, point it, and at the word " Fetch," perfonn the duty of a retriever. This it is, which makes a really fine, and thoroughly broke, Woodcock dog so nearly invaluable. Shooting as we do in this country in thickets overrun with vmes, creepers, and cat-briars, to which the densest cop- pice or covert I ever have seen in England, was open-work, and that too, when every tree, plant and shrub is covered with its most luxuriant summer foliage, it is evident that a dog cannot be visible half the time at a distance of ten paces; and that it is only by his keeping in constant motion to and fro' close before us, that we can in the least make out his where- about. As it is, with the best broke dogs, it is a common thing to lose them altogether, though perhaps but fifteen yards off* when pointing steadily, and to be compelled either to call them' off, or to waste half the day in looking for them.. Another gi^eat difficulty in summer Cock-shooting, over Setters, is this, that when the bird is pointed, as he almost universally is, from the outside of a brake inward, it is almost impossible to get a fair shot at him, unless you do so unsports- manlike a thing as to hie your dog on, and make him flush his own bud. This cannot be done with impunity for any length of time, even with the best and steadiest dogs ; for when once they have become used to this irregular mode of proceedinff although they may stand stock still, and shew as staunchly S possible, under their master's eye, until desired to "hie on '" no sooner will they find themselves pointing out of sight than they will follow what is surely the bent of their natural instinct 182 FRANK forester's FIELD SPORTS. kept down by painful instruction, and will dash in and flush their game. When shooting in company, as one always should do, if pos- sible, especially in July, I have always made it a point, when the dogs were standing, so as to render it likely that the shot would be a ticklish one, to call up my comrade,— birds lie hard in summer, and a word or two, more or less, will not flush them,— to place him in the most commanding position, and then plunge into the brake, taking my chance for a snap shot, and up with the bird myself. Having always kept dogs, and having shot principally with friends who did not, it has always been my luck to have the gamekeeper's work, and to be forced to drive tlirough the thick of the tangle, while the others could pick their way along the outskirts, and get open shots. Somehow or other, however, I have generally managed to get about as many shots, and perhaps to Lag about as many birds as my neighbors ; and, in process of time, I have got into the way of liking the rough- and-tumble inside-of-the-covert work. You see mpre of the dogs' working, and get more, if harder, shots ; and, above all, you acquire what is the knack of covert-shooting, the knack of tossing up your gun instinctively to your shoulder, and stopping your biid in the most tangled thicket, without knowing how you shot him, or whether you saw him at all when you fired, the in- stant you hear a flap of his wing. Even when alone, I invariably flush my own bird, never order- ing my dog to go on, even at the risk of losing a shot ; though the chances are, that you can generally mark the bird down to- lerably well. In this matter I never vary, and I do most strenu- ously urge it upon all sportsmen, who would have good dogs, and good sport, to neglect and sacrifice all individual shots, all individual, crippled, or killed birds, rather than do a wrong thing themselves before their dogs, or allow them to do a wrong thing uncorrected. By running in to catch one wing-tipped bird, racing away from your dogs, or by encouraging them to run in and fetch, before you have loaded, you will lose, in all probability, ffiy UPLAND SHOOTING. 183 birfls,--by your setter getting into the way of dashing into the uii.lst of scattered bevies, and flushing them all, one by one, while you are standing with your unloaded gun in your hand, roaring down-charge, and uttering, if you are a little quick- tempered, all sorts of imprecations against your poor dog, which, if at all just, you would fulminate against yourself No thing is more annoying to me, than to be joined by some coun- try gunner in the field, who, utterly unconscious of wrong, per- sists in doing things which make your own hair stand on end. and compels you to flog the unhappy quadrupeds for the faults of the stupid biped. While speaking on this subject, I will quote an observation which I met with the other day, in a capital book, by a right good sportsman, entitled— the book, not the man—" The Moor and the Loch." The truth and force of the remark struck me the moment I read it ; and, although ii v? not new to the accom plished sportsman, or old dog-breaker, I think I have never seen it in print before ; and I am sure I have seen the fault it repre- hends committed a hundred times. The writer is speaking of " the inveterate habit, contracted through bad breaking, of running in when the bird drops. This trick is acquired from the breaker's carelessness, in not always making the dog fall down when birds rise, a rule which should never be neglected, on any pretence." Mr. Colquhoun here means, that the dog should be taught to charge, on the bird ris- ing, whether shot at, w not ; and unquestionably lie is right in the matter. " The steadi-ness of a dog," he proceeds, "whether old or young, depends entirely upon its being rigidly observed. I have seen dogs most unmercifully flogged, and yet bolt with the same eagerness every shot. It is easy to see the reason ; the dog was followed by the keeper endeavoring to make him * down' ; there was thus a race between them, which should first reach the fallen bird. The plan to adopt with a dog of this de- scription, is when the Grouse," or other game, " drops, and the dog rushes forward, never to stir, — coolly allow him to tear away at the game until you have loaded ; by which time he 184 FRANK forester's FIELD SPORTS. Will most probably have become ashamed of himself. You will then walk up most deliberately, and without noticing the bird take the dog by the ear, and pull him back to where you fired,' all the time giving him hearty shakes"— J should say, cuts with the whip,-" and crying 'down,' when you get to the spot where you shot from, take out your whip, and between the stripes call ' down,' in a loud voice ; continue this at intervals for some time ; and, even when you have finished your discipline, don t allow the dog to rise for ten minutes at least; then, after speaking a few words expressive of caution, take him slowly up to the bird, and lift it before h^s nose. If this plan is rigidly followed for several shots; I never saw the dog that would con- tinue to run in." The writer, it will be observed, is here speaking of running in to eat or tear, not to "/efcA" his bird ; that being a practice never taught, or allowed, to Pointers and Setters in En<.land simply because, being used altogether in the open field, it is as needless rhere, as it is necessary here. When I firet came to this country, I imported a fine young Setter pup, which I had broke by Mr. Sandford, of Newark, whom I consider, in all respects, the best and most intelligent dc^g-breaker I ever saw; and, on conversing with him on the mode of breaking, I was equally surprised at learning two things,— that Setters, or Point- ers, were invariably broke *o V^^'^^/' or retrieve dead birds; and that they were always taui^^t to " come in" before charg' mg. I was exceedingly incredulous on the firet point ; and it was only with reluctance, and after seeing the steadiness with which his dogs first charged, then pointed dead, and then fetched that I consented to allow " Chance" to be broke to retrieve. On the other point I was firm ; and Mr. Sandford having broken that dog for me, to drop to shot, on the spot, without coming in, was so thoroughly convinced of its advantage, in giving steadi' ness, in avoiding unnecessary words and orders, and in render- ing the dog promptly obedient, that he at once adopted the me- thod, and has never broken a dog otherwise since that time. I must add, that I am equally well satisfied, that to retrieve UPLAND SHOOTING. 186 18 a necessary accomplishment for a Setter or Pointer in this country; that it would be an advantage everywhere ; and that a dog can be precisely as steady fetching every bird, as he can if mcapable of so doing. buf^n 'TTJ' i"w'''^^ ^" ""''"• ""^ ^'"^y '^ down-charge, but to pbm dead, before he is allowed to fetch. If the second duty IS neglected, it will be a very little while before the ani- mal begins to rush in at every shot, without charging. One great difficulty here is, that no one in America having gamd^eepers, the hunting of the dog. so soon as he is tui-ned out of the breaker's hands, falls directly on the master-.hot very general^, even if himself a very passably good shot, unac quauited with the methods of dog-breaking, and unquali ed by ?6 wo k Vl' ''''■ '^'"^ ^'^ '^"'^"'^^^ '' ^"-= systematically to work with the animal, so as to keep him up to all that he knows and to prevent him from either acquiring new bad tricks! or neglecting his old teachings. It is scarcely L much to sav that one half of the dogs in the United States' which ^o out oi the breaker's into the master's hands valuable bnztes.a^e, at the end of twelve months, worthless. I should strongly recommend young sportsmen, when pur- chasing new dogs, to take an opportunity, if possible, of seeW hm hunted several times by the breaker, and of e;deavoring nd an P^^"^"7°^- «f «P-^h and action with the dog! and at all events to learn those points of education, on which he insists, m order that they may guide themselves in their ol con uet toward the animal thereby, and insist on the! Z actiAg in all respects up to his previous teaching. Old sZs men. of course, have their own ways of havL thJ^T trained, and on these they are so trained .^^^^ till ..elf beea.se no two epor^^^n It ^^ ^t l\t: observed, exactly ahke. and I wish my dog to huf as I Zl bun to hunt not better than he does, nor worse. It is impZ ble to imagine the difference of the intelligence of tJodog " 186 FRANK FOHESTER't* FIELD SPORTS. equally good by nature, the one of which has never been hunted but l)y one master, and the other by every one whom he has been pleased to follow. I have taken the opportunity of making these observations on dog-breaking, and dog-hunting, in this place, because in summer Woodcock shooting, above any other phase of the sport, an implicit obedience, great steadiness, and perfect staunchness is required in the dog. In Quail, or Snipe-shooting, you can see your dog the greater part of the time ; you ca°n obsci-ve his every motion ; and can usually, if you are quick- siglited and ready-witted, foresee when he is about to commit .a fault in time to check him. In summer shooting, woe betide you, if you entertain so wild a hope. You hunt darkling, catching sight of your four-footed companion only by snatches, often judging him to be on the point, because you have ceased to hear the rustle of his sinuous movement through the bushes ; or because you have not seen his form gliding among the water' flags or fern, so recently as you should have done, had be turned at his regular distance, and quartered his ground without finding game. It is not once in ten, nay ! in twenty times, that you see him strike his trail, draw on it, become surer, and stand stiff. You lose him for a moment, look for him, where he ought to be, and find him because he is there, pointing as you expected. A step or two forward, with your thumb on the hammer, and the nail of your forefinger touching the inside of your trigger- guard. Still he stands steady as a rock; and you know°by the glare of his fixed eye, and the frown of his steadfast brow, and the slaver on his lip, that the skulking Cock is within ten feet of his nose, perhaps within ten inches. You kick the skunk- cabbages with your foot, or tap the bunch of cat-briars with your gun-muzzle, and flip-flap ! up he jumps, glances, half-seen for a second, between the stems of the alder bushes, and is lost to sight among the thick foliage of their dark green heads, before your gun-butt has touched your shoulder. But your eye has taken in his line— the trigger is drawn, the charge splinters the stems and brings down a shower of green leaves, and UPLAND SHOOTING. 1R7 among them you fancy that you have seen an indistinct soino- thmg falhng helplessly earthward-that you have heard the t/>ud of his tumble on the moist ground. Nevertheless, anxious although you be, and doubtful of your own success, you stir not from the spot. At the report of the gun. your dog couch- ed instantly ; you can scarcely see him. so closely has he charged among the water-grass, with his nose pressed into the very earth between bis paws. You drop your butt upon the toe of your boot, if the ground be very wet. and begin to load, rapidly, yet coolly and delibe- rately. Yes! you have killed him ; you may see the feathers floating yonder, in the still murky air of the windless swamp. \ ou half-cock your locks, and apply the caps ; and. expectant ofthe coming order. " Don" lifts his nose wistfully. -Holdup. sSek dead !" and carefully, gingerly, as if he were treading up! on eggs, knowing as well as you do that the bird is dead, and knowing pretty well where he is, at a slow trot, moving his nose from this side to that, snuffing the tainted air, and whip, ping his flanks with his feathered stem, he draws onward at a slow trot. Now he has caught the scent, he straightens his neck quickens his pace a little, decidedly and boldly, and stands firm. "Good dog: Fetch" TTa «t^ i '* \ ri^^A I- J 1, 1 . . stoops, picks up the dead bird, by the tip of the wing only, and brings him to you without mffling a feather. How conscious, how happj^^h'ow perfectly aware that he has merited your approbation St you W both played your parts handsomely, as he hands you the Let him snuffle at it. for a moment, if he likes it ; he would not touch It with a tooth, for a dog kingdom ; but the scent is to him what the aroma of a glass of Lynch's Chateau Margaux of 25 IS to you -let him enjoy it, he shall not sex.e you the worse, for that he looks for his reward. Here, gentle reader, is what thou art expected to do on oc- casion. Do It thus, always, and thou a,t a good sportsman and a crack shot, not a doubt of it. Do it thus, very oftenTn one day. and thou art having a right good day's spL If it 188 FRANK forester's FIELD SPORTS. «ucl, as I trust I may have many, before this year has donned the sear of the leaf, which is not as yetgreen. Jesting apart, this is the way to do it. both as regards the flushmg and shooting the bird, and the management of the dog • and. wuh respect to the last. I have only to add. that while it is mpossible to be too resolute, too firm, and almost impossible to e too stnct. .f not severe, it is also impossible to be too patient too dehberate. or too quiet, with a delinquent dog. tL le^t' outbreak of temper prostrates its own object. AH punishml uns at prevention. If you distract the dog's compre'hensior: you, meanmg. the object of the punishment is lost. Remem^ ber too. that the brute knows as well, whether he is punished justly or unjustly, as you do. Punished A quiet rating, and a gentle pull of the ear. is better than an intemperate and noisy flogging ; but when you do flog let k be ;Vdo fl^ ''7 ""^"^^"' "-"^^ withou%unishing.^wh : you do flog, flog in earnest. ^ ths .ha, I have de»:nbed, varied by those thousand little „„. foreseen incidents, which render field spo«s so cha,™nV"o every sensitive and enthusiastic spirit. pL of all, it is^rfued .n the very lovelies, sn^mer weather, when ,he whole a,™ sphere is alive with .11 sound, of niemmen. and glee,-I, TZ- lowed among the wildest and most romantic combina Lns of rural scenety ,„ the deep, dim, secluded groves, far Cthe ordinaiy .,,ad of man, by the ™edy and wil W-girdled mlr- gms of calm inland watei,, by the springy shore' of mull mountain brooks in long-retiring valley, high up among he Mis, whence we look forth at unexpected turns overwide tracti of woodland ,ce„ery_in places where the shyest and Z ..mid of warblers wake their wild music all day Lg, screened by impemous umbrage from the ho. noon-tide of J^ly, Xe eveiy fonn of animal life and beauty abounds, unbeheS of o ! dinary mortals. And are not all these things a source of pleasure to the true woodsman ? Is he not necessarily a lover not of sport only) a," UPLAND 8R00TIN0. 189 Of «xo,eeme>.e-tho.e are the n.dor a„d less genial attul,ute« oi h,8 profes8ion-but a lover of nature 1 To his mere success as a sportsman, I have already shown that a knowledge of the habits and instincts of animals is necessary ; and let a man once set Inmself to study these, and he has turned already the first page of natural history; and so enticing is the study, that he perforce must persevere. And none can study natural history, without loving nature. The true sportsman, the gentie sports- man, must be in some sort apoet-not a jingler of rhymes, or a cramper of English words into strange and uncongenial mea- Bures a meter of syllables, and a counter of fingers, but a lover of all thmgs beautiful and wild-a meditator, a muser ' He must be as the old pastorals were, nj/mj^harum fugientum ama- tar; and to the very farthest flight of their coy footsteps must he follow them. Were it not for this, the sportsman were but a mere skilful butcher,-out upon it! there be better things than this m our philosophy ! This it is, with the sense of freedom, the sense of power of manhood, of unchained and absolute volition, which we feei when our foot is on the mountain sod, our lungs expanded by the mountain air. that makes, in some sort, every man a sports- man, '■ And then the noonday repose beneath the canopy of some dark hemlock, or tall pine, still vocal with the same fitful mur- mur which pleasured in Arcadia the ears of old Theocritu.s-the dainty morsel, rendered a thousand times more savory than your city banquets, by the true Spartan sauce of hunger the cool draught tempered by waters cooller and clearer, though perchance less full of inspiration, than the lymph of Hippocrene • the pleasant converse on subjects manifold, over the mild fumes of the composing cigar.-or. if need be, the camj^ing out in the wild woods, the plying of the axe to form the temporary shanty the kindling of the merry blaze, the rude yet appetizing cook' ery, the buoyancy of soul caught from all these things the un tutored jest, the untaught laughter; and, last not least com- posed on the fragrant hemlock tips, which strew the woodman's • IPO FRANK FOHESTEU's FIELD SPORTS. couch, lulled by the murmur of the wind in the never-silent tree topa, by the far plash of falling waters, by the plaintive wailing of the whip-poor-will, and the joytnis revelry of the (|(,w. drinking katydids— the sleep, under the blue vault of the skies, guarded by the winking eyes of the watchful planets only,— ! sweeter and sounder, lighter and more luxurious, than primes catch on beds of eider-down and velvet. ^ Lo I you now, reader, have not we too caught the in^pira- tion, and ere we knew it, waxed poetical I One thing alone is wanting to the perfection of summer shooting 18 a sport— I speak not now of the unfitness of the sea- son for hard exorcise,--«o season is, in truth, unfit for the dis- play of manhood !— nor of the unfitness of the half-grown broods for slaughter!- and that one thing is, the want of variety in the species of game In autumn, hearty, jocund, brown autumn, the woodman's sport is indeed manifold. Even when his dog has pointed, though he may guess shrewdly from the nature of his movements and the style of his point, the sportsman knows not what may be the game which shall present itself to his skill. It may be the magnificent Ruffed Grouse, whirring up with a flut- ter and an impetus that shall shake the nerves of a novice; it may be a bevy of quail eighteen or twenty strong, crowding and jostling one another in their anxiety to avoid the danger, and distracting his aim by the multiplicity of objects; it may be' a full-grown white-fronted Woodcock, soaring away with its sharp whistle high above the tree tops ; it may be the skulking Hare, bouncing among the kalmias and rhododendrons, vulgarly genorali;.ed as laurels— they might as well be called cabbages » —It may be Teal or Wood-duck, or if we are in the open, it may be Snipe, skirring away zig-zag over the rushy level. This it is which gives so strange a zest to the field sports of an American autumn day, and which renders the autumn shoot- mg of this country the wildest and most interesting of any it has ever been my luck to encounter-of any, I presume, in the world, unless it be that of Northern India, on the lower slopf •and in the plaitis at the foot of the Himalayah Mountains les n > is > .w t;PLAND SHOOTING. 191 And with this ends all that is to be said on summer Wood- cock shooting ; for the period during which the sport can be followed is of itself brief, not lasting — at the utmost not above a month from its commencement to its termination, by the disap- pearance of the birds from their usual haunts in this section of the coimtry. This disappearance of the bird is one of the most mysterious and inexplicable features in the natrral history of the Wood- cock ; and what is very remarkable, it is not in any wise no- ticed or alluded to by any naturalist with whose works I am acquainted. Neither Audubon nor Wilson appear cognizant of the fact, both speaking of the Woodcock, as if it tarried with us regulariy from its arrival eariy in February, until its depar- ture on the setting in of severe frost. That this is not the case, is perfectly well known to every sportsman in the country, although very few of these have trou- •bled their heads to consider the circumstances of this short mi- gration, much less to record it. The fact is, that so soon as the young birds of the last brood are full-grown, the Woodco( k withdraws for the purpose of moulting, and returns no more until the autumnal frosts have set fairly in, until the meadow grass is crisp^ and the leaves sear. A few scattered birds in- deed linger in the old places, just enough to prove that there is an absolute change of place on the part of the others of the fa- mily, and these only, it is probable, in consequence of some ac- cidental circumstance which has detained them, such as the late- ness of their last brood, or perhaps an unduly early moult on their own part, compelling them to remain tranquil, while their congeners are moving. At all events, the disappearance of the main body is sudden, total, and simultaneous. So much so, that for the five or six earliest years of my residence in America, when matters of bu- siness prevented me from absenting myself from the city until the first of August, I was utterly unaware that the " Drowned Lands" of Orange county ever held many Woodcock, althouo-h I was in the habit of passing my summers in that immediate 192 FRANK FORESTER'S FIELD SPORTS. shoe,. ""'' "'"■<•"' 8«"'"g above half-aJozeu 4;:et:!:e'" r; c-^'t^r r • i ^"«-. *- «. ■l^n.- A few bird, can, i, i. .t' l'. 1 V T *" '■°"' '"' enough ,o fu™i,h „ dainty fo , 1" ;"""»' "-^ P™-ed, hard pinch to try a doaps at a agreeable, or Jo^h ^ ^u.TT'''^ ""' ^"""^^ - -der i. Another fact, going ,„ p„ve ,h ° rt '" ''"""'" "'' *-""• pearance or e„igr!,ion ! Ttd ^I' " ""°'."'« *»«P- their return, they come in .,. ' „ "'""'■ "' ">»« <>n 'enger or shorter toe l"!-'"'""' f*"""' "">'"? -->■ « -ajher, and then paT -"l '".It isTt^r "^' °' "' When first I be^an to «nnr. ^. '"'"'^ **^^< conclusive, years ago, there we'l two t'he'rieVc '^"""^' ^^'"^ ^^^^^ whereby to account for the fact thL T'"^ ^P^^^^"' Bwarmed in July, they wer^ i; ., '" ''""'^'' ^^^^'^ ^^^^ t,ird8 Both theories, J'l hTve p^ :^^^^^^^^^^^^^ '^ '^^^' ^ August, untenable and groundless. ^ " satisfaction, are The first was this — " That f>,« Ui j j- j at all, but ren^ained on his oW t . ""' '" *^^'^' ^^'^^PP^-^ fact of his being in n^oul , he gavT^ ;^"^'' T"^ *^ *« dog could detect him • and fioJ T ''""' ^^^^^^^^ ^^^ with his wonted velodtv 3- T ''?^""««' «^ ^"ability to fly intruding ene4;the2;;f '""' ^^ ™^ "^^^^ ^^^ tread of his This theory is answered in a word Th« W ^ m moult, does give out as murh ■ ^^^dcock, while dogs, doe. risers wl^; '.r^l^^ P'?^""^^^ ^^^^^ ^X upon the table as at any otLr sts J.'^^^^^ ^ ^""^ proved; si?:ce, althoucrb th^ ^^^ts, which are easily "iuHng A„g.t,'andtfot tZ^Z^f, "'^ """-- t«Ty in their old ,„a„p,, and Iv hef . ' " '^"' ''" ""' «. few in number, and' . o grea an ! *°'' "■""^'' great an expense of time and UPLAND SHOOTING. jgg have flu„e.:a ; ;t ; ::a ith :'r "r^ °"'^ *" '-^^ dive.ted of one half I' -,77 I ^^ "'"'■""»• °" "'"«■ have observed Thau et J : ' T""' °"''' '" "»' "«»• I a distance fro™ a,e ^.^ arl:;'""";'!^' ""u" " ■" ^'''^ wing as freelv thon.l, , I T^ ' "'' """ "'" ^"^ «°"k kL' T1- * ' " '""'"• half impotent to flv Beyond this, it is scarce nece^san- ,„ ■ . g«nt „ader, that if the birdsstr av in'^ °'" '" °" '"'^"'- ground, however scentless tj ^ l™' '"' ** "M hunted Coseiy by ZteXtdTnll:^,: do" T'^. '' ™n up, or turned out of thelrass IT u *'' " """=■■ ed, and the cold weather Z ^tL ^ 17^ 7 ^ '■°"" Woodcock may be fo,™a ' *'"' "^at'ered edge of wolis tnt ^ ""'' '"'"^''■«'"''». ■""-S «I- -h .uusTons'tagrt'ibrr-^"'''''' "■^^'■-"' -• their removal , but 4a .he7ar;™ff f' ''"'™"" '" for any number of consecufive / f™"'' ''""""'""j'' <»• is an utterly incorrect .Zi, J.:: J^^" '"'' ^°""'' I have applied myself carefi^llvT th, ■ -" "''P''™"''-'- circumstance, and in the hrten . -'""Sation of this thousand maiie-SeUs Ir „; ," ^X .^ ''"f"" "»"=" > •e- as any private gentlemL 'prse,,ed Ttl" '""' ^°'- when farmers would tell me "they weras'tl^lkr f""^ '^°"°' corn-fields ; " and I have „„, „ '""'^ '" *» than three Wrds, in any oLTeld ""r^r""" ""*'"' "-^ on such ground altogert,:, ' ""' ■"'' ' ''"'»'' '"-'^-fi™ VOL. I, 13 194 FRANK forester's FIELD SPORTS. Somewhat, I must confess, to my surprise, I have observed within the last few weeks, a long and somewhat elaborate article, in the columns of that admirable journal, the New- York Spirit of the Times, the writer of which apparently quite uncon- scious of all that has been written on the subject, and seeming to believe that he has made a discovery, brings out anew the old corn-field story. The matter is really not worth talking about. Every school-boy knows that late in July and August a few birds occasionally resort to wet, woodside maize-fields, and every one who has shot fifty summer Cock in his life ought to know, that no number are ever to be found in them, and that he must have immense luck who bags a dozen Cock in all the maize-fields he can beat in a hard day's walk. I would like nothing better than to bet season in and out, against one bird to the square acre— or square five acres, for that matter. I think the reader will admit that the two theories, alluded to above, are by these facts indisputably controverted. And now I must expect that it will be enquired of me, " whither, then, do they go 1 What does become of them 1"' To which sage questions it is, I grieve to say, my fate to be unable to make satisfactory reply. I was formeriy inclined to believe, that when the moult is at hand, the Woodcock withdraws to the small upland runnels, and boggy streamlets, which are to be found everywhere among our highest hills or mountains. That the moulting season is tlio signal for dispersion, and the tennination of all family ties between the young and old birds, is certain. From this time forth, until the next February brings round the pairing time, the Woodcock, whether found singly in a solitary place, or among scores of his kind, is still a lonely and ungregarious bird, coming and going at his own pleasure, without reference — undemocratic rascal — to the will of the majority. In corroboration of this view of the absence of our bird during the early autumn, I was once informed by a gentleman whose word I have no reason to disbelieve, that on ascending once to the summit of Bull Hill, one of the loftiest of the Higli- tTPLAND SHOOTING. ^^lloti^t^'antr rrr "'°"'"^'-'' «"-^- and ■■ocky ladl "nd , u^" "'°°'' °" ""^ """""• n.e„,i„,he br^„„t. of LTT ' T"'*"* "^ ■■" «■«- be founa i„ .befevaildttC i:;,::™ ^t ?';:i» -^ '<> •h« he a. «m intended to revWt Z hffl X: t"^ " '"""''' and gun, in order to ™„fi, TT , "*"" '"'y' "'* dog doing si lyclTl 7 ' '" '''"='""^' '"« ™ P™™,ed carefully with I" with t^" •'""""' "■" ""' ""'' I""" " labor, and onZZ^T''^""Tl '"'''"'''" » ^-'rf hia birds. "" ''"^ '^"'"'' "-^ ^a-np' below full of ci.y-.hat i. Xt sh u°d bT"r' • T" "' ""'»«= -- fact ha stated, whL /^"m '™ '"*'"' "> '"''"«> any should lead h m tratlr, ; "" '"'T'" °" '■'^ P""' "'-' »o such reaaon" ITeX r?""°; '" """ °"^ *^- "»' for we we,^ no a ' Z I "' "' P"™«™g i" argument, con^ctness of hi. LTrLLn °°'' "■°"'™' -=" "■""« ■>» — rrty-^fl'*:.'! '»'■- "-..bis fact malces .uantly found s/atl^^rbirrsn h-Z'tot' T'« ^^ mountain-swales wJi;i« A. „ iiiH-tops, and m euch *engh not .'1:^::^^^ .tSy^tb^eTr"- general migration en »». ,„ .uch locaC ""' '" " It, however, my half-formed opinion—for ;, ■ correct, the biixls are disperaed „tT i . °° ™'-^be a- only to bo found, cl^ y' ZlZT '^ T'' ''" never in greater numba,,, ^ ""^° "■■ *""' ""d J!: triratT^at/reir "™ r'""^ -- ^ does the -r :r:7re^rTrr:::r:: 196 FRANK forester's FIELD SPORTS. li return until the premature cold of northern Canada drives them back, to tarry with us a few months on their way southward. Should this prove to be the case, the Woodcock, instead of being termed with us a summer bird of passage, must be regarded as a spring and autumnal visitant, like his congener, the Snipe — with this difference, that the Snipe rarely breeds with us, going northward to nidificate, while his fellow-emigrant, our Scolopax, invariably rears his young before going farther toward the frosts of the northern pole. Of these suggestions my readers must judge whether is the better of the two ; one of the two I believe to be the only way for accounting for the Woodcock's shoit disappearance at this season. For the rest, as I leaned at first to the fonner, so do I now rather mcline toward the latter belief, facts not bear- ing out the former to my satisfaction, although I do not think the question has been, as yet, fully tested by experiment. It is to be regretted here, that this question is yearly becom- ing, in these districts, more difficult of solution ; and I am the more strenuous in noting this emigration, because things may come, ere long, to such a pass, that it will become wholly undistinguishable. When I first shot in New-Jersey, and in the river counties of New- York, the disappearance of the birds was evident enough ; because, up to a certain day, they abounded, and afVer that, were not. Now, long before the second week of July, the Woodcock are extei-minated in their summer haunts for miles and miles around our large cities ; too many of them, alas ! slaughtered before the season, when scarcely able to flv — when nearly unfit for the table — when a game despicable to the loyal sportsman, and a victim easy to the pot-hunting knave, who goes gunning with a half-bred, half-broken cur, and a Ger- man fowling-piece, dear at a dollar's purchase. Oh ! gentlemen legislators — gentlemen sportsmen, " Reform it altogether !" Oh ! ye choice spirits, who stood forth, after the long, hard UPLAND SHOOTING. 197 winter and deep snow-drifts Quail-destroying of 1836 to rescue k"i?'''"' little fowl fro™ total extfncL. stand oX: Aeda"^^^^^^ - protection of the Woodcock. Sufficient for he day ,s the evil thereof. Railroads are ruining the hopes- the pleasures of the sportsman ; our best shooting groundTn^ hrnte; nd J^'^'V'''''''''''' '^"'^^ '"—^^^^ '<> the pot- hunter and the poacher, may now be reached for fifty cents • ofT JfTedir^^ ''7 ^" : '-''' '^y ' -^' - -pt i ot half-fledged younglings, by men, boys, and bunglers and ruhlessly devoured before the season h'as set in. b/ gn'orant voracious cockneys. ^ 'g"orani Reform it altogether!' Enact that the Woodcock shall not be slain-shall not be y= god. of woodcraft! Sylva™ and Faun, I and hm, S of the h„n,er. Pan , what ap„„ shall we have in bro™ OcTo ber, when the aere u„derbn,.h is ba,^ of leaves to Tar 1, .pomn,a„.s ain,, when the cool dewy eanb send; „p ZZ of the game m fresh steams to the Setter's keen and sagadols no^ , when the pnre air braces the nerves and fans te brow dehcous, when the full-grown, white-fronted, pink-legged yards, bu on a vigorous and whistling pi„i„„, wi h sharp-piping alarm note, swrf. as a rifle-bulle., soaring away through Z . Him, no boy can blaze at, his twenty times in \..w i, and s^ugbter after all with one chance^!: pp "y ti- ed down „,*W one ! Him can no German gun a^lvl of caat-ron, scattenng its shot over a. a^a of twenty feet hTnn II l: 198 FRANK forester's FIELD SPORTS. less at twenty yards ! Him can no cur-dog flush in gun-shot of pot-hunting poucher. No ! gentle reader, him, whether he lies in the tufted fern and wintergreens, or the dry slope of some waim, westering hill- side, among second-growth of brown oak and chestnut; whether he wades among the shallow mud-pools, sheltered by fern, dock-leaves, and dark colt's-foot, of some deep maple swamp, it needs the stealthy pace, the slow, cat-like, guarded motion, the instinctive knowledge of the giound, the perfect nose, and absolute docility, which belong only to the thorough dog of the thorough sportsman, to find certainly, and stand staunchly ! Him, whether he flap up, seen for one second only, among the leafless stems, and lost the next among the tufted tops of the yet verdant alders ; whether he soar away, with his sharj) whistle, far, far above the red and yellow tree tops; whether he pitch now here, now there, sharply and suddenly, among the close saplings, it needs the eye of faith, the finger of instinct, the steady nerve, the deliberate celerity, the marking glance, which characterise the sportsman— the crack shot, who as poor Cypress averred truly— is bom like the poet, not made like the orator— to cut down at his speed ; not wing-tipped or leg-broken, but riddled by the concentrated charge, turned over and over in mid air, arrested mercifully by quick and unerring death, and falling with a heavy thud, which tells good things of ten ounces' weight, on the broivn leaves of gorgeous autumn. My words are weak to describe the full charm of this noble pastime— noble, when followed as it should be, in the true ani- mus and ardxjr of the chase— but most ignoble when perverted to base, culinary, carnal, gluttonous, self-seeking purposes- weak are they, when compared with the vivid and heart-thril- ling reality— yet even thus, they will have done their duty if they succeed in arousing the attention of the true friends of sports- manship throughout the land, to this most interesting subject. Certain it is that the Woodcock returns, whether old or young, to the same place where he was bred and where he has reared his ^ PPLAND SHOOTING. 109 young, if unmolested. If persecuted and shot off, year after year, on his very breeding ground, and while he was in the Wat; I "n"" P-of positive. In the immediate vicinity ot Wai wick m Orange county, within two miles of the village. U^ie re twenty little woods and swamps, each of which used ten o. twelve years ago to be a certain find in July for two, three or more broods of birds. It was easy shooting and easy marking giound. and year after year I and my party-at that time n! clean Tht " ^«^-"~k'"«d ^^ the whole summer stock! Clean. The consequence was. that long before the general hoo ing of the district was affected by the march of intel ec^ mile or two farther off. those swamps ceased even to hold a summer brood Twenty birds killed in a wood, twenty ty n succession mjure that wood less as a home for Woodcock than ten killed once in July. Hence as fnr fifV. .1, """^o^K T „„„ ;c , , , -^ -^ence, as tor htly other reasons, sum^ T ''"' '^'^'^^"'^'^ «^««^-g -t all, away with lull w u "' ""^"'' y'^" *=^«««« t« «^«ept Snipe although for the exception I can see no reason, unless it isX 11 d 2 h r""'"" '' ^'^'^- """^^^'^^^ ^-« P-'P-ble I had the honor to lay a draft of a petition to the New- York UP and the d T" -^ wi„,ei-1846-7-which las taken up, and the draft printed. I regret to say that, from prudential iTerZo^^lrr^^'^ '' -ny good Sportsmen, LT^^ pension of difficulty m getting a sufficiency of signatures action on It has been pos poned for the present I am still myself satisfied, that the measure therein proposed or some other nearly akin to it, is the last and only hope leTt ' sportsmen of preservine- anv tir,^ e , ^ ^ Woodcock, amoVus * "^ '' °^ *^''"'°' '"" ^»P'^"''% The domestic habits of the Quail, his haunting homestead, -d heconnng to some degree a pet of the faL~:; fMi 800 FRANK F0HE£1£U'S FIELD SPORTS. more, his indigenousness to the land, acts in a conHiderable degree as a protection to him. But the Woodcock, who is a mere emigrant, here to-day and away to-monow, has no domestic friend, no landlord to protect him, and men forget that if spared, he will as surely return to breed in the same wood again, bringing all his progeny with him to increase and mul- tiply, as the tepid winds and warm showers of April and May will succeed to the easterly gales and snow drifts of March, and the leaves be green in summer from the buds which burst in spring. My game law, such as it is, will be found in the appenijix to Upland Shooting. I believe it would be useful as it is, but should any sportsman or any society of sportsmen be able to concoct one better either in practice, or in the probability of success, I and all my friends, and those who think with me on the subject, are prepared to support it. Unity of action is the one thing ndfedful; and that cannot be attained if every man holds out resolutely for his own crotchet. Let the principle once be affirmed and made good, and the details are of infinitely minor importance. They will follow For the rest, what is to be done, must be done quickly, or we shall be liable to the ridicule which falls on the t^r Ay faineant who locks his stable door after the horee is stolen. Three or four more seasons like the two last, and the ques- tion will be settled to our hands, and if we do not bestir ourselves now, we shall find ere long that we shall have neither summer nor autumn Cock-shooting within a hundred miles oi the seaboard. VThAKD SHOOTING. SOI UPLAND PLOVER SHOOTING. ITH the end of July, all that can properly be called shooting, as a gen- uine sport, is at an end. The Wood- cock, as I have already stated, is no longer to be found, whether he be ^ lying perdu on the mountain tops, or off on a wilder wing for the far north. The Snipe has not yet begun to re- turn fiom his arctic breeding places ; the Quail is still busy with her eggs, or her fledgling cheepers; and the Ruffed Grouse, although her young are already two-thirds grown, is protected by the game-laws until the first day of November. This last protecti-n by the way, is as absurd in point of fact, as everything connected with the game laws of the States. All the varieties of Grouse are early breeders ; their young come rapidly to maturity ; when full-grown they are as wild aa hawks ; and at all times, from their own habits, and the peculi- arity of the ground on which they reside, they take better care of themselves, than any other species of winged game. The breeding season of these birds commences in May; early in June the young birds can fly ; and by the middle of September they are full-gi-own. There is this peculiarity about them, moreover, that they do not, as all other birds of this order,' rasores, with which I am acquainted, keep together in broods or coveys until the commencement of the next breeding season ; but separate altogether, and ramble about either as single indi- viduals, or in small parties, during the autumn and winter. . 1 202 FRANK FORESTRh's FIELD SPORTS. Aflor this separation has once taken place, the hiuh, l.oth younpr and old, are so wild that they will rarely or never lii- to be pointed by a dog, unlesH they are found by chance in «on.e very rlcnno brake or grass-grown thicket, in which they cannot run ; and consequently there is no chance of having any sj)ort with them, after they have once ceased to keep company This, I think. theySnvariably do. before the law permits that they should be shot. Consequently, although I have often been in regions where they abound, I have never found it worth the while to go out to hunt for them especially. They are a bird of a very rambling disposition, here to-day and miles off to- morrow, frequenting the roughest and most inaccessible moun- tain-sides, evergreen thickets, and woods of hemlock, pine or red cedar ; and I liave never seen, and never expect to see the place where a sportsman can be su(e of getting a dozen shots over points, or feven half that number, in a day's hard walkin-r Add to this, that if the Ruffed Grouse be the particular object of pursuit, there is no chance of finding any other species of game, unless it be a few Hares ; for the haunts of this solitary and mountain-loving misanthrope are too wild and rude for the domestic Quail, and too arid for the Woodcock. In autumn shooting, stragglers are often met on Quail ground, in low thickets, bog-meadow edges, and the like and then they afford good sport, and often make a great addition to the bag; but the only way is to take them as you find them and if you find them, be thankful ; but never deviate from your regular line of beat in order to find, or to follow them ; if you do. sure disappointment awaits you. The best day I ever had with Ruffed Grouse, was in the low. dense thickets on t.c cdee of the Big Piece, in New-Jersey, m the winter of 1837- wi -n there were a vast quantity of Quail in that region ; uvl I had not the least expectation of finding more than a chance strag- gler or two of the Grouse. With a fiiend, however, I bagged eight brace of these birds, fairly pointed, which I consider great sport, aa I have never before or since seen an opportunity of doing ,,, ru^aiter of the work, though I have taken long joui-neys T7PLAND SHOOTINO. SO.l for tl.o oRpecial purpose of gvUiufr this sport in perfection. If tlu, law authorized th.. shooting them in September, or at the latest on the fii-st of 0,-tol.or, there are many districts (,f the ••..untry, where tlie Rufled Gmuso wouhl afford great sport to those, who wouhl take tlio trouble to pursue them into their fiHtuesses, which recjuires considerable strength and activity. In the meantime, however, while there is no legitimate upland shooting to bo had— },y Legitimate, I mean that, which u fidlowed with dogs, whether Setter, Pointer or Spaniel, in a legitimate and scientific manner— there comes into piny, at the very critical moment, the " Hartramian Sandpiper," bettor known as the "Upland Plover"-" Grass Plover"— "Field Plo- ver," or " Frost Bird"— which as far as a hmne hmche f„r the epicure goes, is inferior in my judgment to no bird that flies, unless it be the Canvass-Back; and there, with the Chancellor, Idouht / As a game-bird, and olyoct of pursuit, I do not my- self care about him, the mndm operandi does not suit my book, or entertain me ; nevertheless, there is much skill displayed in circumventing, or as Major Docherty would say, surrounding this wily bird, and as frequently a very large number may be brought to the bag, it is with some persons a very favorite sport. This bird, which by the way is not a Plover, though very nearly allied to that species, is stated by Mr. Aububon to arrive m the Middle States, early in May, to reach Maine by the mid. die of that month, to breed from Maryland northward to the Sashatchewan, and to winter in Texas and Mexico. It is shot, in the Eastern and Middle States, from Massachu- setts to Pennsylvania, during the months of August and September, and in fact, until it is driven southward by the frosts ; although it is worthy of remark, that it is also killed abundantly so far south as the neighborhood of Charieston S C, as early as the middle of July. The great majority of 'the birds shot in these districts is certainly not composed of those only which are bred here ; but is continually swelled by flocks coming down successively from the north-eastward, where I !l li i IB ! 204 FRANK FORESO'^r's FIELD Si'ORTS. imagine they breed, in far greater quantities than within the confines of the States. On their arrival here they frequent, wlierevdr such exist, wide, upland downs or moors, covered with short, close turf; and are fou id in greater numbars in Rhode Island, in the vicinity of Newport, than in any other district with whirh I am ac- quainted ; although from the aspect of the country, th^ nature of the soil, and the quality of the grass lands, I cannot doubt but that they nmst exist abundantly along the Atlantic coasts of the State of Maine. Comparatively speaking, there are few sports^ men in that region, as is the case in all new countries,' where men hunt for profit or for provision, not for sport, and where the pursuit of the rger animals is so common and so well rewarded, as to render the shooting of birds or. the wing rare, and in the eyes of the community rather ridiculous. The con- sequence of this is, that the capabilities of the country in a sporting view, are unknov/n ; and the species of game, to be found in it, almost certainly lost to the sporting world. In June, 1840, 1 saw several of these birds, with young, in the immediate vicinity cf the city of Bangor ; and I have liltle or no doubt that, were proper means taken, great numbers might be procured at the proper season in that region. Ihe Field Plover is abundant in the Boston markets during the season; and I believe they are sufficiently common to afford amusement to the sportsmen of that country, ^hough I am not aware in what parts of the State they are most frequent. On the plains in the vicinity of Hempstead, Long Island, they used to abound ; and they still frequent that country, although not nearly so numerous as they wore some yearb since. In New Jersey they are very rare, owing to the nature, I imagine, of the soil, and the face of the country; for these birds are the least maritime of their race, and never, I think, frequent salt marshes, or water meadows of any kind ; of which most of the low lands m New Jersey consist, while its hills are not open slieep-walks, but rocky and wooded fastnesses, equally unfit for this Sandpiper's, abode. trPLAND SHOOTING. 20.'> Whero vast unenclosed plains are not to be found, this bird loves to^ haunt large hill pastures, fallow-fields, and newly ploughed grounds, where it finds the various kinds of insect food to which It IS so partial,_gi.asshoppers, beetles, and all the small coleopterous flies common to such localities, in the grass lands-and worms, small snails, and the like, on the fallows. ' The Upland Plover is a shy and timid bird ; and, on foot, it 18, tor the most part, nearly impossible to approach it. It feeds on ground such as I have described, in small companies-they cannot be called flodcs, for they do not usually act in conceit, or fly together, rising, if they are startled, one by one, and each taking Its own course, without heeding its companions~this, by the way, I have noticed as a peculiarity of all the upland scolo- pactd^, none of which fly, so far as T have ever observed, in large bodies, wheeling and turning simultaneously, at a signal as IS the practice, mo^e or less, of all the maritime Sandpipers,' rmlers. Plovers, and Phalaropes. While i-unning swiftly over the surface of the ground, they utter a very peculiar and plain- tive whistle, exceedingly mellow and musical, which has the remarkable quality of appearing to be sounded close at hand when It IS in reality uttered at a very considerable distance. l[ IS this note which frequently gives the first notice to the sports- man, that he is in the vicinity of the bird ; and it also gives him notice that the bird is aware of him, and out of his reach ; for no sooner is it uttered, than the Sandpiper either takes wing at once, or runs very rapidly to some distance, and then rising sweeps round and round in aerial circles, and alights again oui of distance. If wing-tipped, or slightly wounded, it runs so ra- pidly as to set pursuit at defiance, and then squats behind some clod of earth, or tuft of grass, to the colors of which its beauti- fully mottled plumage so nearly assimilates it, that it cannot be distinguished, without great difficulty, among the leaves aud herbage. I have oiily shot this Sandpiper myself, on a tract of upland pasture and ploughed land near to Bristol, in Pennsylvania, known as "Livingston Manor," where I found the birds very Ill f ml S06 FRANK FOHESTER's FIELD SPORTS. plentiful, and in excellent condition, during the month of August, in the year 1844. The country being closely enclosed with stout timber fences, it is impracticable either to drive up to them in a two-wheeled carriage, which is by far the prefera- ble mode of pursuing them, or to stalk them on horseback ; although I am of opinion that great sport might be had there with a pony that could fence well, and stand fire steadily. The men who shoot them for the market there, build bough-houses, in which to lie hid, or conceal themselves in the comers of maize-fields, or behind any casual hiding-places the countiy may offer, while their companions scatter about the fields, driv- ing the birds to and fi-o, and rendering them, of course, exceed- ingly wild ; yet a considerable number are shot thus, as they fly over their concealed enemies. This mode of proceeding is, of course, unendurable to the sportsman. By the aid of Eley's wire cartridges, red and blue, of No. 6 shot, however, I con- trived to get moderately good sport, walking about in pursuit of them, and taking my chance at those driven over me by other parties. I, one day, bagged sixteen birds thus ; but it would have been a hundred to one against getting a single Sandpiper, with loose shot ; as I am certain that not ono bird fell within fifty yards of me. This Sandpiper flies very swiftly, and when on the Aving shews like a very large bird, owing to the great length of its sharp-pointed wings. At first sight, you would suppose it to be as large as a pigeon, although its body is not, in truth, very much larger than that of the common Snipe, or intermediate be- tween that and the Woodcock, while the extent of its wings from tip to tip exceed either of these, by nearly one-fourth. Like many other species of wild birds, this Sandpiper is ex- tremely cunning, and appears to be able to calculate the range of a fowling-piece with great nicety ; and you will constantly find them sitting perfectly at their ease, until a few paces more would bring you within shot of them, and then rising, with their provoking whistle, just when you believe yourself sure of getting a crack at them. In the same manner they will circle ») UPLAND SHOOTING. 207 round you, or fly past you, just out of gunshot, tempting you all the time with hopes tha» will still prove false, unless you have some such device as Eley's cartridges, by which to turn the shrewdness of this cunning little schemer to its own destruc- tion. In Rhode Island, where alone the sport is now pursued sys- tematically, the mode adopted is this, — the shooter, accompa- nied by a skilful driver, on whom, by the way, the whole onus of the business rests, and to whom all the merit of success, if attained, is attributable, is mounted in what is termed in New England a chaise, that is to say, an old-fashioned gig with a top. In this convenience, he kneels down, with his left leg out of the carriage, and his foot fii-mly planted on the step, holding his gun ready to shoot at an instant's notice. The driver, perceiv- ing the birds, as they are running and feeding on the open sur- face, selects one, according to his judgment, and drives round it rapidly in concentric circles, until he gets within gunshot of it, and perceives by its motions that it will not permit a nearer ap- proach. He then makes a short half turn from it, pulling the horse short up, at the same instant ; and at that very same in- stant, for the Sandpiper rises invariably at the moment in which the chaise stops, the shooter steps out lightly to the ground, and kills his bird, before it has got well upon the wing. In the timing of all this various work, on the part of the driver and the gunner, there is a good deal of skill requisite, and, of course, a good deal of excitement. But the real sport, and the real skill, are both on the part of the driver, whose duty it is to deliver his marksman as nearly as possible to the game, yet never to nin the thing so close, as to allow the Sandpiper to take wing before he has pulled up. The difference in the judgment and skill of drivers is immense ; and there is one gentleman in New York, a well-known, and old friend of the public, who is said to be so infinitely superior to all others, that the gun in his chaise, even if it be handled by the inferior shot, is sure to come off the winner. It is not unusual, I am told, to bag from twenty to twenty-five couple of these delicious birds in a day's sport, ^■ 208 FRANK forester's FIELD SPORTS. in this manner, and I have heard of infinitely greater quantities being brought to bag. The record of some almost incredible number, killed by three guns, was published last year in the Spirit of the Times, and by well-known sportsmen ; but I have never tried the sport myself, and cannot therefore speak to it, I am told, it is vastly exciting and amusing,— but I have been told the same thing about lying flat on your back in a battery, off Fire-island Inlet— and I can only say, judging from analogy, that it may be very well for once or twice, or to kill a few hours when there is no other sport to be had, but that it must be awfully slow work, as compared vnth any soit of field shooting, on which the instinct and intelligence of dogs can be brought to bear. To see them work is, I think, more than half the battle. After all, any shooting — except shooting sitting — is better than no shooting ; and I have no doubt, if I were at Rhode Island, in the proper season, I should be found chaising k, as eagerly as any body else, I am sure I do not know why I should not, since older, and I dare say, better sportsmen than myself swear by it. This, then," is the connecting link between the autumn and spring shooting of the Uplands, For those who like them. Bay shooting, at all the varieties of Plovers, Sandpipei-s, Tattlers, Phalaropes, and Curlews, known along shore as " Bay Snipe," is to be had, in full force, everywhere from Cape Cod, or fur ther eastward, to Cape May, during the months of July, August, and September ; and, in the end of August, Rail shooting com- mences on the Delaware and adjacent rivers; but of these I shall treat in their places, — since the foi-mer must be regarded as Coast shooting, and the latter cannot be classed with Upland sport, although it is only pursued inland. With Plover shooting, therefore, the sports of the summer months end; and, with the month of October, the jolliest, hear- tiest month of the whole year, despite of what Mr, Bryant says of *' the melancholy days" of autumn, the real season has its commencement ; and thereafter the woodlands, the stubbles, and the raountain's-brow, are the true sportsman's Paradise. ^^ UPLAND SHOOTING. 209 AUTUMN COCK SHOOTING. i ! UTUMN shooting, which is par excellence the true spoit of the true sportsman — cannot be ... said to have Its beginning on any particular day, or even in any particular month of the season. Its commencement is regulated by the return of the Wona- cock, after its brief August migration ; and, the period of th it return being uncertain, and dependant on the state of the wea- ther, and other influences, with which we are not fully ac- quainted, the sportsman has only to bide his time, and take the season as he finds it. In truth, the variation of the autumnal season is in this res- pect very great, as regards both the Woodcock and the Snipe. 1 have shot both of these birds together, in considerable num- bers, on the same ground, so early as the 12th or 15th of Sep- tember ; and again, in other seasons, neither the one nor the other bird have made their appearance until so late as the mid- dle of October. As a general rule, however, I should say that Woodcock be- gin to return to the Atlantic States, in ordinary seasons, about the middle of September, and the Snipe about the first of Octo- VOL.1. 24 210 FRANK FORESTER S FIELD SPORTS. If ber, — the latter bird being for tlie most part a few days behind his congener. It is very well worthy of remark, both by the sportsman and the scientific ornithologist, that on their return in the autumn, neither the Woodcock nor the Snipe are found precisely on the same ground, which they use in spring ; and I am inclined to believe, that a more thorough investigation of this fact, might lead to the acquisition of more knowledge than we possess at present, concerning the causes of the migration of our various birds of passage. In my articles on spring Snipe, and summer Cock shooting, I have obsewed that at these seasons the two birds frequently appear to change their habits £nd haunts mutually ; the former being veiy often found in low bmshwood, and among dense briar, patches, and the latter, even more commonly, on open, rushy, water meadows, without a bush or particle of covert in the vicinity. In no respect does this ever happen in the autumn. I have seen no instance myself, nor have I heard of any from the most constant and regular country sportsman, who have the best op portunity of noting such peculiarities, of the Snipe ever resort- ing even to the thinnest covert on wood-edges, much less to dense coppices and tall woodlands, in the autumn. Nor have T ever seen a Woodcock on open meadow in that season. In Salem county, in New Jersey, this latter fact is very strongly demonstrated; inasmuch as during the summer the birds are hunted entirely, and foui'-fifths of them killed, on what would elsewhere be called regular Snipe ground, or in small brakes along the dykes and river margins ; and there is no finer summer Cock ground than this county, in the whole State. In the autumn, on the contrary, when the bird seeks other lo- calities, there is little or no covert, such as he loves, to be found in Salem, and of consequence, there is little or no autumn Cock shooting to be had in the southern district of New Jersey. The Snipe, on his airival, betakes himself at once to the same ranges of country, and the same meadows, as in the spring; #■ UPLAND SHOOTING. 211 and, with the sole exception that it is entirely useless to look for him in coppices, or along springy woodsides, as I have re- commended in wild weather in spring, his haunts and habits are precisely the same. He is more settled, not being now hurried in point of time, or busied about the pleasures of courtship, or the cares of nidi- fication. He lies harder before the dog, does not fly so far when flushed, and feels little or no inclination to ramble about, but adheres steadily to one feeding ground, unless driven away from it by persecution, until the hard frosts of winter compel him to betake himself to the rice-fields of Georgia, and the muddy margins of the warm savannah. Moreover, the weather itself being at this time steadier, and less mutable, the birds are much less often forced to move from one part of the country to another, by the fitness or unfitness of the ground. In spring one year the meadows are too wet, and another perhaps too dry,— both conditions being at times car- ried to such an excess, as to drive the birds off" altogether, from the impossibility of feeding or lying comfortably. In the autumn this is rarely, if ever, the case ; and although autumn shooting is, of course, in some degree variable— Snipe being more abun- dant one year than another— it never has occurred, within my observation, that the flight passes on altogether without pausing, or giving some chance of sport, more or less, as is not very un- usually the consequence of a series of droughts or rains in the spring. The Woodcock, on his return from the northward, or his des- cent from the mountain-tops, never, as a general rule, returns precisely to the same feeding grounds which he prefers in sum- mer, during the extreme heats, but appears to prefer dry hill- sides, sloping to the sun, southerly or westward, and to choose woods of young saplings, or sprouts, as they are commonly called in this country, tall, wet maple groves, and second growth of oak, adjacent to brook or meadow feeding grounds, rather than the dense coppice, and that variety of brakes and in- tervales, or glades, which he loves the best in July. Thispecu- f i ii . 41 .'111 i I It hi m 1 ill liiK yi S12 PRANK forester's FIELD SPORTS. hanty renders him a more agreeable object of pursuit at this period of the year, the rather that he is now found often in company with bevies of Quail, and that almost invariably the latter bird, when flushed in the stubbles where he feeds flies lor shelter to the very covert most haunted by the Woodcock All this will, however, vary more or less, according to the nature and face of the country; for where there is excellent feeding and breeding ground, not interspersed with the feniy hill-sides, overgrown with young, thrifty, thickset woodland, Cock do not desert the region, but are found almost in the same haunts as in summer. And where that is the case, the sportsman may note this dis- tinction, that whereas in summer, when he has once killed off- clean the whole of the one, two, or three broods, which frequent a small piece of coppice, or swamp thicket, it will be utteriy useless for him to beat it again, he may now, day after day, kill every bird on a piece of good feeding ground, and will still each succeeding morning find it supplied with its usual com- plement. I first learned this fact in Orange county, where, within ha/ a mile of the tavern at which I put up, there is a small, dry, tho^y brake, with a few tall trees on it. lying on a sort of island, surrounded by a very wet bog meadow, and half encir- cled by a muddy streamlet, overhung with thick alders, the whole aff-air, brake, meadow, and all. not exceeding three or tour acres, I knew the place of old as a certain summer-find for a single brood of Cock. In October, on the first day of my visit to the country. I beat this brake, at throwing off" in the morning, and bagged eleven fine fall birds-being four or five more than I expected-two birds went away wild without being shot at, and could not be found again. On the following day. having finished my beat early, and it not being above a mile out of my way home. I thought I would try to get the two survivors, and was much and most agreeably sui-prised at bagging nine birds, all that were flushed, on the spot. 'uit at this 1 often in riably the Beds, flies aodcock. ig to the excellent the feniy voodlantl, the same i this dis- killed off frequent e utterly ■ day, kill will still ual com- thin half lall, dry, sort of If encir- 3rs, the three or a single it to the ing, and 3 than I ; at, and finished ny way nd was irds, all UPLAND SHOOTINO. 213 Being quite certain that these were new comers, and the brake being a very pretty and easy place in which to get shots, and mark birds, I beat it regularly, either going out, or coming home, every day during my stay in the countiy, and bagged upon it, in all, sixty-three birds in six successive days. This is now very many yeare ago, but I noted the fact from its singularity at the time ; and I have since obsei-ved, that in 'pertain highly favored places, this may be regularly looked for; and I would never recommend a sportsman, shooting late in the autumn, particularly after the nights have begun to be frosty, to decline trying a likely piece of ground, a second, or even a third or fourth time, because he has already swept it clear of Woodcock. Tt does not, of course, follow of all ground whatso- ever ; but of all that ground which is the most beloved by the bird, it is unquestionably true that it will be filled, and refilled, many times in succession. This is certainly a curious fact, and one for which it is diffi-' cult to account, by any reasonable mode of explanation. The succession of so many birds, is in itself singular, it not being at all apparent where is the reservoir from which the current is supplied. It was not, in the case T have named, from other woods in the neighborhood, of slightly inferior excellence, as feeding ground, for these were not deserted ; and, if we suppose that ths fresh supplies came in consecutively from the north- ward by long flights, how should they have been able to time themselves so exactly, as to come on the very nights when the haunt was vacant, and at their service 1 On the other hand, if we adopt the idea that the descent is only from the neighboring mountain tops, why should these wait patiently until the others were killed off to their hands, instead of pouring down into the place in a body, and there remaining until the supply of food, which renders it so favorite a haunt, should be exhausted 1 Such, however, is invariably the case in such localities, and I never but once in my life observed anything like ajlock of these birds. That once, in a very wet place, on the edge of a heavy 2H FRANK forester's FIELD SPORTS. Bwamp, where a large spring, which never freezes, bursts o.it and percolates through the vegetable soil for a diHtance of a hundred yards, or a little more, before gathering itself into a single channel, I saw at least a hundred birds rise within three minutes. It was very late in the season, the 6th or 8th of No- vember, and sharp frost had already set in, and it was so late in the af>ernoon that it was almost dark. I was shootinOTINC. «]9 QUAIL SHOOTING. ' HAVE already, under my list of Upland Game, given a full description of this lovely little bird from the pages of Audubon and Wilson. Both of these authora lean to the southern fashion of calling »,.,.i, r 1 " this bird a Partridge. Now the tmh of the matter is simply this, that the bird in aueZnis Vro^^ly and «.«./, „either one nor the other, but a d "t „ the Amencan bird, distmct from either, Ortyx. The latter name bemg the Greek word, as Coturnix is the Latfn woTd -anmg Quail. It is, of course, impossible to talk about km-' u rfo "'"?; r "r" '^"'^^^^^ ^^<'^^- -- --t therefore perforce call these birds either Quail or P mridge. ' Now as both the European Partridges are considerablv more than double the size of the American bird, as they are n;vr ' any country rm^rator,, and as they differ from the OrtyxTnot L sL' ^,^^^^.'"7-«-'^ habits, in cry and in plumage ; 11 m size, and m being a bird of passage, the European Ou^I exactly resembles that of America ; resembling it n^l othj respects far more closely than the Partridge pLer I L for a moment hesitate in saying that A JZ^Q ' '^^ correct and proper English name for the Ort,. FV^W and con V ,hat the naturalists who first disti^uishfd rfrl the Quail with which he was originally classed, sanction t^ IP" 290 FRANK rOTlESTER's FIELD SPORTS. if fl English nomenclature by giving him a scientific title directly analogous to Quail, and not to Paitiidge. I should as soon think myself of calling the bird a Turkey as a Partridge, and I shall ever hold that the question is entirely set at rest, and that the tnie name of this dear little bird in the vernacular is American Quail ; and his country has better rea- son to be proud of him, than she has of many of her sons who make much more noise in the world than our favorite Bob- White. While on this subject, I may observe — for the benefit of our northern sportsmen, many of whom I have heard positively asseit that the Quail is not migratoiy — that every where west of the Delaware he is as distinctly a bird of migration as the Woodcock, and the farther west the more palpably so. Why he loses these habits with us of the Middle States I cannot guess, nor has any naturalist so much as alluded to the fact, which is nevertheless indisputable. It will be seen at once, from the foregoing description, that oar American Quail is a most beautiful little bird; but his beauties do not consist merely in his plumage, but in his gait, his pretty pert movements, his great vivacity, his joyous atti- tudes, his constant and cheerful activity. He is in all respects the most social, the meiriest, and most amiable of his tribe. During the breeding season, he alone, of the gallinaceous tribe, makes wood and mead resound with his shrill, men-y whistle, whence our country folk have framed to him a name Boh - White, fi-om some fancied similarity of sound, cheering his faithful partner during the toils of incu- bation. Afterward, when the bevies are collected, as he mns from the huddle in which he has passed the night, he salutes hia brethren, perhaps thanks his Creator, for the pleasant dawn, with the most cheerfiil noise that can be fancied, a short, quick, happy cheeping, "and seems to be," to borrow the words of the mimitable Audubon, I quote from memory alone, "tlio happiest little creature in the universe." fPLiND SHOOTIMO. ^gj ,„.?," *?"f ,!' "°' ""'^ *" ""»' »™We of hi, rtbe in refer- wift ltr'"'T "'T' ""^ ""^ ««"»"'' « '" deeply cove,,d 2?! ^i ' "*''' ""■""'J' of*" '™°"» grasses, which y!f r "■= "">"• -■ *= pain, which lie scattered in ,he stub- nmg abou among .he domestic fowl, in the bam-yard a" d flymg up, ,f suddenly disturbed, to perch under the raSrs" f some bam or out-house, seemingly fearless, and confide„r i„ such season,, of protection. 'u connaent, m During the whole of last winter, I had a bevy of thiteen b.rd, lymg wtthin three or four hundred yards of tl« „1 „ fllirand^h *r " '"'"''""""" ""'" "■" "--y ™»™ had lallen , and they became so tame, that they would allow me to approach wtthin twenty pace, of the spot where they wirrfed runnmg about and picking up the triangular seadl,p!fel,; unconcerned at my presence, .is soon, however, as the st' I commenced, and the bevy senarated ,1,„™. i • ^ ^ wild habits returned uponTn and H"' '"'° '"'•'"'■ '■■"'' my little friends. '^ ' ^""^ ' '"'™ """• '•" '^'"' "' The Quail pair, in the month of March, or even earlier if "f™::;itrro:y"irc:trfn:.T" r-- ^^ the sp^g^ is very late^and backw^-hi; IZ^l;^ As soon a, he has chosen to himself a mate, the happy nai, ^treat ,„ w,de, open, rushy meadows, where the couSado" of the country affords.them such retirement, among the tZk" of winch they love to ba,k in the spring sunshine, m" .„ t and hes htgher, and is broken into knoll, and gulleys you *,! fiad them at this .eason on the grassy banks bSde'tm .hj" Ill f i In liItU ; iiiilih 222 FRANK forester's FIELD SPORTS. tered hedge-row, or along the green and shrubby margin of some sequestered streamlet ; but never in thick woodlands, and rarely in open fields. Most birds, so soon as they have paired, proceed at once to the duties of nidification and the rearing of their young; it seems to me, however, that the Quail spend some time in pairs before proceeding to this task; for I have frequently seen them in pairs so early as the twentieth of March, yet I have never found the Hen sitting, or a nest with eggs in it, during spring Snipe shooting, though I have often flushed the paired birds on the same ground with the long-billed emigrants. I have never, indeed, seen a Quail's nest earlier than the middle of May, and have often found them sitting as late as the end of July. Their nest is inartificial, made of grasses, and situate for the most part under the shelter of a stump or tussock in some wild meadows, or near the bushy margin of some clover field or orchard. The Hen lays from ten to two-and-twenty eggs, and is relieved at times, in hatching them, by the male bird ; who constantly keeps guard around her, now sitting on the bough of the nearest tree, now perched on the top rail of a snake feni;e, making the woods and hills resound with his loud and cheery whistle. The period of the Quails' incubation, I do not know correctly ; the young birds run the moment they burst from the egg ; and it is not uncommon to see them tripping about with pieces of the shell adhering to their backs. The first brood hatched, and fairly on foot, the hen proceeds, at once to the preparation of a second nest ; and committing the care of the early younglings to her mate, or rather dividing with him the duties of rearing the first, and hatching the second bevy, she devotes herself incessantly to her maternal duties. So far as I can ascertain, the Quail almost invariably raises a second, and sometimes, I believe, even a third brood in a single season. Hence, if unmolested, they increase with extraordinary rapidity, when the seasons are propitious. It is, however UPLAND SHOOTING. 2-^3 equally certain that, under other circumstances, they suffer more severely in this region of country, than any other bird of game • and that m unfavorable seasons they run great danger of being altogether annihilated. The fear of this result has led to what I consider hasty and inconsiderate legislation on the subject Long severe snows, when the country is buried many feet deep, and he can procure no sustenance, save from the preca- rious charity of man, famishes him outright-heavy drifts, espe- cially when succeeded by a partial thaw, and a frost following hoJer' '''^'" ^^' '" ''^''^^ ^^^'^' ^""^'^^ '"^ '^y P"'°"- It is the peculiar habit of this bird to lie still, squatted in con- centric huddles, as they are technically called, composed of the whole bevy, seated like the radii of a circle, with their tails in- ward, so long as snow, sleet, or rain continues to fall. So soon as It clears off, and the sun shines out, with a simultaneous effort, probably at a preconcerted signal, they all spring up at once with an impetus and rush, so powerful, as carries them c^ar through a snow-drift many feet in depth; unless it be skinned over by a frozen crust, which is not to be penetrated by heir utmost efforts. In this latter case, where the storm has been general over a large extent of countiy, the Quail are not unfrequently so near to extinction, that but a bevy or two will be seen for years, on ground where previously they have been found m abundance; and at such times, if they be not spared and chenshed, as they will be by all true sportsmen, they may be destroyed entirely throughout a whole region. This was the case especially, through all this section of the country, in the tremendous winter of 1835-'36. when these birds which had been previously very abundant, were almost annihi-' ' lated ; and would have been so, doubtless, but for the anxiety which was felt generally, and the energetic means which were taken to preaei-ve them. Another peril, which at times decimates the breed for a sea- son, 18 a sudden and violent land-flood in June and July which drowns the young broods j or a continuance of cold, showery, '11 iflifl ii\ 224 FRANK forester's FIELD SPORTS, weather, in those and the preceding months, which addles the eggs, and destroys the early bevy. This is, however, but a par- tial evil, — as the Quail rears a second brood, and, as I have be- fore observed, sometimes a third ; so that in this case the num- ber of birds for the season is diminished, without the tribe being endangered. The open winters, which ha. - iled latterly, have been exceedingly favorable to the incr. . . of this beautiful and pro lific little bird. Never, perhaps, have they been more abundant than they were last autumn ; and as the winter has been in all respects the most propitious ever known, there having been scarcely a single fall of snow of any magnitude, and no crust in any instance to molest them, there is every likelihood of a fine stock next autumn being raised throughout the Middle States. A little judicious legislation — a little energy combined with careful consideration of the subject, and mutual concession on the part of true sportsmen, might possibly now preserve this very interesting native American from the total extinction that threatens him. It is quite clear, that neither idle good wishes, nor faineant despair, will do so. One bad winter, and the present state of things, will settle the question for us, — ^but the wrong way ! Unlike the young broods of the Woodcock, v/hich are mute, save the twitter with which they rise, the bevies of Quail appear to be attached to each other by tender affection. If dispersed by accidental causes, either in pursuit of their food, or from being flushed by some casual intruder, so soon as their first alarm has passed over, they begin calling to each other with a small plaintive note, quite different from the amorous whistle of the male bird, and from their merry daybreak cheeping ; and, each one running toward the sound, and repeating it at inter- vals, they soon collect themselves together into one happy little family, the circle of which remains unbroken, until the next spring, with the genial weather, brings matrimonial ardors, pair- ing and courtship, and the hope of future bevies. If, however, the mthless sportsman has been among them. i addles tlie ', but a par- 5 1 have ba- se the num- tribe being have been ill and pro re abundant been in all aving been no crust in )d of a fine [lie States, ibined with ncession on reserve this inction that or faineant snt state of ?way ! h are mute, uail appear f dispersed d, or from 1 their first ther with a 3U8 whistle iping; and, it at inter- lappy little il the next rdors, pair- long them, UPLAND SHOOTING. 2S5 fo .fe^rr ""'""''"""'"• "-ey -ill p.„,.ac. their IMe c»ll I k,l •"/r™''!'' '™" "• "igh.-fall, and i„ .u.h ca.e»- whWe " "°"™ '^""^ "' "'''"•''•'"y i"*eir wailing thinr *7';™'' "^ '«P<«=i'-'"j'- 1 had found a small bevy of thnteon b.rd, ,„ an „,cha„I, cl„.e ,„ tl,e l,„u,e in which I was passing a portion of the a„,u„„, .„a in a very few J,Z2 and , was perfectly open shooting. The thirteenth and las b.rd, tistng with two others, which I killed right and left flew co"r„l „?: '7r " r -■"•"■^^ ""™« -- suntachs i'n ti: corner of a tail fence. I conid have shot him certainly enough, bu some u„de6ned feeling induced me to call my do™ to hed and spare h,s little life ; yet aftetwa I almost regreLd ^ul 1 ce„a,nly mtended at the time to be mercy ; for day afteriv mora t,l dewy eve, ciymg for his departed friends, and full :^^rL::,r°'"' "'■"'"-'-' ^>« -"«- -!^" mat t T P"---\™P'a'«e"y nature in the heart of man, that however much, when no, influenced by the direct heat of sport we deprecate the killing of these little birds, and P.ty.he md,v.dual sun-e,,„,_,h„ moment the do. point, 3 e bevy pri„g„ „, ,^ ^,.„^,.„^, rr:™^;::;: , ,^^e:ct^.rh:nt:!;::r Qf^alUirds, in this or any ofter country, so far as I know ifii hi H H 886 FRANK forester's FIELD SPORTS. from personal experience, or have heard from others more com- petent to pronounce on the subject, the Quail is the most diffi- cult both to find and to kill with certainty. Bred in the open fields, and feeding early in the morning, and late in the afternoon, on buckwheat and other grain stub- bles, during all the rest of the day, the bevies lie huddled up to- gether in little knots, either in some small thorny brake, or under the covert of the grassy tussocks in some bog meadow. The small compass that each bevy occupies, while thus indo- lently digesting their morning meal, renders it very easy for the best dogs to pass within six yards of them, without discovering their whereabout ; and, consequently, even where the country is well stocked with bevies, it is not an uncommon thing to toil a whole day through, without raising one-half the birds which have fed in the morning on your range. Again, when flushed in the open, these birds immediately fly to the thickest and most impenetrable covert they can find ; nnd in some sections of the country in which I have shot, Maryland especially, that covert is of such a nature, so interwoven with parasitic creepers, cat biiars, and wild vines, and so thickly set with knotted and thorny brushwood, that they can run with im- punity before the noses of your Pointers < Setters, and that, without the aid of cocking Spaniels, which arc ' - used in the United States, they cannot be forced to take wing . These birds have another singular quality, whit '•pnders them exceedingly difficult to find, even when they have l i ac- curately marked down after being once flushed. It is, th, "or some considerable time after they have alighted, they give foi no scent whatsoever, and that the very best dogs will fail to give any sign of their presence. Whether this retention of scent is voluntary on the part of the bird, it is very difficult to ascertain. It is a very strange power, if it be voluntary, yet not more strange than many others of the instincts possessed by wild animals. There is one thing which would lead to the conclusion that it is voluntary, or at least that the bird is conscious of the fact. trPLAND SHOOTING. 237 .W» singular power ol'JppT,!' 1 ° '" *" ''•'"''"="™ <"• taWnj marked ,,.,„„ a b^'; .o a VaJinft'' T,""'"""' ""^^ having failed ,„ seart .hem I havetft fl^I""; *™",''' ""'' 'l.a. they had taken ,„ a,e , eer„? rif ? ""• ™"'^'"<'i"« when I am satisfied, hadT^TZd h ™\'«"'" ""»»«" ^y me, in« .0 beat f„.. then.: I mi^hT,;:! td ^Xot, "7 "Th"'" :r:re\: :^.:t.s^,^".-. "^-^ ^^'^■' ---X Btill «„ far a ' mve ' ""'' ""'' '"■"■"" '"""'» »' »""«'-. of a Agle b! ylan "f :""'^^"»"- "^ -">« Panicular habit ,.e nevy, tlian of any natural instinct of the bird Once aga,„_and I have done with the difficulties of fi^d' particular bevies, endowed with fl,», . <"»"=»"™ of finding— proaches so very nearlv^o rT T ™* " ""'*' """>> "P' guished therefL, ; f «;:::"'«;' d '""^ "^" •" '■""■ days and weeksin sll • '"''• '"^riaWy for many nook, or cTump o?brr "; '° '""" """""''" "-'-of-tbe-way an'lToZdtreriri^l^^^^^^^^^ When within two hundred v.r^f "°"»« J^te m the evening, and he thought he cou?d stlrt H "l^'^^^^P^^^Ie tavei^. he said had obsLed ra:i:rfte?;or r'^ ^^^^^" ''-' -'-^ '^ Accordingly we went to the place and hn^ r,«. ™.o the b„g,befo. the SettL oV wh cl :' fad' t'hTl; :™Xti^iu;tTb:£;:-V^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ buckwheat stubble, su„o„nded by . ^ ll7b f "" 1 '.nary hedges, which lay just beyond the g^Te " ""' We hunted till it was ,ui.e dark, however, without moving • m M8 FRANK FORESTEH's FIELD SPORTS the birds. On going out the next moniing, we drew tlio boga blank, and it hocamo evident tliat tliey had roosted in tlie place, wherever it was, to which they had flown, on being disturbed. We set off, therefore, again in that direction, hoping to find them on their feeding ground, but spent the greater part of the morning trying for them in vain. We then took our dogs in a different direction ; and after a day's sport — whether good, bad, or indifferent, I do not now remember — again found our bevy in the same bogs, — killed a brace of them only, in consequence of their rising wild, and the evening having grovm dark, and again marked them over the same wood corner — the birds literally flying over the top of the very same crimson maple which they had crossed the pre- , vious evening. It was too late to look farther after them that night, and I knew that they would not be in the bogs on the following mom- ing, — we took, therefore, a different beat, and heard no more of my bevy. On the third day, however, being piqued by the escape of these birds, I determined to spare no pains to find their hiding- places. We proceeded accordingly to the bogs, the first thing in the morning, found them before they had quitted their roost, and drove them for the third time over the top of the same red maple. These birds, be it observed, were on my old companion's own fann, every inch of which we knew thoroughly, and on which there was not a brake, or tuft of rushes, likely to harbor a single bird, much less a bevy, with which we were not ac- qnainted. We spent four hours beating for these birds again in vain, and left the ground in disgust and despair. In returning home, however, that night, we recrossed the same fields ; and expecting nothing less than to find game, 1 was walking down the side of a snake-fence, along which grew a few old apple-trees, with my dogs pretty well fagged at my heel, and my gun across my shoulder. Suddenly out of the UPLAND SHOOTING. 229 n m vain, mouth of an old collar, over which a cottage had atood in past days, up whirled a bovy of Quail, and away over the very same tree-toj,, but now in the opposite direction. Or. examining the cellar, the inside of which was filled with bnars and weeds, we found conclusive proof in the numerous droppings of the birds, that they had been in the constant habit of sitting therein, attracted thither probably, in the first instance, by the apples which had fallen into the hollow from the trees overhead. It was as yet but early in the afternoon, and we were so near home that we got fresh dogs, and went to work at them again in the bogs, wheie we originally found them. Some time had elapsed, and they had run together into a single knot, rose again very wild, and flew directly back to the old hiding-place. Thither we followed them at once, flushed them therein, proving most unequivocally that they had always lain perdu in the same small spot, and drove them out into the open It was too dark by this time to pursue them any longer ; and afterward, though .e found them constantly in different parts ot the bog meadow, neither as a body, nor as single birds, did they ever betake themselves again to the cellar for refuge Had I not accidentally blundered on that place, when think- mg of anything rather than of the birds, I might have hunted tor a month over the ground vyithout finding them. From the cavity, and the narrowness of the mouth, a dog might have .^one withm a yard of it without scenting them ; and I have no doubt that mine had been more than once within that distance of them. And here I have done with the difficulty of finding, which by the way is not the least step toward killing our bird. It is, however, little less difficult to kill when found, than to hnd m the first instance. When first flushed the bevy rise with such a whirring and tumultuous noise that they are very apt to flutter the nei-ves of a young sportsman ; and if they rise very close to the shooter, I have often seen even tolerably good shots d^sclmrge both their barrels fruitlessly, from doing so much too *»>" FRANK FORESTER'S FIELD Sl'OKTS. Tliis is not, however, by any moans the difTiculty to wlilch I alludt^ iiH an :37 with .rood eyesight, and steady nei-ves, may attain to respecta- bility, if not excellence, in this gentlemanlike and manly art. To this end, practice and coolness are the gieat desiderata. Rules, I think, avail little, if anything. I have seen men shoot excellently, who closed one eye to take aim— excellently who shot with both open,— never, however, I must admit, decently, who shut both— not, by the way, a very uncommon occunence with beginners. I have seen men again shoot excellently, car- rying their guns at full cock,— excellently, who never cocked either ban-el till in the act of firing. There is, however, one thing to be observed, — no man can shoot well in covert, or at snap shots, who follows his bird with his gun, or dwells on his aim — the first sight is always the best ; and it is deliberate promptitude in catching this first sight which alone constitutes — what my poor friend, J. Cypress, Junior, used to call the rarest work of nature — a truly cool, truly quick crack shot. With regard to hunting dogs on Quail, there is a great deal to be said ; and in nothing is the true and thoroughbred sports- man more distinctly marked from the cockney pot-hunter, than by his skill, temper, and success, in managing his four-footed companions. Quail shooting, as the most difficult of all shooting, and re- quiring the greatest natural qualifications, and most perfect training in the dog, demands also the greatest science in the person who hunts the dog. The great desiderata here are, first, to know precisely what a dog ought to do, — and, second, to make him do it. In this country, far more sportsmen fail in the first — in Eng- land more in the second particular. It were scarce too much to say, that four sportsmen, in their own opinion, here, out of five, know so little what are the re- quisite performances and capabilities of a dog, that within twelve months after buying a perfectly well-broke doo-, they permit him to lose all he has ever known, merely from failing to exercise his abilities, and punish his eccentricities. 238 FRANK forester's FIELD SPORTS. I Hi As in all other tuition, reward az.d punishment must both be brought into play; but it is a great thing to remember that, while a dog should never be allowed to disobey an order, or to commit a fault unpunished, it is well neither to harass him by unnecessary commands, nor to tempt into faults by over exac tion Moreover, a dog cannot be managed with too little shouting. He should be accustomed always to obey the whistle ; and he will very soon learn to understand the meaning invaiiably attached to any combinations of that sound, turning his head to observe the gesture of your hand, by which he may be directed to beat this way or that, to back his fellow's point, or to down- charge— the signal for the two latter duties being the same,— the hand held aloft, with an erect arm, open, with the palm facing the dog, the fingers closed, but the thumb extended. This motion ought to arrest a dog at the top of his speed, the instant his attention is called to it, as suddenly as if he were shot dead ; and the advantages gained fr(^ the strictest enforce- ment of the rule, are too palpable to demand further comment. If, therefore, a Setter, or Pointer, is broke to lie down im- mediately to charge, on the firing of a shot, and to turn his head at every whistled call of his master, thereafter obeying one or two simple gestures, the necessity for roaring Jike a bull of Bashan, as is the practice of most dog-breakers, and all cockney sportsmen, will be entirely obviated. The advantages of which will be, that you will not flush four-fifths of all the game within hearing, nor drive your fellow sportsmen crazy, if they happen to be blessed with nerves ; and not render yourself as hoarse as a waterman on a hackney-coach stand, by bellowing out orders, which your dog, nine times out of ten, cannot hear, being to windward of you. A shrill ivory Avhistle should always be hung from the button- hole of the jacket, and a heavy dog-whip invariably earned in the pocket ; but, although neither of these, in their way highly useful implements, should be suffered to enjoy a sinecure, if is almost unnecessary to observe that of the last, even more than UPLAND SHOOTING. S39 of the first, the real utility will be greatly diminished by too frequent application I shall have farther occasion to speak of the management of dogs, and indeed of the habits and mode of shooting Quail like- wise, under the head of " General Autumn Shooting," which will follow the few remarks I shall proceed to make on Pin- nated and Ruffed Grouse shooting, as practised apart from the pursuit of other game. ■^* .»# 240 PRANK FORESTEU'S FIELD 8P0R18. RUFFED GROUSE SHOOTING, VULOO, — P AUTRIIXIE S H O O T I NO . yf T was m^ misfortune once — ^ once only, gentle reader^in my j^-. life, to be seduced into underta- king av excursion very late in the season, a few days only be- fore Chiistmas, into the interior of Connecticut, for the especial n . p'li-pose of shooting the Ruffed Grouse, or as it is there termed. Partridge. I went on the representation of a friend, who while Cock wei , down, had moved an immense number of these birds whch were then in broods with the old hen. He a' Id 1' - he fully expected would prove the case, that we should c'r tamly get twenty or thirty fair shots ach. dail^ and " consequence I looked for great sport. ^ ' " The result was, that, although we had twn h.. r ^ other occasion, „„eefr Sir T "' '''"" *""• °" t.. my opinion, o .o out 71 T" •""■"""'<"'■ ■="""■"•/ or .0 .eLe ^ ^J::^^ :^^: X:: t:. i""'" ^™'^' one ca,„ have been soccessful ' ""''"' '" "^ UPLAND SHOOTmo. £41 The RufTod Grouse, after the broods have separated and left the hens are the wildest and most wary birds I have ever pur- sued when the woody nature of the haunts which they affect 18 taken into consideration. They have also the most rambling habit of any American game-bird, except the Turkey ; it not bemg an uncommon thing for the single birds, or the small companies mto which they sometimes form themselves, to wander on the foot, without taking wing at all. ten or twelve miles, at a stretch, over rough hills and through deep wood- ands. Add to this, that their favorite resorts are the steep ledgy 8,des of rocky hills, covered with thick wood, and that generally of evergreens, as pine, hemlock, or red cedar, with an undergrowth of the great mountain rhododendron, com- monly known as laurel. It is the characteristic of this sort of woodland that, while the foliage is very thick and intricate above, on a level with the breast and eyes of the sportsman, it 18 for the most part perfectly open and clear below; so that while the hunter has the greatest difficulty in seeing his birds, the birds have none whatever in seeing him or his dogs. Thev consequently start on the full run-and ho who has tried to secure one when wing-tipped or slightly wounded, without the aid of dog. knows what pace that is-the moment the sports- man enters the wood; and after keeping the dogs trailing and reading on their scent for a mile or two. either flap up unper- ceived into a tree, or take wing at a hundred yards' distance • and m either case get away unshot at. On this account they are the most trying bird to the temper of a dog that possibly can be imagined, as it is comparatively speaking of very rare occurrence that they will lie to be pointed, and flushed over the point. The exception to this rule is where they are found, which is rarely the case, in low, swampy thickets of heavy covert in level country. In such places, if you have the luck to find them, you are almost certain of great sport; for. where the ground 18 thick and tangled at the bottom, they will squat VOL. I. 16 Ill 84S FRANK forester's FIELD SPORTS. finding themselves unable to run, and will lie, on such occa- Bions, till they are literally kicked up. I have never, in all my experience of shooting in this coun- try, seen this occur but twice ; and in fact the bird is so seldom found in lowland country, that I consider it utterly useless to go out in pursuit of Ruffed Grouse, except as an adjunct with other birds of bolder and freer wing. One of the instances I have alluded to above, is perhaps not unworthy of notice, as I believe it to be almost unique ; for I have met no sportsman who has seen any thing of the sort occur with the RuiFed Grouse, though with the Prairie Hen it often happens. It occurred during early autumn shooting, on the second or third of November, immediately after the law of New-Jersey permits this bird and the Quail to be shot ; and Woodcock had not as yet forsaken the country. I was beating fur game in general, but rather with a view to Cock than any other bird, in a long, nar. ow swale, between a steep ridge and an open meadow, along the edge of which my companion wns walking, while I myself made good the whole width of the alder coppice with my dogs. Suddenly both the Setters came to a dead point at a small patch of thick briars and brambles close to the meadow fence, and, on my walking up to them, finding that nothing moved, I took it for grant'jd that it wiis a Hare, and called out to my friend to look out, as I would beat It out to him. On kicking the briars, however, to my great surprise a very fine Ruffed Grouse, a cock bird, rose within ten feet of me, and flew directly across me toward the hill. Unfortunately, my friend fired at the bird across me, contrary to all rules of sportsmanship, so that two charges were wasted on this bird ; for immediately, at the report, three more birds rose out of the same brake, two of which flew across him over the open meadow, both of which he must have killed had he reserved his fire, as he should have done, while the third follow- ed the cock across the swale to the ridge, till I stopped him. Taking it for granted that all the birds must have gone now, four barrels having been fired directly over the thicket in which UPLAND SHOOTINO. ?13 they lay, I made some observation to my companion about his nushness in firing; when throe more birds whirred out of the same bush m quick succession, and of curse got away un8h„t at, all our barrels being empty. After I had loaded, yet an eighth bird got up a fow yards ahead, having crept out I imagine, while tlie dogs were at down charge, and I was foitu- nate enough to kill it also-thus bringing four Ruffed Grouse to bag. which were spi-ung one by one. or very nearly so, out of a thicket less than thirty feet in circumference. We ou-^ht certainly to have got one more bird, at least; and had we been as silent as we should, might possibly have bagged them all, for hey all rose within four or five yards of our gun-muzzles, and tlie place was quite open and fair shooting ground I never saw a more evident proof of the great propriety, and great gam. of attending strictly to the most minute rules of sportsmanship and woodcraft ; like laws of military tactics they can never be violated with impunity ; and though we ob- serve them ninety-nine times, the violation on the hundredth will almost certainly prove disastrous. I know an instance of a good sportsman in the city of New- York, whose name I do not record, giving him the credit of a remarkable feat; because, being in business, it might injure him among those gentry of the street, who think no hunting but dollar-hunting m^..,aW,/ .^ho actually brought to bag eight i^innated Grouse, in succession, without himself moving from his ground, or his dog breaking its point. This occurred, some years since, on Martha's Vineyard ; but, as I have observed betore, I know no authentic instance of the Ruffed Grouse ever ^ing in the same manner, after the separation of the broods. Before that period, they of course lie to the dog as the Quail the Prairie Hen, or the Grouse of the British Isles. Hence I consider the day fixed by our legislature for the end of close time, as too late in regard to the Ruffed Grouse. The constantly repeated tale, that the Ruffed Grouse when it alights in trees in companies, which it occasionally will do in t ^^o. spring, when eating the young buds, of which it is extremely 244 FRANK forester's FIKLD SPORTS. 15)iul, will allow the whole Hock to be shot down, one by one, without stirring, provided the Hliooter takes the precaution of shooting that which nits the lowest on the tree, first, is as fabu- lous, as it is, on the face, ridiculous. Mr. Audubon notes this fact, with his wonted accuracy; adding that during heavy snow storms he has sometimes killed three or four. This is credible enough ; starvation will make any bird or beast tame, and snow appears, while falling, to have a peculiar effect on birds of this order— unlike rain, which makes them wild — rendering them very unwilling to rise. — Savages in this region of country— I can designate them by no other name— often shoot whole bevies of Quail while huddled together on the ground in their little circles, during snow stoi ms, in this manner, at a single shot. So far, however, are such foul practices from deserving to be recorded as modes of killing game, that I only speak of them here, in order to uphold them, and all who practice them, to the contempt ai.'d abhor- rence of every one who would be termed a sportsman. I have been told that these birds exist in such abundance on the Kaatskills, and in all that region of country, that it is well worth the while to go out in pursuit of them, without reference to, or rather with no chance of finding any other species of game. This I, at least, shall never attempt ; nor shall I ever advise any person to do so. I know that they abounded in that district of Connecticut of which I have spoken above, as was proved by the fact that many scores were offered to me for purchase, which had been snared, yet it was impossible to get shots at them over dogs. Again, throughout the semi-cultivated portions of all the Eastern States, and especially in Maine, the woods are literally full of them ; yet such are their peculiarities of habit, that it is useless to attempt to have sport with them. A man, stealing along the old grassy wood roads, keeping absolute silence and a bright look out, may manage to pick up a brace or two in the course of a day, and this is probably more than the best sports- man living can effect with the best dogs— but that is not sport for sportsmen ! trPLANU SHOOTING. 24^ The RufTed Grouso is a Hingularly handsome bird, whether on the ground or on the wing; hx.king. from the l.,„.sonosH an I downy habit of his leathers, considerably larger than ho really w. He rises with a very loud whirring of his wings— which Mr. Audubon asserts so positively, that I must suppose so accu. rate an observer to be surely correct, to be uttered merely at moments of alarm and sudden trepidation, the bird when not forced to take wing, rising noiselossly-and gets under way mth extreme rapidity. In general, this bird does not rise much higher than a man's head, and then flies very straight, and very swiftly, at an even elevation for several hundred yards; after which it will set both its wings, and sail dead before the wind with immense velocity. To kill the Rulfed Grouse, when thus Hkating down-wind, as it crosses you, having been flushed at a distance, it is necessary to allow a considerable space for the swiftness of its motion ; and I should fire not loss than two feet m front of one, at thirty-five or forty yards' distance. Going directly away from the gun, the Rutfed Grouse, like the Quail, IS an awkward bird to kill, from the fact, that they both fly with the body so nearly level, that the rump and haid bones of the back receive the shot ; and in this part of the body they will have to be struck very heavily, before they will fall. Tt 18 a good plan in this position to shoot a little low, as you are far more apt to over than to under-shoot them. A cross shot, if not too far oft', is easily killed ; as the bird affords a fair mark, and will not can-y off" nearly so much shot as the Quail, if struck well forward. Beginners are apt to shoot behind all their cross shots, and perhaps especially so at this bird, his long tail and loose feathers tending to deceive them. It is a matter of exceeding surprise to me, that this bird has not been naturalized in Great Britain. Its extreme hardihood would render its success certain ; and in every part of the coun- try, but in the woodland and forest counties especially, Dorset s'lire, Devonshire, parts of Essex, the New Forest, throughout Wales, and in many districts of the North Country, and Soot- " 246 PRANK forester's FIELD SPORTS. land, it would very soon become abundant. Indeed, the hed"-e. rows would be sufficient to hold it, everywhere ; and from what I have seen, and stated above, of its habits in the low grounds here, I do not doubt that it would there aftord sport equal to any English bird, except the Red Grouse. Its flesh is delicious, if dressed properly. It will bear to be kept hanging, in the autumn, two or three weeks with manifest advantage ; it should be loasfed quickly, before an extremely hot fire ; and it should be exposed at once to the full heat, at a short distance, so as to sear the pores of the skin, and prevent the exudation of the juices ; after a few minutes it may be withdrawn from the focus of heat, until it shall be cooked through. It should be eaten, as should the Grouse and Quail, with bread sauce and fried crumbs, — any sort of jelly, or sweet condiment, with any galli- naceous fowl, or any meat that is not immoderately fat and lus- cious, is an abomination. As a variety, either this bird, or the Quail, is delicious larked, boiled, and smothered in celery sauce ; and the Quail, en passant be it said, is undeniable in a pie, with a fat rump steak at the bottom of the dish, a dozen hard-boiled eggs, and the slightest possible soupc/on of garlic, and one cayenne pepper-pod. If intended to be eaten cold, both birds are better boiled than roasted ; as they will be found on trial much juicier, and less dry, than in the usual mode. The plan resorted to by French cooks, who never know how to cook any sort of game, except in salmis, or the like, of blan- keting these birds in pork fat, cut thin, before roasting them, is, of course, entirely wrong. It prevents the gi-and desideratum, namely, the searing of the skin, so as to make it contain the na- tural juices ; and, instead of its own game gravy, saturates it with the essential oil of jrig. The epicure will prefer the back-bone and thighs of this deli- cious bird ; and, by saving them for himself, he will also gain the credit of great disinterestedness from the ladies, and the snobs, — Heaven forbid that I should intend a comparison, in thus uniting them ! but it is a fact that they both invariably UPLAND SHOOTING. 247 I, the heJge- id from what low grouncia equal to any delicious, if fing, in the je; it should nd it should fice, so as to ition of the 3m the focus Id be eaten, e and fried h any galli- fat and lus- bird, or the i in celery 3niable in a jh, a dozen N of garlic, boiled than sv, and less know how :e, of blan- ig them, is, sideratum, ain the na- aturates it f this deli- also gain !S, and the jarison, in invariably prefer the bosom, as I believe it is the fashion of these modest d lys to term the white meat. For the benefit of what the French are pleasod to call amphi- tryons, the excellent men who are rich enough to give good dinners, and of the happy men who are allowed to eat them, I will add, that red wine is the thing with game of all kinds. Tlie right thing of all is Ghambertin, or clos de Vougeot ! but, in default of these, a sound Lafitte or Latour claret is excel- lently well in place. Champagne is not the thing in the least ; and, for those who aspire to feed themselves or their friends creditably, without aiming at the expense of the costly French red wines, allow me to suggest, that a glass of - ood gold sherry is perfectly allowable with game. Except at a ball supper, no one, except counter-jumpers, ever think of champagne, beyond one tumbler with the roti. The next thing to killing your game handsomely, after find- ing it gnostically, is undoubtedly knowing how to set it on the table, for the benefit of your friends, in perfection, and with the proper accessories} and a hint or two on this subject may be pardoned, even in a work on field sports,— especially where such abominations are practiced, as eating Snipe and Woodcock high, drawing the trail, and broiling them ; and eating currant, or plum jelly, with roast Grouse ; or cranberries with venison. Nothing in my eyes is more contemptible, than the man who cannot rough it upon occasion, — who cannot dine heartily, and with a relish, on a bit of cold salt pork, and a cinist of bread, when he can get nothing better ; but nothing is more stupidly, or hopelessly savage, than the man who does not care what he eats. In the code of game-cookery, the gridiron is an article of the kitclien prohibited, unless in the case of a venison steak, a Bear chop, or a Wild Duck. To broil a Quail, or a Grouse, much more a Snipe, or a Woodcock, ought to be made— like/r^m^ a beefsteak — death without benefit of clergy. ^i? u H'f li 248 FRANK FORESTEE's FIELD SPORTS. II III GROUSE SHOOTING. HIS noble sport I have never my- self had an opportunity of enjoying, though I still live in the hope of finding myself on some fine autum. nal morning, in the Western Prairies, with two or three brace of good dogs, a staunch companion, and all appur- tenances suitable for a month's sport. They are in all respects the noblest bird, which is to be shot over Pointers in the United States ; and the vast numbers in which they are still found in their own Prairie-land, the magni- ficent range of country which is spread out before the eye of the sportsman, the openness of the shooting, and the opporlu nity of obsei-ving all the motions of the dogs, must render this spoit, like Red Grouse shooting in Great Britain, the queen of American field sports. In the State of New Jersey, it is said that a few birds still linger among the sandy pine barrens, along the southern shore, but if so, they have become so rare, that it is worse than useless to attempt hunting for them. On the brush plains of Long Island they were entirely extinct, even before my anival in America. Among the scrub oaks in the mountains of Pike and Northampton counties, in Eastern Pennsylvania, a few packs are supposed to be bred yearly, and a few sportsmen are annu- ally seduced into the attempts to find them. But annually the !i!r'li UPLAND SHOOTING. 249 attempt is becoming more and more useless ; and anything ap- proaching to sport is absolutely hopeless. Many years ago I spent a week among the forest land north- ward of Milford, and with no success whatever, not so much as seeing a single bird. In Martha's Vineyard they are so strictly preserved, that I have never taken the trouble of travelling thither on the chance ofobtaming permission to shoot at them, although I am well aware that there are sportsmen from New York who resort thither yearly in pursuit of them. On the barrens of Kentucky, where they formerly abounded, as m the Eastern States, they have become extinct ; and, in truth, unless the sportsman is prepared to travel so far as Chicago, St. Joseph's, or St. Louis, he has not much chance of obtaining any- thmgto reward his nains, in the way of Grouse shooting; and It IS, perhaps, worth ol)serving, that in the present advanced state of mternal communication with the Western Country, there is no real difficulty, and no great expense, in the way of the adventurer who would try his fortune on the Heath-Hen in its own wild haunts. The facilities of steamboat travel are par- ticularly favorable to the transportation of dogs ; and it would, doubtless, well repay a party to set off at any time after the' first of September, with a strong kennel, for the prairies. This Grouse breeds early, the nest being generally finished on the first of May; the eggs are rarely more than twelve in number, the hen sits eighteen or nineteen days, and the youncr run so soon as they are hatched. This species never raises a second brood, unless the first is destroyed. About the first of August the young are about equal in size to the Quail, and are, I regret to say, at that age, and a little older, butchered, and pronounced excellent eating by men who take the name of sportsmen. A writer in the " Tuif Register," under the title of "Tom Trigor," a fellow of infinite humor, and of so very correct opinions on a great variety of topics, that I mai-vel at his prac- tice in regard to Grouse, discourses thus on the habits and modes of shooting this bird, as he understands them :— i' ■♦ S ^m 250 FRANK forester's FIELD SPORTS. m. " Well then," says he, " these noble birds early in Septem- ber, or even so soon as late in August, who have y.hioped, and strutted, and trumpeted the live-long spring and summer, the undisturbed possessors of the prairies, are now leading about their broods, some three-quarter parts grown, and they are at no time in better condition for broiling, the most delicate spring chickens yielding to them in flavor ; and, a* the same time, their behavior in the field is far more satisfactory, and accommodat- ing, than at any other period of their lives, They now, when once they have scattered, stick to their concealment in the long grass, till you kick them up with your foot, and the amount you can then bag, need be limited only by your forbearance or your industry." In my humble opinion, " Tom Trigor's" gastronomy and his srirtsmanship are about on a par, both execrable. The man who would broil a Grouse at all, when he could possibly cook it otherwise, or who could compare it by way of praise with a spring cliicken, must have about as much idea of the qualities of game on the table, as he "ho thinks they are in perfection foi shooting, when they are too weak to rise on the wing. I should tliink their conduct would be more satisfactory yet, to such a gunner, before they could fly at all. Seriously speaking, from all the really good sportsmen with w^hom I have spoken of Grouse shooting, I learn that the defect in the sport consists in the extraordinary tameness of the bird, and the infinite facility of knocking it down at the commence- ment of the season,— the killing, in fact, partaking almost the character of butchery. To quote once more from the writer above cited : — " Let the gnostics preach about its being not ' sportsmanlike, and unhand- some, to knock down m:;re birds than you can consume.' I'll make out, when I can, my twenty brace notwithstanding ; and I have never seen Grouse yet at such a discount, at this season of the year, but what all that could be killed could be consumed ; and, if I haply should a little overstock the market, there is no fear of thinning off" the tribe, for tlieir name is legion, and the TTPLAND SHOOTING. 251 farmers will not grieve when they reflect that there will be, at any rate, by so much the fewer depredators on their corn-fields next autumn and winter, when it may truly be said, they are fruges consumere nati. Moreover, we must make the most of them now, for in six weeks they will change their character and habits so entirely, that by no ingenuity can we possibly get near enough for a shot ; and the devils, though they now tumble over on the reception of two or three No. 8 shot, will then carry off as much lead as a Galena steamboat. It is astonishing how difficult the fuU-gi-own birds are to kill,— I have known'them, when riddled with No. 4 shot, to fly entirely out of sight and leave you bending forward your neck, in hopes that as you have knocked off feathers enough, as it would seem, to fill a bolster, that straight and rapid flight must soon (alter ; but no, on goes the bird in a ' bee line,' till his figure melts into thin air," &c. It is, indeed, sorry work, when a man who writes so' very well, and who seems to possess very many of the genuine ideas and feelings of a sportsman, should condescend to promulgate euch mischievous nonsense as the above. I note this the n^ore willingly, because to such selfish sophistry, on the pait of sports- men, more than half the difficulty of preserving game is directly ascribable. For who, if the sportsman shoots out of season, because it is easier to kill half-grown biixls than full-grown ones, or becausi there are so many of them, that two or threescore, or hundreds more or less, will not be missed, will abstain fiom doing like- wise ] Or how shall we, conscious of such a beam in our own eye, venture to extract the mote from our brother's ] The arguments advanced — if arguments they can be called- in the above precious paper, are equally applicable to every other species of g;;me that flies. The Quail is a very hard bird to stop when full-grown, and well ot, the wing, especially in wild weather, and thick covert— an infinitely harder bird, in proportion to its size, which makes it all the more difficult to hit, and precludes? the possibility of using large shot, than the Grouse— but J am happy to say, that M; 252 FRANK FORESTERS FIELD SPORTS. I never in my life heard a sportsipan advocate shooting Quail in July, because it is easier to kill them then, than in November. Again, that it is not impossible to kill Grouse— Prairie Ren- in the autumn and winter, is rendered sufficiently evident by the quantity of these birds, killed with shot, which are exposed an- nually for sale in the New York and Philadelphia markets, over and above all those which are consumed in their native regions. Lastly, the reasoning on the number of the birds, is precisely that which has led to their annihilation in the Eastern and Mid- land States, and even in Kentucky, and which is equally applicable to every species of game in every district wliere it is abundant. I have heard the very same sort of talk held by countrymen, in defence of the vile practice of shooting Woodcock in spring, where there were then thousands of those birds. The conse- quence of ti.it talk is, that there are now none in those regions. The truth is, that until the middle of October, the young birds are not very strong on the wing,— after that period they become gradually wilder and stronger, and take longer flights, some- times even to the distance of two or three miles in open country. Their flight is less rapid than that of the Ruffed Grouse, though of the same character. It does not make so loud a' whiiTing as it first rises, but once on the wing, uses the same straight even course, maintained for some distance by frequent beats of the wings, after which it will float foi several hundred yards at a time on balanced pinions, with the velocity gathered from its previous course. It is said very rarely to pass over the person who flushes it, even by the most sudden sui-prise. It feeds on stubbles and in maize-fields, and is to be hunted for in the vicinity of such grounds, where it will be found in the greatest abundance. On open prairie-grounds, the highest and speediest rangers are, of course, the best dogs over which to flhoot the Grouse, as is the case with the Scottish red game, provided always that the animal has good nose enough to stand them at a long distance, and is staunch enough to allow the sportsman to come up from a distance, without moving on, or flushing his birds. UPLAND 8HOOTINO. 253 I Should presume that, for Grouse shooting in aeneral the Pointer wo^d be preferable to the Setter, as'his bid s Lt nous for us d.like to water, or marshy grou„d,-and it is the thrtlanTTr r:^ *'^^ '^ ^^" ^"^^^^ ™-« ^-^ of hirst, than any other of the dog kind. The Setter, on the con wa ds his whole energy and strength, in hot weather, where water is not to be obtained. For this reason, to the Eastward ". New Jersey, and Pennsylvania, in all of which, brush pla ns pmes and oak b..ens, the soil is equally dry and sterile he' Pointer IS as much preferred, as he is in the similarly dry Par- Red and Black Grouse are found, abound with springs well- heads, brooks, and morasses, and on these the gfeatfrspTed daring and dash of the Setter, as well as the advantage he de nves from his well-protected haiiy feet, gives him'L caP decidedly over his smooth-haired xival trv^Lf'^l'" '';rr "" ^^^ P^'"^' " ^^ ^^« ^««^--n coun- try they rarely stand before the Pointer; and I think the Setter a .ore profitable dog there;" but I must confess myself ent^y at a loss to comprehend the meaning oi this passage. ^ In Europe, it is very true that the Setter naturally crouches dose to the gi-ound, falling flat on his belly when he'comL on the scent of his game even at full speed, and flattening himself Pointer invariably stands erect to point his game. If this distinction held good in this country, the meaning of the above passage would be clear, but such is not the case. rhere is no difference whatsoever, of which I am aware, in the style of Pointers and Setters finding and pointing their game on this side the Atlantic. I have always shot over Setters, pre- ferring them, by all odds, for general work, and have owned at least a dozen good ones myself since I have been in the country besides shooting over scores belonging to other persons, and I never m a single instance have seen a Setter .e« a bird in America. This is not a distinction of training but of natural iii I H n I I'M iijji 904 FRANK forester's FIELD SPORTS. habit in the races ; and it is worthy of remark that the best dog I ever owned here was one which I imported from England when a small pup, and had broke in New Jersey. I never saw either his dam or his sire, over both which I shot in Eng- land, point a bird, and I never saw him set one. The first bird he ever scented was a Woodcock, on the fourth of July, and that he stood, with head and stem high in the air, as showily as I ever saw a Pointer stand. Nothing has ever puzzled me more completely as regards field sports than this fact, and I cannot figure to myself any reason that is at all satisfactory for the difference of habit, in the two coutitries. I have sometimes fancied that it might arise from soil or climate rendering the scent colder here than in England— for Jt is certain that the hotter the scent, the closer the dog sets~\mt I cannot see that this holds good by analogy, as I think dogs find and point their game fully as far off here' as in Europe. This obsei-vation of Mr. Audubon's has brought the matter, at this moment strongly to my mind, and has almost raised a doubt within me, whether to the Westward the Setter may not possibly resume his natural inclination to set rather than stand his game. In wooded regions it is to be remarked, that these birds are rarely if ever to be found among open groves and tall timber, such as are peculiarly Joved by the Rufied Grouse ; th.y fre- quent tracts of low bushes and stunted underwood; and when on the wing will fly for miles rather than alight until they can find a clear place, such as an old road-way, or a new cutting, in which to settle. They generally run forward swiftly as soon as they strike the ground, and not unfrequently press themselves mto thick covert, where they squat, and are compelled to lie hard by the difliculty which they experience in taking wing, from the opposition of the dense foliage. They are a shy bird in covert ; and are of course much wilder to the Eastward, where they are incessantly persecuted, than in the Western Country. trPLAND SHOOTINO. 2fl5 The Grouse invariably makes a clucking noise when it takes wing before a dog, and if it rises within distance, is a very easy shot. No. 7 early in the season, and later No. 5, are the best sizes of shot. After that, I should prefer rerf Ely's cartridges of No. 5 shot, which I will be bound to say will fetch thorn from a good twelve or fourteen guage gun of proper weight, held by a quick hand, and levelled by a true eye, at any period of the season. Mr. Audubon observes, contrary to the remarks cited above from Wdson and Dr. Mitchill, that the Grouse drinks when in a state of nature, like the common fowl, and farther, that it is exceedingly susceptible of domestication, even breeding freely m captivity. ^ The remarks with regard to beating with dogs for the Quail and Ruffed Grouse, and for shooting both these birds on the wmg, except so far as they are here modified, ar^ all applica- ble to the Prairie or Heath-Hen. The flesh of this bird is not white, like that of the Ruffed Grouse, but red, like that of the Scottish Moor Fowl, which in many respects it resembles. It has more of the bitter taste than the Ruffed Grouse, and is, in my opinion, a decidedly supenor bird. It will bear to be hung for some days, or even weeks m cold weather, and is to be cooked and eaten accord- ing to the direction given under the last head. In conclusion, it is well to state here, that there is certainlu 110 distinction whatsoever between the Heath-Hen of Long Island and Martha's Vineyard, the Grouse of the pines and scrub oaks of New Jersey and Pennsylvania, and the Prairie- Hen of the West. They are all one and the same bird-the Pinnated Grouse. Tetrao Cupzdo, of the ornithologist, and emphatically the trRousE of the sportsman. Of the Canada, or Spotted Grouse, it is in vain to speak, for he IS not as yet to be shot, and I apprehend never will be in sporting style Ths ground in which to find him is the d;ep larch and ceda. woods, especially the former, of Maine, \ova I 256 FRANK forester's FIELD SPORTS. Scotia and New Brunswick, and if anywhere he exists in sufficient numbers '■^ i-oncTeT the pursui*^ of him exciting as u sport, I have no (louct that the dogs over which to shoot him would be well broke CocKing Spaniels. I believe that the flesh of this species is the most highly flavored of all the varieties of Grouse which we possess, though I but once had an opportunity of tasting it. It is said to be very bitter, which I presume to bo thut yicy, aromatic game flavor which gives the zest to the Grouse above all other birds, in the eyes of the true epicure. r» m rWi nrLA.VD sHooTma. 257 AUTUMN SHOOTING. fr H brllllnnt AMt.imn time, the m6S FRANK forester's FIELD SPORTS. promise of spring and the fullness of summer are both inferior to the serene and calm decline of the woodland year. It leads to death indeed; but it seems to me rather to resemble the tranquil and gentle close of a well-spent life, beautified by the consciousness of good deeds done during the heat of youth, and in the heyday of manhood, and enriched by the hope of glor es to shine forth after the winter of the grave, than the termination of an existence to be dreaded or deplored. Every land has its own season of peculiar loveliness ; and if the sweet spring-tide of soft and dewy England, with its May smiles and its April te irs and its rich breath of flowery fra- grance, has awakened the fond sympathies of her landscape- loving poets, the many-colored, purple-hazed, and silvery-skied autumn of America has neither been unhonored nor unsuno- of lyres worthy to hang aloft in high niches of the temple conse- crate to the noblest tongue of the modem universe. The true sportsman must ever be a lover of the charms of rural scenery, and for this among other things 1 love and honor sportsmanship. I do not believe that any genuine forester, be his exterior as rough as the shell of the prickly chestnut, but must have within his heart, though he may lack words to define the sentiment, something of the painter's spirit, and the poet's fire. The very nature of his pursuits must needs awaken contemplation and induce thought, and I have often observed that the spots to which he will conduct you, apparently with- out a thought, except in reference to their convenience, wherein to take your noonday meal, or your afternoon siesta, will be the very places to chann the poet's fancy, or fix tha painter's eye. I think no lover of nature can be an unkindly, or, at the bottom, an evil-minded or bad man. And so — and so 1 Instead of pausing longer thus, or solidly and solemnly discussing the theory of sporting matters, we will at once walk mto the practice. "We will suppose the time of the year such as our poorbnllrul- monger above quoted has, perhaps, labored to depict, — the time liji !!■ ■''Uni III: PPLAND SHOOTING. 269 of the morning, not the peep of day, but eight, or by'r ladv » nu,e of the Shrewsbury clock, when the autumnaf sun ha^ hfted h.8 broad, jovial, ruddy face, from his dewy pillow and raised U, looming large and blood-red through the'thin ha"e above the mountain's brow. There has been a touch of fi- t' dunng the mght, and its silver fretwork is still white over the deep after-g ass and yet unaltered fern leaves. The air is clear the mmd, as if it were champagne inspired by the nostrils. Hid!ri!r''i'^'"'f '°^ ff«"tle valley, bordered on either side by hills, cultivated to their mid height, and crowned aloft with the unshorn primeval woodlands. The meadows in the bottom, along the clear brimful stream-in Europe it would aspire to be called a river-are green and soft as velvet ; but the woods and swamps in the vale, are rich with every color that the pamter'. pallet can afford .- the blood-red foliage of the maples, the gold of the hickories, the chrome yellow of the poplars, the red russet of the oaks, the dull purple of the do.- woods, mixed with the sable green of the late alder tops the everiastmg verdure of the rhododendrons, and the lights'ome greenery of the willow, forming a marvellous succession of con- trasts and accidents of light and shade, all blended into one harmonious whole, such as no other scene or season, no other clime or country, can exhibit. And at this time of year, at this hour of the morning and into such a landscape, we will imagine a braoe of sportsmen emerging from the doorway of the country tavern in which thev have spent the night, with their canine companions, and a stout rustic follower, loaded with supernumerary shot-belts and game- bags carrying in his dexter claw a stiff hickory cleaning-rod and leading with his sinister a leash of large, bony, red-and- white Cocking Spaniels. Our sportsmen, for the nonce, adopting old Izaac Walton's quaint nomenclature, which figureth forth something of the cha- racter from the name, we will call Agilis and Peritm. The former youthful, and somewhat rash, yet neither altogether ver- I'K 2Q0 FRANK forester's FIELD SPORTS. IlilH'! 1, 1 S. it } dant nor inexpert in the mysteries of the fowlingpiece, — the latter deliberate, though ardent, perfect with the gun, steady with the dogs, and a master of those noble sciences, hitdit. venene, and woodcraft. They are both aptly habited for the field, in russet shooting- jackets, of stout corduroy, or fustian, long-waisted waistcoats, low-crowned hats, and ankle-boots of cowhide. The younger man, however, sports a pair of loose, fashionably-cut trousers, while the elder has donned knee breeches, and tight russet Ica- them leggins. Each has a double-barrelled gun under his arm, and the other appliances of flask and pouch, hidden in his roomy pockets. Neither wears any game-bag, but an ivory whistle is suspended from the upper button-hole of both jackets. The dogs which are following, docile at the heel, are a brace of Setters of the highest breed, one a red dog, with a black nose, and without a speck of white, except a snip on his breast, and a tag to his fine, feathery stern,— the other black and tan ;' the perfection each, this of the Irish, that of the English strain, and indicating in some sort that perfection by their colors. " And so, Peritus," said the younger and slighter man, as they took their way through the outskirts of the village, " you augur well of our chance of sport to-day V " I do not think, Agilis," replied his friend, " that there is any chance about it. It has been a good breeding year for Quail, and they say that they are abundant ; then the autumn has been seasonable, and the nights have not been shai-p enough to banish the Woodcock. There is a bit of pretty Snipe ground on our beat too, and we shall get a few couple, without doubt. Those, with a brace or two of Rnffed Grouse, which, I dare say, ^e shall manage to pick up nmong the cedar knolls, and along the wood-edges, a few Hares, and, perhaps, some Wood-duck, or Teal, or even a Mallard, by chance, will make up something in the way of a bag." " Do you expect to find all these varieties of game 1 I have never shot above three kinds in a day." " Ah ! you have not shot before 'n autumn in America. For UPLAND SHOOTING. 861 tins very reason it is the prettiest and most exciting sport in tlie world ; that you can never even form a conjecture what is going to get up before you, until you see it on the wing. Now, my good friend Rusticus, will you take yourself and the Spaniels to the tall oak tree on the brow of the hill yonder, and do your best to mark down every bevy we flush, to a yard. When we rejoin you, we will couple up the Setters, and beat the swales and thickets with the little dogs. Now, hold up, lads! look sharp, Agilis, they are drawing already. There has been a bevy running here since the sun was up. See how gingerly they crawl over the tainted grass. Now they are standing both of them. Is not that a picture V And they stepped up to the dogs, which held their point as stiff and staunch as if they had been cast in bronze, or carved in marble. "Hold ! Agilis ! Don't head them, my dear fellow. I want to let them go, if they will, into those sprouts on the hill side. They are close under the red dog's nose. There ! they are ud ! Steady!" ^ Bang ! bang ! ^ " Bravo ! a brace, Agilis ! very neatly done, I assure you ; you let them go far enough then, yet not too far, before firing. You never killed a Quail before, hey 1" " Never on this side the water, Peiitus. In France and Spain I have shot a good many." " A different bird altogether, though of the same order. Not half so bold, or strong, or swift on the wing, as this, which some writers call the American Partridge." " Is it a Partridge or a Quail, Peritus, after all ?" " Neither one nor the other, Agilis, an intermediate link be- tween the two, but approximating nearer to the Quail. See the red dog has retrieved one— good dog, Sancho ! A pretty bird' is it not?" " Very. But what did you do ? I was busy trying t- mark the bevy, and did not see your shots." " Oh ! I killed two, of course. It was quite open. Did you mark them?" f j » i ! Mi h f •' ' 262 FRANK FORESTER'S FIELD SPOUTS. " No. I could not, with certainty. But I think they dropped in that bog-meadow, near yon pine tree." " No, Agilis, you did not cast your eye forward sufficiently in watching them, as they skimmed low over the ground before the wind. They went four hundred yards farther, and are down iu that thicket, with the willows at this end." " Aye ! you have a keen eye, Peritus. Well, let us follow them at once." " Practice ia more than keenness of sight, in marking. But we will by no means follow them at once. We must find seve- ral other bevies, and drive them, if possible, the same way " " Must we, — that seems strange." " Yes. I will tell you about it at luncheon time ; but now come on. The dogs are roading another bevy. Look forward beyond the crag there, by the cedars." But Peritus was in error; it was not another bevy, but a Ruffed Grouse, which rose a moment afterward with a loud whirring, out of a brake, and was cut down handsomely by the older sportsman, after being missed by Agilis ; who, fluttered by the noise, shot a little too quickly at him. Five minutes afterward the black Setter stood suddenly and dead, in a dry maize-stubble, before Agilis, and a moment later Sancho drew, and came to a doubtful point in an opposite direc- tion, without seeing his companion. " Look alive, Agilis ; that is either a Cock or a Hare before you, and Sancho is upon a running bevy." It was, sure enough , a Hare ; which bounced up instantly out of its forni, among some long grass and weeds in the maize- stubble, and was tumbled over before it had run many yards, by Agilis. At the report the bevy of Quail rose wild, and at a long distance ; which did not, however, hinder Peritus from drop- ping one, killed clean at fifty yards, or upward. " A long shot, and a good one !" said Agilis. " It was an Eley's cartridge. Loose shot would scarce have stopped him. Those birds have gone into the saplings on tlie hill-side, and they, I doubt not, are full of Woodcock. We are sure of sport now." UPLAND SHOOTING. 263 »3.iaii we go after this bevy 1" " Not yet, I had rather wait till they begin to run, we may very likely miss them otherwise." On they went, therefore, and perfectly right were they to go on ; for Perit'is' mode of beating for Quail is the true one This cunning little bird, having either the power, or the pecu liarity, of retaining its scent for some sho- 1 time after alighting, when it is alarmed, so that the best dogs in the world shall fail to find it. This may be an accidental provision of nature, pos- sibly owing to some contraction of the pores, and consequent check of the odoriferous effluvium, owing to alarm ; but I am rather inclined to believe that it is an absolute power of the bird, and arising from an exertion of will, — since I have inva- riably observed, during the period in which the Quail gives forth no scent, it cannot be forced to rise even in the openest and most easy ground, unless actually almost trodden on, I have repeatedly marked Quail, literally to a yard, both in open bog-meadows, and in woods of tall dmber, clear of under- brush, and have beat unsuccessfully with good dogs, immedi- ately after marking them, until almost convinced that I was »nistaken i*^ the fact of their having dropped where I imagined. Yet, on returning afterward, when they had begun to move about, and call a little, I have found my first opinion to be cor- rect. On one occasion, I distinctly remember marking three Quail into a little briar patch, on a diy tussocky meadow, and seven more of the same bevy some fifty or sixty yards farther, into long grass and rushes, by the margin of a boggy stream, under willows. At this time I was perfectly aware of the peculiarity of which I am ppeaking ; but, owing to the lay of the ground, and the direction of my beat, I had no option but to try it at once. I beat the briar patch, vv hu ';. ?ould not have exceeded twenty yards in diameter, carefully to and fro, with a brace of Setters, crossing and recrossing if. and myself kicking und trampling the bushes, but in vain. !t ? I 264 FRANK FORESTEK's FIELD SPORTS. If. i On coming under the wilows, both dogs stood instantaneous- ly on two different birds, which proved, however, to be Wood- cock. Eight or nine of these latter birds we flushed and bagged, without moving any Quail except one which I almost trod upon, a second alter my best dog had gone within a foot of it, taking no notice of its presence. My companions laughed at me, for expressing an opinion that the Quail were still there, within a few yards of us ; but it proved that I was not in error. A Woodcock went away unshot at, or at least unwounded, and led us a long stretch off the direction of our intended beat ; while hunting for ir we found another bevy of Quail scattered, and had some spo T with it, by which we were amused and occupied during half an hour. Returning across tie first ground, we got six points at six single birds. Quail, under the willows ; and in consequence went back into the briar patch, scarcely enti-r'ng it before the Setters stood on the first three. The fact is difficult to explain, but a fact it is ; and it occurs only with the unwounded birds. I have never known Setters to have the smallest difficulty in footing crippled Quail, which always run or tumble about as soon as they alight, or in point- ing dead Quail. I have even seen dogs find me dead Quail among a whole bevy of live ones, which they could not scent at that time, but which they did subsequently hunt up in good style. Therefore, I say Peritus was in the right of it, in drawing his distinction as he did on that day ; for he not only improved his chance of finding more bevies by purauing them while they were on the run In the early moniing, and so scattering them into good shooting covert, where he was sure to find them again during the basking hours, when, unless flushed and marked down before, they can scarcely be raised, but increased the likeliho id of finding his birds in good style. And all this he explained, in many more words than I have space to use, and with many an apt illustration, while he and Agilis were lying down under a sunny bank by a clear springhead, regaling t' emselves an hour or two after noon^ with the cold chicken and TTPLAND SHOOTING. 265 the sherry which Peritus had recommended as the best form of luncheon. " I have no doubt you are perfectly right about this, Peritus," said his friend. » Indeed, the practice has proved the principle, for we have got forty-five or forty-six Quail between us, out of those first four bevies, besides thirty Cock. It is glorious sport indeed." ^ " Not very bad, certainly, Agilis ; and you have shot well too, which inclines you to think of the sport, perhaps, with more than ordinary complacency. But mark me, if we had followed up that first bevy we should not have flushed or marked the other five, all of which, you remember, the dogs trailed as they were rambling about on the feed, before the day got warm. It would have occupied us till eleven o'clock to pick up that one bevy, had we been able to move it, which is doubtful ; and by that time all the others would have huddled themselves away into some little dry sunny nook or o her, where it would have been ten to one against our stumbling upon them. As it is, before that same hour we had stirred six bevies, four of which we have used up, while I hear the other two calling even now in that great swamp, where we will give a good account ^f them likewise, when we have finished these cigars. "Aye! I observe all thr^, and see the sportsmanship of it, Peritus ; what noble birds, moreover, these autumn Woodcock are. All full grown birds, with fine gray foreheads, and pink legs. They must weigh one-third more ea h than the young- lings we slaughtered in July." " True, O king ! at least one-third more. Now, don't you think we ought to give up summer Cock shooting 1" " I never thought otherwise. What between the therm; me- ter at ninety in the shade, and the myriads of mosquitoes, I do not lock upon summer shooting as fit sport for any man who is not as thick-shelled as a lobster, and him it would be likelv to boil." ■' " What autumn shooting we should have, if they would but abolish summer Cock shooting, and enforce their own laws !" i ;* r'm I 1 ij ?66 FRANK forester's FIELD SPORTS. A " " Aye! indeed, but let us on. My cigar is finished. Hush ! husli ! "What are those 1" " Wood-duck, by Jupiter! eight of them ; and they have drop- ped in the bed of the brook, just under the big white oak tree ; they are after the acorns. Keep the dogs close, good Rusticus ; now, Agilis, cram down an Ely's cartridge in each barrel and let us steal down upon them. Try to get a sitting shot on the water first, and then give them the second barrel as they rise." " Excellent ! excellent, Peritus. I see your words are about to be made good. I have bagged a Mallard already, and you two green- winged Teal — " "And a Pin-tail," answered Peritus, "besides Grouse, Quail, Hare and Woodcock. And now we will have four or five Wood-duck ; and there are the Snipe bogs. Off with you, but keep your head down and crawl low ; the Wood-duck is'not, however, a wild Duck." Within ten minutes four barrels sent forth their contents, and five Ducks came to bag, and thence the friends went forward to the Snipe ground, where some eighteen or twenty long bills were picked up, fat, large and lazy ; and thence again into the wide deep swampy woodlands, where the yelping of the Span- iels, the flip-flap of the rising Woodcock, the whiiT of the startled Quail, and the louder hurtling of the Ruffed Grousa, succeeded rapidly by the loud ringing gunshots, gave note of glorious sport until sundown, when the increasing darkness put a stop to the joyous labors of the unwearied sportsmen. The tale of that day's bag, and it was a real day, and a real bag, was as follows : Seven Ruffed Grouse, sixty-two Quail, forty Cock, nine- teen Snipe, nine Hares, five Wood-duck, two green-winged Teal, a Mallard, and a Pin-tail, brought to bag by two guns, in about eight hours' shooting— one hundred and sixty-six head of game, of nine different varieties. That is the best day's sport I ever saw ; I fear I never shall see such another, certainly I shall not in the same region. Nothing in the way of sport can, I think, be better, and such 4 > 'K ! f 1 J '' ?• rsi H tl UPLAND SHOOTING. 2G7 waa tvvolvo years since within fifty miles off New- York, suc}i is in the intorior of the southern tier of counties of that State, and such is in hundreds and hundreds of places in the West, the autumn shooting of America. And that, mine English readers, without a game-keeper or a preserve in all the length and breadth of the hind ; and, I might almost say without a game-law,* so limited is the sphere of operation of aese latter, so narrow and perverse their enact- ments, and — above all — so little are they regarded. But this alao ! will soon, if not amended, abolish altogether the Field Sports of America. * At the moment of correcting the press ol this page, I learn that the game- law, which I mentioned above, as having been prepared by myself and submit- ted to the Sportsman's Club, of New- York, has been presented by petition from the counties of Rockland and Orange, has passed the Tiegislature of the State, and is now law for those two gallant counties. There is no more summer Ctjck-shooting, gentlemen, in Orange or Rockland — the first two counties of America in which I ever pulled a trigger. Bravo, the river counties ! Who will bo the next to follow the glorious example? Long Island, Westchester, Pui- niun. Duchess — and last, not least — New-Jersoy, the eyes f men are upon you ! i 1^ ^..^.., »rw %. ^. *^, IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET {MT-3) ^4^ 1.0 I.I 1.25 1^ 1^ l||2.2 ^ us, u. 18 U IIIIII.6 y] <^ /i % ^a /A Photographic Sciences Corporation 23 WEST MAIN STREET WEBSTER, N.Y. 14580 (716) 872-' -iOa ^ J^' <; ^^x> ^> ^ S68 PRANK FOBESTER'h FIELD SPORTS. RAIL; AND RAIL SHOOTING. HIS singular and delicious little bird is so peculiar in its character and , habits, although of an order which affords several species of our most esteemed game, viz.: Grcdlatores, and the mode of pursuing and shooting it is so distinct from any other kinds of sport, that I have judged it best to keep It under a head entirely separate from other field sports, with no one of which, in truth, has it the smallest connexion or alliance. " RaUus Carolinm—Ortygormtra Carolinus—the Carolina RaU-^ the Sora Rail—vulgo, the Rail. " Male 9|.14. "Passes across the United States, both by the interior and along the coast. Some breed in New Jersey Rar«ly seen east of Massachusetts. Extremely abundant in autumn on the Delaware and other streams furnished with wild oats. A few reside in Florida and Louisiana in winter. "Adult male. * " Bill shorter than the head, rather stout, deep, compressed, tapenng. Upper mandible with the doraal outline nearly straight, being slightly convex toward the end, the ridge flattish for a very short space at the base, very slightly extended on the forehead, narrow in the rest of its extent ; the sides convex toward the end, the edges sharp, inflected, with a slight sinus UPLAND SHOOTING. 269 close to the tip. Naaal groove broad, and extending to two- thirds of the length of the bill. Nostrils linear, lateral, sub- medial, pervious. Lower mandible with the angle long and narrow, .the sides erect, the doreal line sloping upward, the edges inflected, the tip nanowed, the gap line straight. " Head rather small, oblong, compressed. Neck of moderate length. Body rather slender, much compressed. Feet of mod- erate length, rather stout; tibia bare a short way above the joint; tarsus of ordinary length, compressed, anteriorly covered with broad scutella, posteriorly with smaller, and on the sides reticulated. Hind toe very short and slender, middle toe longest, and longer than the tarsus, fourth considerably shorter than the third, and a little longer than the second; toes free, scutellate above, much compressed, with an inferior sharp' margin. Claws rather long, exceedingly compressed, slightly arched, tapering to a fine point, flat, and marginate beneath. " Plumage rather stiff", but blended, slightly glossed above. Feathers of the forehead with the shaft enlarged and slightly extended beyond the tip. Wings short and broad. Alula large ; primaries curved, broad, tapering, but rounded, second longest, third scarcely shorter, first equal to sixth ; secondaries broad and rounded. Tail extremely short, much rounded, of twelve feeble rounded feathers ; the upper and lower tail cov- erts nearly as long as the tail feathers. •• Bill, yellow at the base, dusky toward the end. Iris bright chestnut. Feet yellowish-green ; claws light-brown. A broad band surrounding the base of the bill, the central part of the crown, the chin, and the fore-neck in its whole length, brown- ish-black. Ear coverts olive-brown ; a band over the eye, the cheeks and the sides of the neck ash-grey. Sides of the crown, the hind-neck, and the rest of the upper parts olive-brown. The feathei-s brownish-black in the centre, those on the back with two marginal lines of white. Smaller wing coverts of a lighter brown; secondary coverts margined with black and white markings ; quills dusky olive-brown, as is the tail. Middle of breast and abdomen greyish-white ; sides barred with brownish 270 FRANK forester's FIELD SPORTS. black and greyish-white, as are the lateral feathers of the rump • those of the abdomen reddish-yellow. . " Length to end of tail, 9^^ inches; to end of wings, 8|; to end of claws. 12 ; extent of wings, 14 ; wing from flexure, i,% ; tail, 2; bill along the ridge, f| ; along the edge of the lower mandible, {§; tarsus, 1^,; its middle toe, 1^; its claw, 4,V. Weight, 7 oz. " Adult female. " The female differs considerably from the male in coloring. Ihe naked parts and iris are similar, as are the upper parts generally; but the black around the baae of the -bill, on the head and fore- neck, is wanting, the fore parts of the head being hght-brown, the chin whitish, the sides of the neck light grey- ish-brown. The white lines of the back are duller, and the dark bands of the sides of a lighter tint. " Young male. « The young male, after its first moult, is intermediate in color between the adult male and the female, but more like the lat- ter, the black on the head and fore-neck appearing in spots, and the sides of the neck being nearly as in the female."— Audubon's Birds of America. "Of all our land or water fowl, perhaps none afford the sports- man more agreeable amusement or a more delicious repast than the little bird now before us. This amusement is indeed temporary, lasting only two or three hours in the day, for four or five weeks in each year, but as it occurs in the most agree- able and temperate of our seasons, is attended with little or no fatigue to the gunner, and is frequently successful, it attracts numerous followers, and is pursued in such places as the birds frequent, with great eageraess and enthusiasm. " The natural history of the Rail, or as it is called in Virginia the Sora. and in South Carolina the Coot, is to the most of our sportsmen involved in profound and inexplicable mystery It comes they know not whence, and goes they know not where. No one can detect their first moment of arrival ; yet all at once UPLAND SHOOTING. 271 the reedy shores and grassy marches of our large rivers swarm with them, thousands being sometimes found within the space of a few acres. These, when they do venture on wing, seem to fly 80 feebly, and in such short fluttering flights among the reeds, aa to render it highly improbable to most people that they could possibly make their way over an extensive tract of country. Yet on the first smart frost that occurs, the whole suddenly disap- pear, as they had never been. " To account for these extraordinary phenomena, it has been supposed by some that they bury themselves in the mud. but as this 18 every year dug up into ditches, by people repairing the banks, without any of these sleepers being found, where but a few weeks before these birds were innumerable, this theory has been abandoned. And here their researches into this mysteri- ous matter, generally end in the common exclamation of. What can become of them ] Some profound inquirers, however, not discouraged with these difficulties, have prosecuted their re- searches with more success, and one of these being a few years ago near the mouth of James River, in Virginia, where the Rail, or Sora. are extremely lumerous, has, as I was informed on the spot, lately discovered that they change into Frogs having himself found in his meadows an animal of an extraordi- nary kind, that appeared to be neither a Sora nor a Frog, but. as he expressed it. something between the two. He car' ried it to his negroes, and afterwards took it home, where it lived three days, and in his own, and in his negroes' opinion it looked like nothing in this worid but areal Sora changed into a Frog ! What farther confirms this grand discoveiy. is the well- known circumstance of the Frogs ceasing to halloo as soon as the Sora comes in the fall. " This sagacious discovery, however, like many others re- nowned m history, has found but few supporters, and except his own negroes, has not, as far as I can learn, made a single con- vert to his opinion. "Matters being so circumstanced, and some explanation ne- cessary, I shall endeavor to throw a little more light on the (41 \X) 272 FRANK forester's FIELD SPORTS. subject by a simple detail of facts, leaving the reader to form his own theory as he pleases. " The Rail, or Sora, belongs to a genus of birds of which about thirty different species are enumerated by naturalists, and these are distributed on almost every region of the habitable parts ol the earth. The general character of these is every where the same. They run swiftly, fly slowly and usually with the legs hanging down, become extremely fat, are fond of concealment, and whenever it is practicable, prefer running to flying. Most of them are migratory, and abound during the summer in cer- tain countries, the inhabitants of which have very rarely an opportunity of seeing them. Of this last, the Land Rail of Britain is a striking example. This bird, which during the summer months may be heard in almost every grass and clover field in the kingdom, uttering its common note, 'crek, crek; from sunset to a late hour in the night, is yet unknown by sight to more than nine-tenths of the inhabitants. " Itt: well-known cry, says Bewick, is first heard as soon an the grass becomes long enough to shelter it, and continues till the grass is cut, but the bird is seldom seen, for it constantly skulks among the thickest part of the herbage, and runs so nimbly through it, winding and doubling in every direction, that it is difficult to come near it. When hard pushed by the dog, it sometimes stops short and squats down, by which means its too eager pursuer overshoots the spot and loses the trace. " It seldom springs, but when driven to extremity, and gene- rally flies with its legs hanging down, but never to a great distance ; as soon as it alights it runs off, and before the fowler has reached the spot the bird is at a considerable distance. " The Water-crake, or Spotted Rail of the same country, which in its plumage approaches nearer to our Rail, is another notable example of the same general habit of the genus. Its common abode, says the same writer, is in low, swampy grounds, in which are pools or streamlets overgrown with willows, reeds and rushes, where it lurks and hides itself with great circumspection. It is wild, solitary and sly, and will VPLANO SHOOTING. 273 U»eli to be knocked on the head, rather than rise before the sportsman and his dog. The Water Rail of the same country 18 noted for the like habits. In short, the whole genus possess this strange family character in a very remarkable degree " These three species are well known to migrate into Britain early ,„ the spring, and to leave it for the more southern paits of Europe m autumn. Yet they are rarely or never seen in their passage to or from the countries, where they are regularly found at different seasons of the year, and this for the ver, same reasons, that they are so rarely seen even in the places they inhabit. It is not, therefore, at all surprising, that the re- gular migrations of the American Rail, or Sora. should in like mrnner have escaped notice in a country like this, whose popu- ation bears so small a proportion to its extent, and where the study of natural history is so little attended to. But that these migrations do actually take place, from north to south, and vi^e versd, njay be fairly inferred from the common practice of thou- sands of other species of birds, less solicitous of concealment, and also from the following facts :— " ^» ^he 22d day of February, I killed two of these birds in the neighborhood of Savannah, in Georgia, where they have never been observed during the summer. On the second day of the May following, I shot another in a watery thicket, below l-hiladelphia. between the rivers Schuylkill and Delaware in what IS usually called the Neck. This last was a male in full plumage We are also informed that they arrive at Hudson's Bay early m June, and again leave that settlement for the feouth early m autumn. "That many of them also remain here to breed, is proved by. he testimony of persons of credit and intelligence, with whom I have conversed, both here and on James River, in Virginia who have seen their nests, eggs, and young. In he exZive meadows that border the Schuylkill and Delaware, it wa fl mcrly common, before the country was so thickly settled to fi.-.cl^young Rail in the first mowing time, among ^ gr'a^ 18 274 FRANK forester's FIELD SPORTS. Mr. James Bartram, brother to the botanist, a venerable and still active man, of eighty-three, and well acquainted with this bird, says, that he has often seen and caught young Rail in his own meadows, in the month of June ; he has also seen the nest, which, he says, is usually in a tussock of grass, is formed of a little dry grass, and had four or five eggs of dirty whitish color, with brown, or blackish spots. The young run off' as soon as they break the shell, are then quite black, and run about among the grass, like mice. The old ones he has very rarely obsei-ved at that time, but the young often. Almost every old settler along these meadows, with whom I have conversed, hab occasionally seen young Rail in mowing time, and all agi'ee in describing them as coveyed with blackish down. There can, therefore, be no reasonable doubt as to the residence of many of those birds, both here and to the northward, during the summer. " That there can be as little doubt as to their winter retreat, will appear more particularly towards the sequel of the present account. " During their residence here in summer, their manners exactly correspond with those of the Water-crake of Britain, already quoted, so that though actually a different species, their parti- cular habits, common places of resort, and eagerness for con- cealment, are as nearly the same as the nature of the climates will admit. " Early in August, when the reeds along the shores of the De- laware have attained their full growth, the Rail resort to them in great numbers, to feed on the seeds of this plant, of which they, as well as the Rice-birds, and several others, are immo- derately fond. These reeds, which appear to be the Zizania panicula effusa of Linnaeus, and the Zizania clavulosa of Willin- den, grow up from the soft muddy shores of the tide-water, which are, alternately, dry, and covered with four or five feet of water. They rise with an erect tapering stem, to the height of eight or ten feet, being nearly as thick below as a man's wrist, and cover tracts along the river for tnany acres. The 6attle feed on their long, green leaves, with avidity, and wade in after CPLAND SHOOTINO. 275 them as far as they dare safely venture Tl,«„ together that ev/««» » '^'y ^«nture. 1 hey grow up so close flomewhat more slenrl^r ,„k-/ ^ common-sized pin, rous. in proportion to th« f Tr / "^ generally nume- cry. and a reiterated iukLkll I " " «°"'°"^' """- Guinea-fowl Any IXl "•.*''*'-«°">«W"8 like that of . they univereallv „.r« .if ''''^'■-*" "'•■en the tide is low, reel, 1^2™. t "" """"«""" '"■<"»'-™ «f 'he ««. arrival "hlv 1 ,^J°"' 77 ' "'"S'^ '"'«"<'°'"- On .heir »» the seed ll Iv ]/ 1"° '"'' """' f" ""» '^W". >-« wugh, after T^r^ f °?'"='' ™ ""e"™'. and eagerfy - ofrin^r^mr " *""- *- '" -^ '- a.o:.xtredtatr:;rhr r; "'" ''"'- -^ « long. Sickened at the S Zi Z ^ ''""^'' '^ deep in the „„d. AbonTlo t:jr:°o .'lf'''™r''"» •"' .heya„terthe reeds, and each aZ h s p™. ^The ^^'' "" "' "landing in the bow. ready for action rt. 7 , »P"n»man »aat, pushing her «eadi,/.Wn'^r°het el Th" p'^ '"™- ..ead, are instantly shot down, while the boatman, keeping 276 FRANK FORESTER'S FIELD SPORTS. hi« eyo on the spot where the bird fell, directs the boatforwnrd, and picks the bird up, while the gunner is loading. It is hIho the boatman's business to keep a sharp look-out, and give the word • Mark,' when a Rail springs on either side, without being observed by the sportsman, and to note the exact spot where it falls, until he has picked it up ; for this once lost sight of, owing to the sameness in the appearance of the reeds, is seldom found again. In this manner the boat moves steadily through and over the reeds, the birds flushing and falling, the giinner load- ing and firing, while the boatman is pushing and picking up. The sport continues an hour or two after high ' water, when the shallowness of the water, and the strength and weight of the floating reeds, as also the backwardness of the game to spring, as the tide decreases, oblige them to return. Several boats are sometimes within a short distance of each other, and a perpetual cracking of musketry prevails above the whole reedy shores of the river. In these excursions, it is not un- common for an active and expert marksman to kill ten or twelve dozen in a tide. They are usually shot singly, though I have known five killed at one discharge of a double-barrelled piece. These instances, however, are rare. The flight of these birds among the reeds, is usually low, and shelter being abundant, is rarely extended to more than fifty or one hundred yards. When winged, and uninjured in their legs, they swim and dive with great rapidity, and are seldom seen to rise again. I have seve- ral times, on such occasions, discovered them clinging with their feet to the reeds under the water, and at other times skulking under the floating reeds, with their bills just above the surface ; sometimes, when wounded, they dive, and rising under the gun- wale of the boat, secrete themselves there, moving round as the boat moves, until they have an opportunity of escapino- unno- ticed. They are feeble and delicate in everything except the legs, which seem to possess great vigor and energy ; and their bodies being so remarkably thin, are compressed so as to be less than an inch and a quarter through transversely, they are ena- bled to pass between the reeds like rats. When seen, thev aio UPLAND SHooxmo. 277 almost constantly jetting up the tail, yet though their flid.t auiong the reod» «oe,„ feeble and fluttering, every Hportsla who . acquainted with the. here, must hav'e seen'theT or «o„al ly nH„.g to a considerable height, stretching out their le«s beh.nd them, and flying rapidly across the riv!r. wherT t i mo., than a mile in width. Such is the mode of iaTl shoo „e in the neighborhood of Phil adelphia. ^ •< In Virgiui,,, particularly along the shores of James River at Sr; '7 71 ^''^ ''''' ^" ''^ ^-^' ^"' — usually taZ at night in the following manner :— J " "A kind of iron grate is fixed on the top of a stout pole, which .s placed like a mast in a light canoe, and filled with'fire T e darker the night. the more successful is the sport. The person who manages the canoe, is provided with a light padi. ten or twelve feet m length ; and about an hour befoi^ high watL pro ceeds through a^ong the reeds, which lie broken ar^lZ^^lZ the surface The whole space, for a considerable way round he canoe, is completely enlightened.-the birds start with ^ omshment. and. as they appear, are knocked over the head whh twent?: . ''r"" "'° ^'^ ^^"^«- '" ^his manner, frl twenty to eighty dozen have been killed by three negroes in the short space of three hours. rousirthrr' """^"' ^ V'''^^ ^^^"^'•' ^^^^ -« -^^ ""'"e. whl 1 ^^°°"' "''' ^'*'"''' "" °"^ "^'•^'^^"^ frontier, wheie another species of reed, of which they are equally fond grows in shallows in great abundance. Gentlemen who have' tha they differ in nothing from those they have usually killed on the shores of the Delaware and Schuylkill ; they are equally lat and exquisite eating. ^ J " On the seacoast of New- Jersey, where these are not to be found this bird is altogether unknown, though along the marshes of Maurice River, and other tributary streams of the Delaware, and where the reeds abound, the Rail are sure to be found also. Most of them leave Pennsylvania before the end of 278 FKANK FORESTERS FIELD. SPORTS. October, and the Southori. States early in November, thoujjli numbors hnger in the warm soutiiom murHheH the whole winter. "A very worthy gentloman—Mr. Hunison— who lives in Kittiwan, near a creek of that name, o.. the borders of Jameii River, informed me, in burning his meadows early in March, they generally raise and destroy several of those birds. " That the great body of these Rail winter in countries be- yond the United States, is rendered highly probable, from their being so frequently met with at sea, between our shores and the West India Islands. "A Captain Douglas informed me, that on his voyage from St. Domingo to Philadelphia, and more than a hundred miles from the Capes of the Delaware, one night the man at the helm was alarmed by a sudden crash on deck, that broke the glass in the binnacle, and put out the light. On examining into the cause, three Rail were found on deck, two of which were killed on the spot, and the other died soon after. " The late Bishop Madison, President of William and Mary College, Virginia, assured me that a Mr. Skipwith, for some time our Consul in Europe, on his return to the United States when upwards of three hundred miles from the Capes of the Chesapeake, several Rail, or Soras, I think five or six, came on board, and were caught by the people. Mr. Skipwith being well acquainted with the bird, assured him that they were the very same with those usually killed on James River. " I have received like assurances from several other gentle- men, and captains of vessels, who have met with those birds be- tween the main land and the islands, so as to leave no doubt on my mmd as to the fact. For why should it be considered in- credible, that a bird which can both swim and dive well, and at pleasure fly with great rapidity, as I have myself frequently wit- nessed, should be incapable of migrating, like so many others, over extensive tracts of land or sea 1 Inhabiting as they do the remote regions of Hudson's Bay, where it is impossible they could subsist during the rigor of the winter, they must eithe, emigrate from there, or perish ; and as the same places in Penu- Upland biiootino. 879 Bylvania, which abound with thorn in October, ar« often luitl niuler ice and snow during tho winter, it iH uh imi..m8il,le that they could oxi8t hero in that inclement season. Heaven has therefore, given them, in common with many others, cwtain pieHconco of these circumstances, and ju.lgment, as well as BUength of flight, sutliciont to seek more genial climate, abound- ing with tho suitable food. " During the greater part of tho months of September and October, the market of Philadelphia is abundantly supplied with Kiiil. which are sold from hall' a dollar to a dollar per dozen Soon after tho 20th of October, at which time our first smart frosts generally take place, these birds move olY to the South. In Virgmia they usually remain until the first week in Novem- ber. " Since the above was written, I have received from Mr. George Ord, of Philadelphia, some curious particulars relative to this bird, which, as they are new, and come from a gentle- man of respectability, are worthy of being recorded, and merit further investigation. " ' My personal experience,' says Mr. Ord, ' has made mo ac- quainted with a fact in the history of the Rail, which, perhaps, 18 not generally known,-and I shall as briefly as possible com- municate It to you. Some time in the autumn of the yeai 1809, as I was walking in a yard, after a severe shower of rain, I per-' ceived the feet of a bird projecting from a spout. I pulled it out, and discovered it to be a Rail, very vigorous, and in per- fect health. The bird was placed in a small room, on a gun case, and I was amusing myself with it, when in the act of pointing my finger at it, it suddenly sprang forward, apparently much irritated, fell to the floor, and stretching out its feet, and bending its neck, until the head neariy touched the back be- came to all appearance lifeless. Thinking the fall had killed the bird, I took it up, and began to lament my rashness, in pro- voking it. In a few minutes it again breathed, and it was some fmie before it perfectly recovered from the fit into which it now appeared evident it had fallen. I placed the Rail in a room 280 FRANK forester's FIELD SrORTS. wherem oanary Bird, were confined, ai.d resolved that on ,„e succeeding day. I would endeavor to discover whether or not the passion oC anger had produced the fit. I entered the ro„m at the appointed time, and approached the bird, which had re- tired on beholding me, in sullen humo;-, to a comer. On point- ing my finger at it, its feathers were immediately ruffled and m an instant it sprang forward, as in the first instance, and fell into a similar fit. The following day the experiment was re- peated, with like effect. •"In the fall of 1811, as I was shooting among the reeds I ^.^rceived a Rail rise bnt a few feet before my batteau. The bud had risen about a yard, when it became entangled in the tops of a small bunch of reeds, and immediately fell. Its fc3t and neck were extended, as in the instances above men- tioned, and before it had time to recover, I killed it. Some few days afterwards, as a friend and I were sl,ooting in the same place, he killed a Rail, and as we approached the spot to pick It up, another was perched not a foot off, in a fit; I took up the latter aixa placed it in the crown of my hat; in a few moments it revived, and was as vigorous as ever. These facts go to prove that the Rail is subject to gusts of passion, which operate . o so violent a degiee as to produce a disease similar in its effects to epilepsy. I leave the explana- tion ot the phenomena to tiiose pathologists who are competent and willing to investigate it. It may be worthy to remark that Ihe birds affected as described, were all females, of the GaUi- nulu Carolina, or common Riil ' '• The Rail, though generally reputed a simple bird, will sometimes manifest symptoms of considerable intelligence.' To those acquainted with Rail shooting, it is ha-dly necessary to mention that the tide in its flux is considered an almost indis- pensable auxiliary, for when the water is off the marsh, the lubricity of the mud, the height and compactness of the reed, and the swiftness of foot of the game tend to weary the sports- man and to fmstrate his endeavors. '• Even should he succeed in a tolerable degrt3, the re\.-ard ia UPLAND SHOOTING. 381 not commensurate to the labor. I have entered the marsh in a batteau at a common tide, and in a well-known haunt, have beheld but a few birds. The next better tide, on our resoitinff to the same spot, I perceived abundance of game. The fact 18, the Rail dive and conceal themselves beneath the fallen reed, merely projecting their heads above the surface of the water for air, and remain in that situation until the sportsman has passed them, and it is well known that it is a common prac tice wuh wounded Rail to dive to the bottom, and holding on to some vegetable substance, support themselves in that situation until exhausted. " During such times, the bird, in escaping from one enemy has often to encounter with another not less formidable. Eels and cat-fish sw™ in every direction seeking for prey, and it is ten to one ,f a wounded Rail escape them. I myself have beheld a larL^e eel make off with a bird that I had shot, before I had time to pick It up ; and one of my boys, in bobbing for eels, caught one with a whole Rail in its belly. I have heard it observed that on the mcrease of the moon the Rail improves in fatness, and decreases in a considerable degree with that planet. Some- times 1 have conceited that the remark was just. If it be a jact I think it may be explained on the supposition that the bird IS enabled to feed at night as well as by day, while it has the benefit of the moon, and with less interruption than at other periods. "I have had my doubts as to the propriety of classing this ard under the genus RaUus. Both Latham and Pennant call It a Gallinula. and when one considers the length and formation ot Its bill, the propriety of the nomenclature is obvious. "As the article was commenced by our printers before I could make up my mind on the subject, the reader is requested to consider this species the Gallh.ula Carolina of Dr. Latham "_ Wilson's American Ornithologij. To set aside the possibility of continued d.mbt on the subject of the migration of the Rail, which really seems to be so per- 282 FRANK forester's FIELD SPORTS. fectly a settled question, as to render it impossible that any sane man in America should persist in believing that this bird burrows and lies toipid in the mud — I have myself, however, met scores who do believe so — I shall quote Mr. Audubon's personal observations as to the migi-ations of this bird, which he has often seen with his own eyes, and no one, who has read his delightful animal biographies, will doubt how keen those eyes are, and how accurate. " This bird," he says, " which I think might have been named the Pennsylvanian or Virginian Rail, enters the union from the shores of Mexico, early in March, when many are seen in the markets of New Orleans. Some reach their northern desti- nation by ascending along the margin of our western streams, or by crossing tlie country directly, in the manner of the Wood- cock ; while those which proceed along the coast shorten their journey as much as possible by flying across the headlands of the numerous inlets or bays of our southern districts, returning or advancing more slowly, according to the state of the weather. Thus, those which cross the peninsula of Florida, through the marshes and lagoons which lead to the head waters of the St, John's River, instead of travelling round the shores of Georgia and South Carolina, fly directly across toward Cape Lookout. It is nevertheless t.ue, that a certain number of these birds follow the sinuosities of the shores, for I found some in the markets of Charleston, in April, that had been killed in the im- mediate neighborhood of that city, and I obtained others in various parts ; but the number of these is veiy small as com- pared with those that cross at once. When their passage takes place, f ither during calm weather, or with a favorable wind, the fortunate travellers puT'sue tlieir jouraey by entering Pam- lico Sound, and following the inner margins of the outward banks of this part of the coast until thoy reach Cape iHenry, Thence some ascend the Chesapeake, while others make for the mouth of the Delaware, and these, perhaps, again meet on the borders of Lake Ontario, or the waters of the St. Lawrence, UPLAND SHOOTING. 383 after which they soon enter those portions of the country in which they breed, and spend a short but agreeable season. " Every person acquainted with the general movements of birds, either during the spring, when they pass northward, or the autumnal months, when they are on their way to milder chmes, is aware that at the foimer period their anxiety to reach the breeding place is much greater than that which they feel at any other period. Thus, in its movement southward, the Sora, like all other Rails, when returning with its progeny, which are' yet feeble, and unable to undergo much fatigue, proceeds considerably slower than in spring; hence its appearance in autumn, m multitudes, in various places, where it is enticed, by an abundance of food and comparative security, to tany for some time and recruit its strength. Thus in September and part of October, the Sora is found in great numbers on the borders of our great lakes, feeding on wild oats, and on the reedy margins of the rivers of our middle districts. Several natural causes prevent birds of this species from following the seacoast of the United States while migrating, either in spring or m autumn, the principal of which is the absence of their favor- ite Zizania marshes, which are but very rarely to be met with to the east of the State of New- York. This is i)robably the cause of the great rarity of this species in Massachusetts, while, 80 far as I know, none are ever found to the eastward of that State. These observations are corroborated by those of my friend, Thomas McCuUoch, of Pictou, who never met with one of these birds during many years' residence in that part of Nova Scotia. " Having seen flocks of Soras winging their way close ove- the watei-8 of the gulf of Mexico, and between Cape Florida and the main shores of the Carolinas, in the month of April, when they were moving directly toward Cape Lookout, I have very little doubt that many return in the same track, in the end of October, when the young, well-fed and strengthened, are able to follow their parents on wing, even across that wide expanse of water. I shall now dismiss this part of the subject by add- Tin J.hm 284 FRANK forester's FIELD SPORTS. ing in confirmation of their capability of protracted flight, that some of these birds, when accidentally separated from their flock, have supported themselves on wing until they have met with vessels several hundred miles from land ; and facts of this kind have been announced by persons of well-known respec- tability. " During the autumnal months, a goodly number of Soraa are found in the rice fields and fresh water marshes of the Carolinas. Sometimes, also, they have been shot in salt water marshes, in spring, while on their northward migration. At this period they are silent until forced to fly. In those States, none are seen during summer, very few, it appears, remain in any part of the middle districts. My friend, John Bachman, however, was shown some eggs of this bird, that had been found in the meadows below Philadelphia ; and whilst I was on a shooting expedition for Woodcock, in company with my friend, Edward Harris, Esq., my son shot some young birds, scarcely fledged, and shortly afterward, an adult female. John Bachman met with a nest on the shores of the Hudson, and I saw two in the marshes of Lake Champla.m."—Auduhon'a American Ornithology. I have judged it but proper to extend both my quotations on the habits, and my own observations on the shooting of this bird, to some length, as the first are very peculiar, and the lat- ter affords a sport, which though I think it for my own part, rather a tame amusement, is still followed with much eagerness and zest by sportsmen, especially on the Delaware, and on the great Western Lakes, where the bird, as we have seen, abounds. The United States contain many other species of Rail, most of which are at times shot by the sportsman, while in pursuit ot one kind or another of aquatic fowl, but none of them are suffi- ciently abundant, in certain spots or at certain seasons, unless it be perhaps the bird commonly known as the Mud-Hen, to be made the object of especial pursuit. UPLAND SHOOTIi\0. 285 This bird which is, properly, The Clapper Rail, or Salt Water Marsh Hen, Ral- Lus Crepitans, is a constant resident at one period or other of the year, on some part of the Atlantic coasts from Long Island to the Gulf of Mexico. It is a large-sized bird, weighing 11 to 12 oz., and looking much larger than it really is. They are shot in the bays of Long Island, and still more abundantly m the vicinity of Charleston, much as the Sora Rail is on the Delaware; the boats are, however, in this sport, if it can be BO called— for the birds are large, clumsy, slow-moving and cannot be missed— propelled by oars or paddled, not by the pole. On Long Island and generally in the Middle States, this bird IS called the Mud, or Meadow-Hen. The other species commonly met with by the sportsman are The Great Red-Breasted Rail, or Fresh Water Marsh Hen— Rallus Eleoans— commonly known m Pennsylvania and New-Jersey as the " King Rail." This is the largest and by far the handsomest of the tribe- its weight is about 11 to 13 oz.-its length 20^ inches by an alar extent of 22. It is rarely found east of Pennsylvania, although I have occa- sionally killed it in New-Jersey. It is a constant resident of the Southern States. The Virginia Rail— Rallus Virginianus. This bird greatly resembles the last species, though not much more than half Its size. It is properly a Southern bird, but is found during the autumn, in small numbers along the atlantic coasts. It is killed both on fresh and salt water, but is nowhere exceedindy abundant. ° ^ In addition to these, I may name the common Coot of Araeri- ca, and the common Gallinule, both of this same family of Rallid^. They are principally Southern birds, though strag- glers are occasionally found in the Middle and Eastern States They are of little wortli for the spoit which they afford, and stiU less for the quality of their flesL 'at like many other water birds and waders, such as the Bitterns. Herons. Egrets, and the 286 FRANK FORESTER'S FIELD SPORTS. like, are usually killed by the sportsman, if encountered in pur- suit of other game, though never made the object of especial chase. None of these, however, can it be deemed unspoitsmanlike or snobbish to shoot, while in the field, with dogs, as it is to kill Pigeons, Meadow Larks, Thrushes, or the like, since their haunts and habits are generally in some sort like game-like, and dogs will, for the most part, draw on them, if not stand them dead. None of these, however, require any fuller notice than the above, and hence I proceed to shooting the Sora Rail on the Delaware. UPLAND SHOOTING. 287 RAIL SHOOTING. ROM the middle of August, until the setting in of wintry frosts, the pursuit of this curious, and ex- cellent little bird, may be followed in the localities which he fre- quents, by those who care for the sport. It is not by any means compa- rable to those kinds of shooting, which are followed with dogs in the field, among varied scenery and diverse accidents of sport ; nor is the bird very sporting in Its habits, nor is much skill required to shoot him. He is, however, delicious to eat; he literally abounds on the reedy mud-flats of those rivers which he affects ; and his season 18 one at which there is little or no other occupation for the sportsman. So that, between the epicurean desire for his flesh, the absence of more agreeable and exciting sport, and the very easiness of the pursuit, which, to young hands and bad shots, is a recommendation, the Rail is very eageriy pursued ; and dur- ing those periods of the tide, which permit his pursuit, a stran- ger might well believe, during the Rail season, almost anywhere on the Delaware, sixty miles below, or thirty above Philadel- phia, that the outposts of two armies were engaged in a brisk skirmish, so incessant is the rattle of small arms. It is the habit of this little bird to skulk and run among the reeds and water-oats of the flats which he inhabits; and, owiiig to the peculiar form of his long, flat-sided, wedge-like body, with the legs situated far behind, and the wings closely com- 288 FRANK forester's FIELD SPORTS. pressed, he can pass with such ease and celerity amone the close stalks of the water-plants, that the sharpest dogs cannot compel him to take wing ; and so thoroughly is he aware of this advantage which he possesses, and of the peril he runs in rising before the gun, that it is utterly useless to attempt beating for him with dogs on foot, or to think of walking, or kicking him up from his lurking places, when the tide is down. As soon, however, as it has risen high enough to allow a boat to be forced through the partially submerged, partially floating grass, unable to run, from want of a solid substructure on which to tread, or to swim, from the denseness of the vegetation, he has no choice but to rise, which he does reluctantly, and not until the bows of the boat are close upon him. His flight is then slow and heavy, with the legs hanging down, and the wings heavily flapping, and it is rarely protracted to above thirty or forty yards of distance. It is exceedingly easy to kill him, thereft)re ; so much so, that as soon as he mastered the slight difficulty of getting accustomed to the motion of the boat, and got what a sailor would call his sea legs on board, the merest tyro, who can cover a bird on the wing in the slowest conceivable motion, and pull an inexpert trigger, can scarce fail to bag many of these birds in succession. The boat used is a long, light, flat-bottomed, shaip-built skiff", — flat to draw as little water as possible, sharp to force its way through the heavy tangled water-plants. In the bow of this the shooter stands erect, balancing himself in the ricketty rocking ogg shell, for it is little more, while the pole-man stands behind him, propelling the vessel with his long punt-pole, the more ra- pidly the better, through the weeds and grass. Tlie pole-man's duty is to steer and urge the boat, both of which are done by the same instrument, to mark the dead birds, and collect them, and to get the advantage of all other boats for his shooter. This marking is by no means an easy task ; as the vast expanse of level green herbage affords no points, or marks, by which to identify the spot where the bird has fallen ; and,' moreover, the reeds and grass are so thick, and so similar in UPLAND SHOOTING. 289 color to the plumage of the Rail, that unless it is marked with the most perfect accuracy, literally to a foot's space, it is almost useless to look for it. So many boats, moreover, are darting about in all directions, the rival pole-men driving their skiffs with all attainable velocity, and the emulous shooters banging away at the thick-rising birds, without much caring whether some other sportsman be or be not within the range, and in the line of shot, that in order to get good sport, not a moment must be lost in bagging the dead birds,— cripples it is impossible to bag, so quickly do they dive, and so cunningly do they skulk,— and that at best it is a matter of some little risk. Fortunately, the bird is so easily killed, and the range „f his flight is so small, that very light charges, and very small shot, are m U8(3. With the recklessness I have seen displayed in this sport, wen; large charges, and heavy shot used, it would be an affair of n,al danger to shoot at Dullmau's Flats, at the mouth of the Nusliaminy, or at Perkins' Flats, or Newbold's Island— the best places above Philadelphia, on the Delaware, and the only places, with the exception of a small flat, of an acre or two iu extent, before my own door on the Passaic, where I have ever shot Rail. The great onus and excellence of the sport depends, as it will readily be seen, on the pole-man, or pusher, and with two equally good shots, it shall make a difference of nearly half the bag, which has the better assistant. The skill at markin-r dead birds, the rapidity of bagging them, and the adroitness at^push- ing, to which some of these men attain, is truly remarkable • and accustomed to the society o^ gentlemen, and provided with a good stock of sporting anecdote, and sporting infoi-mation they are generally very conversable, and discreet fellows, witli whom a few hours can be spent, not only without tedium, but with some profit. John Horn, of Bristol, in Pennsylvania, is the best hand of these hardy aquatics I have ever encountered, and many a good day's sport and fun have I enjoyed in his company, and under his guidance, on the broad and tranquil Delaware. VOL. 1. 19 290 FRANK forester's FIELD SPORTS. The timo for hoginning this sport depends on the depth of water on the particular flat whereon you are about to try your fortune, — the moment the rising tide will permit your boat to run over and through the reeds, you must tutnimeiice ; and your sport will continue so long as the birds will continue to rim; be- fore you, which will generally be until about the fiiHt (juarter of the ebb ; but as the water falls, the Rail become less aiiect to accoutrements, among others of which he expatiates on the absolute necessity of a small pocket telescope as part of the wild-fowl shooter's equipage, he gives an account in exten^o of the best method to be adopted for getting within shot of wild- to;vl when seen feeding on, or within shot, of the shores of an inland loch or pond. These, as they are of the utmost value and interest in themselves, as there are thousands of localities exactly such as he describes, in every region of the United estates, from the rock-girdle^, pine-embosomed lakelets of Maine and the Eastern States, to the limestone pools of the Pennsylva- nian Alleghanies, to the limpid basins set in the oak openings of Michigan and Illinois, to the gleaming waters that lie unshel- tered from the sun's brightest beams in the centre of boundless prairies, all of which, in their proper seasons are absolutely ahve with wild-fowl of every description, and as to all of these my author's views are distinctly and directly applicable-I shall extract without alteration or abridgment; obsei-ving only in addition to what I have already stated, that the species of fowl to which he haa reference, are nearly in all respects identical with our own. " Having now equipped our wild-fowl shooter, we will " he says, « again bring him to the shore. His fii-st object should be to see his game without being seen himself, even if they are at too great a distance to show signs of alarm. To effect this he must creep cautiously forward to the first point that will com- mand a view of the shore for some distance ; then, takin- out his glass, he must reconnoitre it by inches, noticing overy tuft of grass or stone, to which wild-fowl asleep often bear so close a resemblance that, except to a very quick eye, assisted by a glass, the difference is not perceptible. If the loch be well frequented, he will most likely first discover a flock of divers but must not be in a hurry to pocket his glass, until he Las thoroun^hly inspected the shore, in case some more desirable fowl may be feeding or asleep upon it. I will suppose that he seen some objects that rrmy be wild-fowl. Let him then imme- Ml ' fc 1 1 298 FRANIt FORESTEK S FIELD SPORTS. diately direct his glass to the very margin of the loch, to see if anything is moving there ; should he find it so, he may conclude that it is a flock of either Ducks,* Widgeon,t or Teal ; those first perceived resting on the shore, and the others feeding at the water's edge, of cowrae not nearly so conspicuous.f If there is no motion at the margin of the loch, he must keep his glnss fixed, and narrowly watch for some time, when, if what arrest- ed his attention be wild-fowl asleep, they will, in all probability, betray themselves by ra'sing a head or flapping a wing. " He must now take one or two large marks, that he will be sure to know again ; and also another, about two" or three hun- dred yards, immediately above, farther inland. Having done this, let him take a very wide circle and come round upon bis inland mark. He must now walk as if treading upon glass : the least rustle of a bough, or crack of a piece of rotten wood under his feet, may spoil all, especially if the weather be calm. Having got to about one hundred yards from where he supjio- ses the birds to be, he will tell his retriever to lie down ; the dog, if well trained, will at once do so, and never move. His master will then crawl forward, until he gets the advantage of a bush or tufl; of reeds, and then raise his head by inches to look through it for his other marks. Having seen them, he has, got an idea where the birds are, and will, with the utmost caution, * When the word " Duck" is used in English works without qualification, the Mallard and Duck known, in this country generally, as the " Green-head," are intended. t The English Widgeon differs essentially from the American bird, but like it, is rather a shore bird than an inland fowl, tliough it is often shot up the country. t " Duck-shooting on rivers and streams is generally unsatisfactory, there are so many turnings and windings v.hich prevent yon from seeing the fowl until they are close at hand, also so many tiny bays and creeks, where they conceal themselves beyond the possibility of detection, until the whirr of their wings and the croak of the Mallard betray their hiding-place. Unless the river be large and broad, even the most expert wild-fowl shooter must expect few heavy sitting shots, and content himself with the greater number being distant flying OUt'8." TTPtAND SHOOTING. gQO manner, and look fn^ . 7 ^ ^'''"^ cautious order that hi, ^„ ' . '? "^" ''''''"""S '"<''' » '""e. m wre,, arj;?::Shr;: Xotr :^^ --- at h s selecter] viVn'r^o oi. i, , ^ ' ^*'*® ^"'"^ aim opening to ta tCh ,! f he >.„f„„„„ately „„, fi„a „ imperiptible d "2; .": °*" '"'"■'"'•'' '» "^ »'">« and close "otbuTn "■'"':.''■' S"" •» .ha right of the buah, ovLar;i:;;t:\t2;r;rer:r ^Ha^^^^^^^ «..: Jer .i;:s. to"^:::!:! rr:; rs ^°- cnppK y„„ win re.|„a/ allow for his last run, which in W m 304 FRANK forester's FIELD SrORTS. auch a cnse must generally be a long one. The fowl are conti- nually coming up and clisappearinir again, which confuBCH liim, and unless he knows the depth of the water, the only way to find out how long they are under, is to watch the most marked or detached of tlie flock, and then choose his devoted pair. If the water is very shallow, tliose below are sure to perceive the flurry made by their friends at the top, as soon as you commonco your last run, and instantly join them in their retreat. In stich cases it is always best to try for a distant sitting shot, from the nearest refuge you can safely reach, among as many as you can get in line. But by attempting this, there is always a risk of Idsing the chance altogether, and it should never bo resorted to except under such circumstances, or with Dun-birds,* who keep more close together, and thus present a better opportunity for a heavy sitting shot than any other divers. " Of all wild-fowl, a flock of Dun-birds is the most agreea- ble to the sportsman's eye. They are the most stupidt of all the diver race. I have even seen them, after having been driven from their feeding ground, return in the face of the shooter, who had only lain down without any covering or con- cealment whatever ; they have begun diving again within thirty yards, and of course given him a capital shot. I never wish for assistance in manoeuvring any other kind of water-fowl, but these may be herded like sheep ; and, if feeding on one side of • The Dun-bird, or Pochard of England, is the same as our Red-head, Fuli- gula Ferina, which is with us a sea Duck, only frequenting the bays and estuaries of large rivers ; although, like the Canvass-back, it is found westward far inland, on the upper waters of the Ohio, Mississippi, and Missouri. t This agrees well with what we know of the facility with which they are toled, as it is called, by the most simple artifice, even the waving of a hand- kerchief, into gun-shot, on the waters of the Chesapeake Bay. I do not see but that this hint maybe found available in Bay-shooting. I know that Brant Geese may be driven by a man rowing, at such a distance from them as not to alarm them into taking wing, up to the very muzzle of a concealed sportsman's gun. This is, I think, a recently discovered habit of the Brant ; but is now regularly acted upon, on the south side of Long Island. Ou the first opiioria- iiity I will certainly try it with Red-heads. UPLAND SHOOTING. 305 a hny, you have only to conceal yourself at the other, and send your man round to where they ar^ diving. They w.ll most likely c.me straight towards you, and, again beginning t(, feed, will probably every five or ton minutos draw all together with then- heads up. Now is your time to fire, if you have the good fortune to be within shot ; but should you prefer two birdn in* the hand to waiting for their knitting together, you may have a capital right and left when they come up from diving : I how- ever should be loath to lose the opportunity of the sitting shot. 1 here are many other divers that frequent our lochs, such as the tufted* and seaupt Ducks, &c., but they may all be ap- proa.,hed m the same way as the Golden-eye and the Morillon • none are so shy a^ the former.t Those that feed on fish, such • The Ring-necked Duck of America. Fuligula Rufitorque,. t rhe Scaup.duck-i„ the West, Flocking Fowl-on the Chesapeake, Black-head-conimonly Blue.bili.or Broad-bill. Fuligula Marila. All thee are properly Sea Ducks; but all are found to the Westward, as i„ Great Bri- tain, more or less inland. t «' Last winter I had a good opportunity of contrasting the artful and suspi- C.OUS nature of theGolien-eye with that of the more confiding Morillon. When .hootnig wild-fowl on the banks of the Teith, I discovered, with my gla«s, a Golden-eye feeding at the top of a long creek, and a couple of MorilIon« at the bottom where ,t joined the river. As they were at some distance from each other. ,t was impossible to keep an eye upon both. So. knowing that if the Golden-eye got a glimpse of ,n^. he would not stay to take another. I was ob- liged to trust to the simplicity of the more social Morillons. I got within a fair d.stance for my last rm.. when the Morillons, who had caught a transient glance at my manceuvres, pu.d lao compliment of giving me their undivided attention ; but, as they did not leave the ground, nor show any other sign of alarm, I was congratulating myself that all was safe. The moment, however, that the Gol- den-eyecame up from the dive, he perceived that the Morillons were resting on their oars, and instantly was on his guard. It was most curious to see the cun- ningand tact of the creature, which I had every advantage for observing, as I wa. well concealed. He kept cruising about, with outstretched neck, peering first on one side of the creek, then on the other, always selecting the best points of s„rht to halt, and make his observations. Nor would he recommence his re- past until the Morillons had set him the example. And. had I not known hi. usual precaution of making the first dive or two, after being scared, very short he nught even then have escaped." VOL. I. 20 306 FRANK FOHESTEU S FIELD SPORTS. an tho Oonsandor, Spocklctl Divor, Shohlriiko, Sec, require ra- thor difToriMit luetics. To got a shot at any of those, you miiNt watch which way thoy are feeding, ami, tnkuig your station Bomowhat in advance, wait until they pans you ; thoy will not keep you long, as they arc very rapid in thcnr movements. Take euro that tho water is pretty doop where you place youi-Holf, or they may divo at too great a distance from the shore for a sliot; but, ailer all, thoy are good for nothitig but tu bo stuiled for a collection. " Tho only other bird that requires a separate notice is the mighty Hooper,* monarch of the flood. To get a shr)t at tho Wild Swnn is tho great object of tho sportsman's d(»«ire : he is not naturally so shy a bird as tho Wild-duck, but still his long nock, and acute sense of hearing, render great caution ikm-os- sary. If, as ofken happens, ho is feeding along tho shore, ycm have only to plant yourself in an advantageous situation a g(»od way a-hcad, and it will not be long befoi'o ho makes his apptMir- anco ; but if ho ia feeding at the mouth of some brook or stream, you must crawl in the same way as when after Wild-ducks, Should you get within a distant shot of a Hoopoi, and are not close to tho water side, instead of firing from where you are, rush down to tho edge of the loch, and before tho Swan can take wing, you will have gained ten yards upon him. When tho thaw begins after very hard weather, they are almost sure to be feeding at tho njouth'j of any mountain bums that nin into the k)ch. Should you see Hoopers feeding greedily, nearly out of range of your gun, in place of taking the random shot, try to pi'event their being disturbed, and return at dusk of evening, or giey of morning, when they will most likely have come pretty close to the shore, especially if any little rivulets run into the loch near : this iiile applies to most water-fowl. If a Swan be • This is a different bird from tlie Swan of tlie ChesHpcake, Cycniis Aincri- canvs, thougli closely cognate. Our bird never. I fancy, betakes himself to lakes, or the like, within the limits of the United States, though he is said to da so in the far West, beyond the Missisiippi and Rocky Mountains npiAND snonTrmi. ,.. »ivmi iiiujctiirally away. '^^ "' '" I"), iiic silting liliarico nitoirothoi-. I on™ l,;il., l ■ "a .1,„„ :„„,oxoBpt when they ,»„,.„, ,„ ""f"'"",'"' ""! Go,„I ,p„„ „ee,l „„vor ho expected when the l„,h ^ a» many of the fowl swim up creeks »„,! . "'■«°' >ho,o, where i, i, i:m,2 ^ ' ^ """"S^ "■" moraMe, in «.... rLmah, „: L ^'^ n^rthe" HT'"' """ ^ "'■"° "- ;;u*-, .0., that it . ,L tt:^::: :::z:°rjr '"- theloditio bettor- nt «]!«,» i. , ''^ "'em. 1 he lower .»:!!:: :;::::«::, Sfre:;e:rr;" °" '"^ -'^"• .e„t them,„,ves .,„,„, the h.^ri ^ ';^, LTer '''■ for even the Morilh,,,, o.,rli« of the .liver trile ... 1 ' ' so .oon, and the Tufted and Scaup Duck:, ^::Z.::!Z ii 3D8 FRANK forester's FIELD SPORTS. until the winter sets in • Multitudes of Wild-ducks do mme •lown from the moors, during hax-vest, to feed upon the corn- fields on the banks of some of the larger lochs, and, when the stubble becomes bare, return to the moor-lochs until these are frozen over, which again drives them back. This is the only foundation for the vulgar error. A day or two is generally sufficient to freeze over these little lochs, and their occupants then come down to the larger ones, the greater parts of which remam open long after the storm has set in. Now is the time for the wild-fowl shooter : if the ground is covered with snow so much the better. The fowl are then in groups close to the shore, pmched with cold and hunger, seeking shelter and a scanty morsel. If at the same time it is windy, with drifts of snow, no weather can be more propitious for Ducks, Widgeon Teal, and all wild-fowl that feed at the margh.. When the' snow is falling thick and fast, a capital sitting shot may some- times be obtained, though the ground be so bare as to offer no concealment. In most cases, however, it is best not to take the cover off your gun till the shower moderates a little, as snow is so apt to penetrate, and make it miss fire. " If the weather be open, the higher the wind the better, as It dnves to the shore whatever fowl are upon the loch, although until the frost sets in they will be comparatively few. " The most auspicious weather for divers is one of those frostj days, accompanied by mist, when the loch is perfectly calm and looks like a mirror dimmed by one's breath. You may then hear their plash in the water-sometimes even before they can be seen~and, if care is taken to make no rustling among the bushes, when they are above the water, you have every pros- • These observations on the seasons of these birds in Great Britain, might, perhaps have been omitted ; but I consider the whole of this extract so very able and correct, that, taking into consideration the vast extent «„d variety of lat.tud.3 covered by the shooting grounds of America, in some of which the oli- mate closely resembles that of England, I have not been able to prevail on n.v- To L "T;," ; " ' '; "'' ""* *'"' "^ P'^"" ^' "•'''^^ '•'^ -P -"' bo fonnd to ht,and the hints of consequence to be useful. UPLAND 8HOOTINO. 309 psct of a good chance. The smoothness of the 8urfar« ur.A .^. .-St makes each bird appear twice as large as itTThiche; bles you much more easily to catch sirrhf .f 1 ..on I „ay conclude ,h„ paper by mentioning, ,h,, ft, game- tl.c Acre and no way of getting ntar them but over a bare field crawled flat „p„„ hi, face a distance of three h„nd"d yard,, p„,b, u, g„„ ^^^^^ ^^^^ hund d head, and at last got within sue!, fair distanc^, that he rnpad ur ™h h., H,« barrel, and one with the other, securinXm t athf LT "" \ ' ™"" '■••-""g-P'-'- I »hol add .hat he had been tra.ned to deer^alking, under hi, father, from It may, perhap,, be thought worthy of remark, that thi, i, the tngl ,1, author, a, regard, the mode of beating for, p„li„7 or k.l ,„g any kind o^ game. When I come to treLt'of gl': nery tH breed,, breaking, di,ea,es, and treatment of do^Td .he ,ke ,„p,c,, ,t ,, on Briti,h ,porting autbo,, especially, ICt exclu,,vely, that I ,hall rely, but, in fact, the game of Amen"a .. »o different, the place, and mode, of takinglt ,o much a. "I nance, and the habit, of the few animaU of eha,e which aTj nearly alhedtn the two conntrie,, are ,o completely dttinct om tb„,e of England, that the precept, of the best'Enlh pomng wnter, are u,ele„ here. Of Col. Hawker', g^eat we k, above half which half wa, very properly rejected by i "We Amencan ed.tor-ralata, to fowl ahooting, Id f„wh„g mi W'i 310 FRANK forester's FIELD SPORTS. apparatus, as practiced and adopted on the coast of England all which would be of no more use to a sportsman here, than a' treatise on archery of the fourteenth century to a Kentucky rifleman. ■' The above extracts arc practical, and ajjplicable to any and every country, and cannot lail to be found generally useful. The only other observations to be made on Upland fowl shooting, relate to the quality of gun most adapted to the sport and the size of shot, grain of powder, and the like, which are, of course, all more or less different from those u.ed in Upland shooting for ordinary game. To a person living in a country where this sport can be rea- dily and often pursued, and who is an amateur in it, a gun espe- cially made for the pui-pose is indispensable. It must be a double-barrel, and as heavy as can conveniently be can-ied ; the more metal, the less recoil, and the greater force of propul- sion ; extreme length is utterly useless— nay, detrimental !— for a gun of four feet bane! must either be unmanageably pon- derous, or must be so light at the breech as to become top-heavy. All that is requisite is a gun that will throw from two to three ounces of No. 3 or 4 shot, very strong, and very regularly dis- tributed. For any ordinary purpose, two ounces of shot is suffi- cient; and in my opinion the gun which will do that as efiec- tively as any that can be made, is one of 12-guage, 36 inches barrel, and 9 to 10 lbs. weight. A gun of this kind can be fur- nished by Mr. Mullin, of Barclay street. New- York, next door to the " Spirit of the Times" office, for a hundred dollars, of ex- cellent quality ; and I only give an opinion on which I have acted, and not been disappointed, wlien I say that I would ra- ther have a gun of his workmanship made to my order, for any price not exceeding one hundred and fifty dollars, than' any im- ported gun at the same rato.. The high qualities of English guns are not to be surpassed, but cannot be furnished by any first-rate maker short of— appur- tenances included— dCSe. This, with 30 per ct. ad valorem duty added, shipping charges, &c., will amount to a very large price. PPLAND SHOOTING. 311 Nevertheless, I say, if any man be disposed to go to the trouble of iini)orting an English gun at all, lot him import a first-rate and first price Lmdon article. I never saw a Birmingham gun I would have cared to shoot with ; and I do not consider that Westley Richards' merits at all equal his reputation. I consider Purdoy, Lancaster, and Mi.onj and Gray, the first three makers of the day ; and were I offered the gift of a gun, with the choice of the maker, I should name the latter house as ray makers. No. 4 shot I consider (juito large enough for any kind of fowl, unless Canada Geese, or Wild Swans ; but I would al- ways use a green Eley's cartridge in one barrel. The best powder, beyond all question or comparison, for fowling, and es- pecially «ea shooting, is what is called Hawker's Ducking Powder, prepared by Curtis and Hai-vey, as the diamond grain of the Bame house is by all odds the quickest, strongest, and cleanest powder in the world. The grain of the ducking powder is ex- tremely coarse— coarser than cannon powder— and veiy hard ; it is not, therefore, liable to become damp or liquefied, when exposed to a saline atmosphere. Notwithstanding the large size of its grain, it is readily ignited even in a small gun, by one of Starkey's central fire watei-proof caps. One of these, for an experiment, I kept foity-eight hours in a tumbler full of water, and it exploded quickly and cleanly. There is nothing like them,— but, like all good things, they are dear. For the rest, a person who cares to keep but one gun, will find himself able to do good work with a general shooting piece of Hguage, 32 inches barrel, and 8 lbs. weight, even at fowl, if he uses No. 4, Eley's wire cartridges. Vcrbuin sap. And so adieu to Upland 312 FRANK forester's FIELD SPORTS. SPORTING DOGS. S without the aid of well bred and well broke dogs no game can be either successfully or sci- ertiHcallly pursued, and as in the management of this noble ani- mal both in the kennel and the field consists, perhaps, the great- er part of the tme science of woodcraft, no work on field sports can be esteemed in any- wise complete, which does not treat of their breeds, character- istics and general treatment ; whether in health, in sickness in the house, or in the field. This portion of my subject, I the're- fore, now approach, without farther obsei-vation than this, that neither a complete history of canine pathology, nor a full treatise on dog-breaking must be looked for within the limits of 8uch a book as this, and that a few general directions and hints only can be afforded on a topic which has itself occupied many volumes, devoted to it entirely by writers of competent talent and experience. Two of these, more especially, should be found in every sportsman's library. I mean Youatt on the Dog, and Blaine's Canme Pathology. Of the first of these works a handsome eduiqn has been recently published by Messrs. Lea & iJhm- tTPLAND SHOOTING. 313 chard of Philadelphia, under the editorial supervision of E. J. Lewis, M. D.. of that city, a genfleman who has perform- ed Ins part with creditable accuracy, diligence and research; and whose fondness for the animal in rjuestion. and his long study of Its peculiarities, entitle his observa ions to respectful attention; although to some of his views, especially in re-rard to breeding and races, I must enter my dissent. The latter book has never, I believe, been republished in America, but the J^nghsh edition is not costly, and may be obtained from any considerable bookseller in the United States. With these two guides and text-books in his possession the sportsman will be iittle at a loss m regard either to the diagnosis or treatment of diseases, winch he must perforce attend to personally in this country, as veterinary surgeons are neither numerous nor 3kiUul, generally speaking, even in the larger cities, while in the country districts they are not; and even where they are canine pathology is little understood or professed by them. To proceed at once then in medias res, the races of sporting dogs used in upland shooting, are three in number, the Setter, the Pointer and the Spaniel, and of each race several varieties are m use, all being of the division known as sagacps, being distinguished by their qualities of instinct and powers of scent- ing, m contradistinction to speed or ferocity. Of these the best known, and most generally used, and I must think with justice, as superior in beauty, endurance and aptitude to our climate and style of shooting, is THE SETTER. The origin of this beautiful and admirable species is beyond a doubt, the large land Spaniel improved by judicious breeding to his peculiar size and beauty, and taught, until teaching has become second habit, and the result of training grown into an hereditary instinct, to mark his game by setting or crouchin ,und no mention of the fact-but the type of the animal is no firmly estabhshed. and the finest breed reproduces itself in its -st strain, if purely bred. The cross breeding, which I have named, has never been allowed with regard to the Setter, however, except by some Ignorant or prejudiced keeper, or some pei-srm desirous of pre- sei-vmg. by this unnatural union, some qualities of a favorite individual of either strain. In any well-kept kennels a chance htter from a Setter bitch by a Pointer dog, or vice versa; would undoubtedly be condemned to the horse-pond, and with Irish sportsmen, who are very choice of their Setters, a cross evev with the English Setter would be regarded as a blemish. UPLAND SHOOTING. 317 The Setter is too well known in this country to require u particular descnption, it may be well, however, to call the attention to some of those points, which peculiarly indicate punty of breed; the first (,f these is undoubtedly the nature of his coat, which, in the finest and purest strain, is long, sleek and wavy, but not curhj, even upon the crest and ears— a ten- dency to curl indicating an admixture of the Water Spaniel— it should be as soft, and almost as fine and glossy as floss silk, and on Ins stei-n and along the back of his legs should expand into a fringe known technically as the feathering, often of many inches in extent. The head should be broad between the eyes with a high bony process or -ridge at the hinder extremity of he skull, between the ears, which is by many spoilsmen thought to indicate the degree of the animal's olfactory powers There should be rather a deep indenture between the eyes; the nose should be long rather than broad, and somewhat tapering, with soft, moist, well-expanded nostrils, and above all things, a black nose and palate, with a full, liquid, dark and singularly expressive eye. The best breed is not very tall or bulky, and the great, heavy-shouldered, coarse, square-headed, club-tailed. fleecy brutes which are generally called Setters, in this country rrtll '^^ '"'"'' ^'^'"'"" '"^'h "•"«« «« '^^' recommended by Mr. Tolfrey, on the original Setter stock. The best and most useful dog is of medium height, very deep- chested and high-withered, what we should call in a horse well coupled, or closely ribbed up. and very strong and broad across the loins. The legs should be straight, and the lon..er to the knee and hock joints, and the shorter thence to the pas'torns the better. The feet should be hard, round, and cat-like, and well provided with ball and toe tufts, which are of .rreat effi cacy ,„ protecting the feet from becoming sore, either fiom wet and ice, or from hard, stony, or stubby ground. Their action when ,n movement, is very lithe and graceful, the stem is carried h.,gl,, and constantly feathered, and it is a good sign if the head 18 likewise carried high, and if the dog snuff' the air when scent- •ng his game, rather than stoop his nose to the ground and 319 FRANK FORESTEh's FIELD SPORTS. puzzle for his scent, which habit is often the result of a defi- Clancy m his olfactory power. In my opinion, the Setter is infinitely preferable to the Pointer everywhere, ,inless in dry, barren plains, where water IS not to be had ; as in snch places the Pointer can hunt well on an allowance of fluid, on which a Setter could not exist. The Pointer ,s more docile, it is true, and has, perhaps, a fin.r nose, though I think his extreme caution, rather than superior scent- i"g qualities, has led to the idea of his superiority in this res- pect. These qualities are. however, counterbalanced by so many other points of superionty on the part of the Setter, that I must decidedly g.ve him the palm over his rival, and espe- nace of Setters will do as „,uch work, and that work more sa- isfactonly, than two brace of Pointers, hunted steadily through the season, week m and week out. Individual Pointei. may be. and have been, of rare excellence, but as a rac.they cannot compete with the Setter. For a mere tyro, whodoesnot know his dog out five or SIX times in a year only, a Pointer is un- doubtedly preferab e-for. without work, a Setter is apt to he headsu-ong and wild-but for the everyday shot, the all-day! long shot, the rough-and-tumble, eager, scientific, keen sports man. rely upon it the Setter is the dog. Of the Setter, there are three principal varielies. The Engmsh Setter, which is the animal commonly in use m this country, too well known to need peculiar description of which .le points de.ribed above are the principal charactef tics He IS found of all colors-black, black and wl.ite. black and tan. pure white, liver, liver and white, orange or red and yellow and white spotted; and of all these colons he is f >und Tnot b f ' r f'\' '"•"' '' '"^y ^« -^^' ^h-^ ^-d dog cannot be of a bad color. Nevertheless. I am apt to fhink tha^ hver color .apt to indicate a predominance of PoLr, or wl S^mel blood, though take him altogether, the best dog I ever owned was hver and white, and so curly about the head that I UPLAND SHOOTING. 319 ' sometimes suspected a Spaniel cross. A chocolate-colored nose [ look upon as very suspicious, and a flesh-colored, or white nose, I tiiink indicative of softness of constitution. The Irish Setter is either pure red, or red and white, or yellow and white spotted. His nose, lips, and palate, are inva- riably black. His coat is somewhat more wiry, and his frame more bony and muscular than the English dog. He is the har- diest and most dauntless of the race, and, though apt to bo some- what unmanageable and headstrong, if he is sufficiently worked, and managed with a tight hand, these faults can be kept down, while his indomitable pluck, his rapidity, his perseverance, and his diish, render him, in my opinion, for the real hard-working Bpoitsman, preferable to his English brother. The Scotch and Welsh Setters are in no respect distinct varieties, and only differ from the English, as being inferior in purity of bl )(id. The Irish dog is undoubtedly the original type of the Setter in Great Britain. The Russian Setter is, however, clearly a distinct variety; and it is a little remarkable that this race has never been des- cribed in any American work, and that Mr. Youatt, and his editor. Dr. Lewis, seem to be alike unawar j of its existence. It is rather taller than the English dog, and is very muscular and bony. The head is very njuch shorter and rounder than that of any other Setter, and is covered with such a fleece of coarse woolly hair, that unless it is clipped away from the brows, the animal can scarcely see. The whole body is covered bv a coat of long, thick, woolly fleece, hanging in elf-locks knotted together, of many inches in length, as curly, though six times as long, as those of the Water Poodle. Its olfactory powers are of the very highest order, its docility and sagacity unequalled, and its courage in facing briars or water, its endurance of cold and fatigue, are such as to entitle it, in my opinion, to the first place of the whole race. It makes an admirable retriever, and would, I think, suit this country beyond any dog with which I am acquainted, though I have never seen one in America. It is less handsome than the English and Irish breeds, but its qua- 320 FBANK FOUESTKr's FIELD SfORTS. litu.s nro fii-Bt-rato. Tl.oy me more common in tl.o Nonl. than in the South of Knghuul, mul are much used on the moruH. 'J'h„ Duke of Devonshiio had, when I was in Knghmd, and I h.-lievo keeps to thin day, this Hue variety in its purity ; and in my hoy- hornl, my father, the hite Dean of Manchester, had som., excel- lent .logs „f ,hc, Russian breed, one of which, Charon, was the best dog, far or i>ear. over which I ever have drawn a trigger As the ex.eHence of the Setter or Pointer is a moote.l .jues- tn.n. and one of great utility and importance to the sportsman I am not willing to rely solely on my own judgment therein, and have, on this account, extracted from the American edition of Youaft, Dr. Lewis' opinion of the merith op the Setter, com- PAKEI) WITH THOSE OP THE PoiNTER. ^ " It cannot for a moment ho douhted," he says, ♦' that the better has superior advantages to the ?„i„ter. for hunting over our uncleared country, although the Pointer has many .jualities that recommend him to the sportsman, that the Setter d(,e3 not possess. In the first place, the extreme hardiness and swiftness of foot, natural to the Setter, enables him to get over much more ground than the Pointer, in the same space of time. Their feet also, being more hard and firm, are not so liable to become sore from contact with our frozen ground. The ball-pads being well protected by the Spaniel toe-tufts, are le.s8 likely to be wounded by the thorns and burs with which our woods are crowded during the winter season. His natural enthusiasm for hunting coupled with his superior physical powers, enables him to stand much more work than the Pointer, and oftentimes he appears quite fresh up.m a long-continued hunt, when the other will be found drooping and inattentive. " The long, thick fur of the Setter, enables him to wend his way through briary thickets without injury to himself, when a similar atiempt on the part of a P. inter, would result in his ears, tail and body being lacerated and streaming with blood " On the other hand, the Pointer is superior to the Setter in retaining his acquired powers for hunting, and not being natu- rally enthusiastic in pursuit of game, he is more easily broken and kept in proper bubjectioii. CI'LAND SHOOTINO. 321 Tho bettor froquoi.tly requires a partial rohroakin^ at tl,e o,„n,encemcnt of each HeuHon. i„ hin youu^.r days, owing to the natural oagorncss with which ho roHu.nIs the sport The .o.esH.ty of tins, however, diminishes with age. as ",0 hara" - an ha...ts of the d ,g .....no .ore settied.'and then SLl ake then u.to tho Hold, with a perfect assurance of their be- i'avn.g quite as well ou the first hunt of the season as tho 8 aunchcst Pointer would. in lu^]lT-T '""'""' ""'^ "'«'^'"^'-"' P'>^«r« "f the Pointer nessed a. the procp.tato running of tho Setter, who winds tho game and frequently overruns it. in his great anxiety to col up with ,t. But tins occasional fault on tho part of the Setter Z'l :fiT-'rn^ '^''^ ''''-' '^'-^'^y "^^-« ^'- e than^hP • ^^"^™/«^"»« ™»ch more water while hunting than tho Pomter. owing to their thick covering of fur. encou ragmg a greater amount of insensible perspiration to fly ofl" than tho thm and short dress of tho Pointer. Consequently they are better calculated to hunt in tho coldest seasons tin o a r ly n our falls, which are frequently quite dry and warm ^ "A striking instance of this fact came under our own imme- dmte observation this fall, when shooting in a range of coZ^ thinly settled, and uncommonly dry. The day being wa™ and the birds scarce, the dogs suffered greatly from thirstTn™' much that a very fi,.e Setter, of uncommon Wtom. waT Cd o give up entirely, completely prostrated, foaming at tho mouth r. the most alarming manner, breathing heavily, and voZnl from time to time a thick frothy mucus. vomiting " His prostration of both muscular and nervous powers was so great that ho could neither smell nor take the slightest nolo of a bird, although placed at his nose. Ho could baLly man go ^o drag one leg after tho other, stopping ,0 rest every few mo! meuts. and we were fearful that we should be obliged to shoul- <^- and carry him to a farm-house, a considerable distance off However, he succeeded, with much difficulty, i„ reaching the 11 i;" 322 FRANK forester's FIELD SPORTS. well, where he greedily drank several pints of water, adminis tered to him with caution. " He recovered almost immediately, gave me a look of thanks, and was off to the fields in a few moments, where he soon found a fine covey of birds. " The Pointer, his associate in the day's work, and a much less hardy dog, stood the hunt remarkably well, and seemed to suffer little or no inconvenience from the want of water. The Setter has natural claims upon the sportsman and man gene, rally, in his affectionate disposition, and attachment to his mas- ter, and the many winning manners he exhibits towards those by whom he is caressed. " The Pointer displays but little fondness for those by whom he is sun-ounded, and hunts equally as well for a stranger as his master." In this testimony in behalf of the Setter, on the part of an American gentleman, of scientific, no less than sportsmanlike attainments, I shall add the following quotation from "Craven's Recreations in Shooting," a very clever English work — in which, by the way, I find myself quoted, without credit, as an American sportsman, concerning our field sports — in which the question is fully debated, and the excellence of tlie Russian Setter upheld by competent authority. " Having now disposed," says Craven, " of that which by a slight license, may be termed the poetry of shooting, before en- tering upon its mere household stuff, allusion comes in aptly to its intellectual agents. Although as a principle, we have re- commended the use of the Pointer in especial to the young dis- ciple of the trigger, the first place, among shooting dogs, must be awarded to the Setter. In style and dash of ranging, in courage, and capacity of covering ground ; in beauty of form, and grace of attitude ; in variety of color, and elegance of clotli- ing, no animal of his species will at all l^ar comparison with him. As the respective merits of the Pointer and the Setter, however, have long been a mooted question among sportsmen, PPLAND SHOOTING. 303 we have much pleasure iu laying before the reader the opinion ff the H V^'"'' '^ ^'- '^'^"^' *^« well-known gunmakir of the Haymarket. to whom we are indebted for the subroLed letter to that interesting inquiry :— , suDjomed of thfri"f ^^'^f^^^^^^'-^'''" oxperience in breeding from some the!.. rf ' ^" ^"^'"•''' ^^«'^"^' -'I ScotlanLairst hem those of the late Duke of Gordon, Captain Ross Mr O ba deston. and other celebrated sportsmen ; and havfng alslp^;; many years, and much money, in the endeavor to prodLe a sune Pointers bv st«Hn \ r^'" *^"^ "'^ ^P^"'""« concerning Pointers are better for Partrido-o* al,^^*- as though they were walking for a wa4r and^r . ' than they generally do, they would do more justice Lt selves, their dogs, and their preserves fTw Pn . work on the moors-where^he elm o'^sTXT ^t had-unless they have been bred, or have been regular?, Hd • on them I know many gentlemen who greatly prefer them when so bred, to Setters ; but Scotch Pointers arJrotto HghT; that tXn:^^:,';^^.^^^^^^^^ '-- - ^-^"-^^ ^°^. --i in America The .J^^Z H k "- ' *''""'' ""'"^ "" ^'"•'"■'^^« -hooting, were q; Itu : ,7' ""k '^ '"'^''"'*'^ ^^'''-'''^ ^° Q-^^ in the ascendant. ^' " '''"''' '"°^« ^han anywher^ 384 FRANK forester's FIELD SPORTS. bred as south-country dogs, and therefore more calculated for rough work. Many are crossed with the Foxhound, which gives them speed and courage as well as hardness of foot ; but the produce of the first cross is generally tco high-mettled to be managed with ease, being difficult to break from running Hares, or to dotvn^charge ; and, for the most part, very hard-mouthed! You may reckon on six days out of every twelve being rainy in the Highlands ; the wet, and injuries 'from burnt heather, &c., cause the Pointer soon to become foot-sore, particularly between the toes, as he has no hair to protect his feet, like the Setter. High-bred Pointers are also delicate in their appetites and will not eat the Scotch meal at firet. Gentlemen should have plenty of greaves sent to their shooting quarters to mix with it, as meat can seldom be had in the remote Grouse coun- tnes. They should give orders that their dogs should be fed immediately on their return from the hills, and their feet care- fully washed with salt and water : indeed, if gentlemen saw to those things themselves, they would find their account in it, observing that such dogs as would not feed well were never taken out the following day. ' A stitch in time saves nine,' is a good wholesome maxim. " ' I now proceed to speak of the Setter. The Irish Setters are very beautiful both iu and out of the field ; but so hot-head- ed, that unless always at work, and kept under very strict disciphne, they constantly spoil sport for the first hour, frequent- ly the best in the whole day. I have shot to many, and found them all pretty much alike. I had one, the histoiy of whose bad and good qualities would fill half-a-dozen pages. As long as I kept him to regular hard work, a belter never entered a field • I refused forty guineas for him, and shot him a month afterwards for his bad deeds. I bred from him, out of an English Setter bitch, and some of the produce turned out very good • cue of them I shot to myself for eight seasons : my reasons for parting with him I will presently explain. Unless to throw more dash into my kennel, I should never be tempted again to become master of an Irish Setter Frequently, Partridges are driven tTPLAND SHOOTING. 325 into gorse or low cover, in the middle of the day, which few Pointers will face. I know it is not the fashion to shoot to dogs in cover ; but most true sportsmen prefer shooting five brace of pheasants to Setters or mute Spaniels, to fifty brace to beaters. In the latter case you stand sometimes an hour together without getting a shot; and then they rise a dozen at a time, Uke bam- door fowls, and as many are killed in a few houra as would serve for weeks of fair shooting. " ' In the season of 1839 I was asked for a week's shooting into Somersetshire, by an old friend, whose science in eveiything connected with shooting is first-rate. Then, for the first time for many years, I had my dogs, English Setters, beaten hollow. His breed was from pure Russian Setters, crossed by an English Setter dog, which some years ago made a sensation in the sporting world, from his extraordinaiy peifomances ; he belonged to the late Joseph Manton, and had been sold for a hundred guineas. Although I could not but remark the excel- lence of my friend's dogs, yet it struck me, as I had shot over my own old favorite Setter— who had himself beat many good ones, and never before been beaten— for eight years, that his nose could not have been right, f.r the Russians got three points to his one. I therefore resolved to tiy some othera against them the next season ; and having heard a gentleman, well known as an excellent judge, speak of a brace of extraordinary dogs he had seen in the neighborhood of his Yorkshire mooi-s, with his recommendation I purchased them. I shot to them in August 1840, and their beauty and style of perfonnance were spoken of m terms of praise by a conespondent to a sporting paper. In September I took them into Somereetshire, fully anticipating that I should give the Russians the go-by; but I was again disappointed. I found, from the wide ranging of my dogs, and the noise consequent upon their going so fast through Ktubbles and tumips— particularly in the middle of the day, when the sun was powerful, and there was but little scent— that they constantly put up their birds out of distance; or, if they did get a point, that the game would rarely lie till we could get « ■•'I I 326 FRANK forester's FIELD SPORTS. ■J ^1 to It. The Russians, on the contrary, being much closer rangers, quartering their ground steadily— heads and tails up— and possessing perfection of nose, in ex.reme heat, wet, or col,. animal food, paiticularly in a raw stat'e, becom: utolerably off-ensive m odor; and when this is the case it is cer- tam that the secretions of the body are vitiated, and probable moreover, that the health of the animal is in some sozt affected likewise. That flesh is necessary to dogs, I will not, however, deny: and ,t ,8 my opinion that, during the dead seasons of the year when there is no field work to be done, except exercise, flesh n.ay be given not only without detriment, but with advantage Raw meat tends, unquestionably, to give a dog both strenl and ferocty; and the latter is so nearly allied to endurance, and what is commonly called y^^-A, that we can scarcely encour- age the one quality, apart from the others I would thei.fo..e fl.e.l dogs, while getting them into condition, on flesh-and I would not even object to raw horse-flesh for tl.a 340 FRANK forester's FIELD SPORTS. purpoHc—wiihout Stint, save that of their own appetites, hnvin|[f care to give them a sufficiency of sulphur in their water to ko.p their bodies open. Well-lbd, nay oven rendered fat, upon tliis strong and hearty food, and worked down into liard flesh and sound condition l)y constant, and, toward the commencement of soasi-n, sharp and fast exercise, Sotteiu or Pointers will have raised such a stock of muscle, and will bo so high in courage, l lut they may safely dispense with all solid animal food during the prevalence of the shooting season. We have one advantage in this country over the residents of Great Britain, in regard to dog-feeding, that whereas both oat and barley meal are ajjt to heat the blood of tht) animal to such a degree as to produce cuticular eruptions and redness, not very dissimilar to mange, we possess in tlio meal of the maize. or *ndian corn, a sulistance admirably adapted to the food of the d g ; which moreover has a tendency to act on him as a Blight and gentle alterative. This I consider to be the perfection of dog-food, and the fol- lowing is the best way of p» >aring it. Take a caldron half full of water, set it over a small furnace, and when boiling cast in a handful of salt ; then stir in the meal, keeping the water still boiling, until it has attained the consistency of very thick poiridge. Remove it from the fire, and let it cool gradually, running the blade of a knife round the side of the pot, which will prevent its adherence to the metal. When cold, it will have hardened info the conflistcncy of stiff batter pudding, and than this, either alone, or with milk, butter-milk, or pot liquor, no bettor food can be given to hunting dogs. Obsei-ve, however, that the pot liquor of ham, salt-pork, salt-beef, or the like, is objectiona!)le ; as is the fat, grease or scraps of such food ; the excess of salt having a ten- dency to produce a very obstinate species of mange. For a person who keeps several dogs, there is no better mode than to let the butcher regularly supply him with sheep hvmh, which will cost a mere trifle, at the rate of one for each dog irpLAND SHOOTTNO, 341 ever, „co„,l day. The«, boiled cnrapletely ,„ n,g., „„d fl,. ::; ;;;-LC " ""' """'' "'" ""™ "° """■"■" '- "" It 18 well to obTOive th.t vegetable, of almo,t any |ii„d •", ,'",'•«""'.• ™""'". P«™"ip". and even cabbage,, iy be -uLled to tl„. ,„«, „„d rt,at to the dog'» great advLlgT The P".t,o„ ha. the flavor of ,|,„ „„„ .hall „„, be altered, until th. 'leg w,ll eat the vogotable, ,l,.oM .lone. The be t kenn.^ m..™an I ever know in England, waa in the habit of fLZ' h.» .h.g« one day i„ „ix, during ,h„ hunting aeaaon, and twTce ! rir ,n • "'" ' """" •"" ""^ •"""- •"■' «- in I>"g» .hould be .upplied freely, if kept chained up in cilie. where they „„„„.„ p™„,.„ .^ei,. natujal herbaceou. eml^ wth the cornmon dog-g,..., or -,„eed.-gr,«, ,ri,icu^ r^'l »nd whe,^ ,h,» cannot be obtained, ahould ecca.io„alIy hZ^ en.et,c g,ve„ them, eo„,i„i„^ „f ,a«ari.ed an.i.^1^1^ the dog. It can bo given mo«t readily, mixed with lard or b,., ter u,to a .mall ball ; o,. b„twoon two'.lice. of ^ta whl tht ?f:r:^:.i-:::r-t-s mcnt ol the «l,„„t„,g „ea,on, and strong exercise ha. b„„ r,., ,t into play ,. ,.d„c„ and bring them in^ perfetcend " t,on, a few gentle -loHea of purgative medicine wi I be of Zl .ervce .„ the animal, and will improve all hi. powet, be*Tf »peed, endurance and acent. " The term condition," ,aya Mr. 'Blaine, " a. applied to do™ '.' -"-P"-'*'" »ith the ,ame term a. u«,d among hoJe. Z .. .ntended to characterize a healthy exte..al 'a ppe" 342 FRANK forester's FIELD SPORTS. unxted With a capability, frou) full wind and perfect vigor, to go through all the exercises required of them. It is, therefoit evident that condition is of material consequence to sportsmen ' indeed. ,t is of infinitely more importance than is generally im- agined. What would be thought of that sporting character who should enter his horse for racing without any previous training? and how much chance would he be presumed to have, even to 'save 7m distance,' without this precaution ] Is it not equally reasonable to suppose that Pointers, Sette s, Spaniels, and m,.,; than all Greyhounds,* require training; or, in other words to be m full cmdition also ? It is notorious, that Pointers Set- ters, and Spaniels, if they are what is Un-med foul in their coats never ha^■o their scent in perfection. It must be equally evident' that, unless they are 'in wind; they cannot range with speed and durability ; and without some previous training, it is impos- sible they shouLi be so. Those persons, the.ef<,re, who expect superior exertion from their dogs in the field, would do well to prepare them by a previous attention to their cmdition. I„ Greyhounds, intended either for matches or for simp/e coursing It IB evident that this is absolutely necessary to insure success' In simple coursing, they are pitted against an animal very nearly equal in speed to themselves, and always in cmdition by Its habits. If, therefore, a dog of acknowledged goodness is beaten by a Hare, especially at the beginning of the season it IS ten to one but the condition of the dog is at fault. It is self- evident that perfect condition must be more than equally impor- tant m comsing matches; where a dog has two competitors to beat, the Hare and the other dog. " The manner of getting dogs into condition is very simple, and • I was, at first, about to omit that part relating to Greyhounds, as in conse- quence of there existing no animal in the Eastern States fit for their pureuit and consequently no field for their powers, they are useless, and only kept as pets. I am, however, so well assured that they must come into use to the Westward, and that the finest sport conceivable might be had witli them on th^ prairies iu pursuit of the Deer, the Antelope, and with the large Scotch wiry Iw-d of the Elk and Wolf also, that I have resolved to retain ihe whole passage. Ill UPLAND SHOOTING. 343 eit'.cr consists in reducing the animal from* too full and soft a Btate to one of firmness and less bulk ; or it consists in raising a lean and reduced dog to lustiness, hardness, and vigor. Some sportsmen prefer the one state, and some the other to begin upon. If a dog be fat, his treatment must be entered on by physic and sufficient exercise, hut not by two great a privation of food ; and it must be particularly observed, that hia doses of physic be mild, but more in number. The exercise should be at first gradual and slow, but long continued; and at last it should be increased to nearly what he will be accustomed to when hunting. If tliere be the least foulness— i. e. if the secre- tions of the skin are impure — apparent in the habit, besides physic and exercise, alteratives should be given also: these medicines immediately follow the subject of condition. Some sportsmen regularly dress their dogs, before the hunting season, with sulphur, even though no breaking-out appears, and I by no means think the practice a bad one. Others curry or brash their dogs, whether any skin affection appears or not ; and, to Greyhounds, it is a very proper means of keeping-up the equili- brium of the circulation, and of promoting muscular elasticity. When a lean dog is to be got into condition, less physic is neces- sary ; but good flesh feeding, plenty of exercise, and a due ad- ministration of alteratives, are principally to be resorted to : nevertheless, one or two doses of very mild physic will here also promote the condition and even assist the accumulation of flesh." ALTERATIVES. " Various substances are used as alteratives ; as antimonials, and the different preparations of mercury, iron, and tin. The nitrate of potash (nitre,) the supertartrate of potash (cream of tartar,) aloes, salines, &c., &c., &c., are excellent alteratives. Tartarized antimony (emetic tartar) often proves a very useful * This I conceive to be the true, and by far the easiest mode. It is easy to reduce fat into solid flesh, but very difficult to raise leanness into muscle, and proMrre harduera at the same time. • 344 FHANI rORBSTER's FIELD SPORTS. alterative m the chronic asthmatic cough to which do™ «r« "ubject, given as an emetic once or twice a week in Z 7 one grain to three. Antimonial powder or Jam J" 7 ^ay a,., ,e given with benefit asL ^rlZZ^:^ Crude antimony is often found useful in the diseases of the sZ J'utitis unfortunately very uncertain in its operation thl^T-' rtraiiro^^^t^"^^^^^ is from t V ! '^''^°"' ^^"'""^ «'«^"«««.- *e usual dose 18 from half a scruple to half a drachm. Nitrate of nn.„T rn.rej.s a very useful alterative to dogs, for hoi tchi^^^^^^^^^ and redness of the skin in rln«oo ^e e • ■ * ""mors "1 mo BMH. m doses of four erams to ten Tl.o =„ ».* bene«. i„ ,.^er doses, i„ .he same cL , alf Zp^plr ^o,^ of mercury, ,h„„gh excellen. aUeradves, renuiLZ caufon when frequently repeated, or regularly \a^X (S LAXATIVES AND PVRQATirES. "These evacuants are bothj,r«,««,V a„d«„a6,W of diseaw- *ey are valuable „,,„,„„., and active .„.«<^«.,. " 1"I„ o? *■„ .r, " T ^"l"^ ' '"'' " ™'^ consideri.ble source of sk,„ affections also , fo, whatever Is taken up superfluousr^ by the system is apt ,„ find itself an outlet there wtThe" b, likewise prevent pulmonary congestion, and doposiu of fa. "-hich would obstruct the visceral func ions. llati.t 1 71^1 °"f''^™-"-»"» «"™al.: >«ch, therefoie, as a„ flesh-fed should have this fcjndency obviated by laxatives- an^ to„ flesh food : potatoes, or even greens, can always be pro- currf and will answer the pu^-ose. This is the more neC T^izi:r """'r' '^'^"^^ '■«'^' ^^mctiiTrd ment to the breeding of worms. Medicinal laxatives arc nu. PPLAND SHOOTINO. S45 merous. Epsom s^\t^-,ulj,hate of magnesior-^ose one drachm o two; castor oil. two drachms to four; syrup of buckthorn, the same quantity, will either of them answer this end. tlie quantities being increased if those mentioned are not found suf- ficien : but as these directions are intended to meet the tender pet of the drawing-room, as well as the strong inhabitant of the konnCsoit IS prudent to specify the minor dose : more may g'ven ' '' '' '°° ^''' '° '"^''^'' ^^"" '°° ""*'*' has been " Purgatives ra^y be made by increasing the doses of any of the axatives. Jalap is not a bad purgative to dogs, but it is uncer- tain, some being little affected by it; rhubarb is equally so- senna I have no experience of; gamboge is very drastic; calo^ mel IS an excellent auxiliary to other purgatives on some occa- Bion ; but given alone it is apt to deceive, by proving more emetic than purgative ; neither will the stomach o'r bowe'ls bea" a sufficient quantity without producing much derangement in the system as violent vomiting, tenesmus, and sometimes sud- den saUvation Aloes fonn the safest general purge to dogs; man cl tT ?"""'"'" °'*'^ ^^"^"^ ^^-''«' ^^^^ -hile a man can take with impunity as much calomel as would kill two uT- f!' \ ™°'i«r-t-«i-ed dog will take a quantity of aloes sufficient to destroy two stout men. The smallLt do<; can take fifteen ortwenty grains; half a drachm is seldom too much but the smaller dose had better be tried fi.t: medium-sized dog usually require a drachm, and some large do-rs have taken more than two drachms : I have given thr^e to I strong Net foundland dog without extreme catharsis; but as before ob- Berved, dogs differ much in their different habits, and it is there- kl™r r. . ? ^'^" "•* " ^""'^ '«- --" than too arge : hundreds of dogs are every year destroyed by temerity mth. particular. Whenever a purgative is a'dminLrTdle^ t.e dog have some vegetable food, if possible, a day or two U- viously; an active cathartic, given soon afler a full meal of flesh or bones, might destroy by hurrying the undigested food into the intestines, where it might form such an impacted and II 846 FRANK FORESTRb's FIELD SPORTS. obstructing rnnHS as could not be overcome : it is prudent to place before the dog hoido broth, milk, &c... to assist purgation. Let me warn spoi ,1 i. , ,vrr<> re putting iheir dogs tfirough a course ofphyah Tot hn-'Miii.; or coursing purposes, to be aware, that it is not thi- inordinate strength of the doao which does good; on the contrary, violent physic often defeats its own pur- pose : it is a mild and repeated emptying of the bowels which unloads the system at large, and at once rfrengthens the solids and purifies the fluids." This, I believe, is all that need be said, in this place, with re- gard to general medical treatment, except in cases of speci- fic disease, where the aid of a medicid assistant of some kind would of course be called in ; and directions for the treatment of which cannot be contained within the compass of such a work as this. In consequence, however, of tlie great prevalence of two or three maladies, as canine distemper, worms, mange, and the like, with some common injuries arising from local accidents, I shall here add a few short recipes for the treatment of these ti'oublesome maladies, which will be, I think, sufiicient to guide the sportsman in any ordinary cases. Occasional bleeding is of great benefit to dogs. It is most readily performed by holding the head of the animal up, passing a ligature round the lower part of the neck, which will cause the jugular vein to swell at about one inch from the wind- pipe, and then puncturing ihe vein with a common thumb Ian cet. The only care necessary is to avoid inserting the lancet so deeply as to sever the vein. If the hair is thick and long, it may be requisite to clip, or even shave the spot, before effecting the orifice. No pin or ligature is necessary to close the wound. In case of fits, or any sudden emergency, a clip in the ear, if no lancet is at hand, will answer the end. The quantity of blood to be drawn ^rom a dog will vary ac- cording to the size of the animal, from one or two oz. in a very small dog, to six, seven, or eight in a very large one, propor- tionably to the nature of disease, and the violence of the symp- toms. PPLAND SHOOTmo. 317 ThepuLso of the dog maybe felt at the heart, and at the inner sulo of the protuberance of the knee. The range of p«l. z^r Th" \zVu'' "' ' ^^^^ ^'"^" '^^^' •'-' '- t-.an 20. Thus, if loo bo taken m the usual number for the former, and 120 for the latter, whatever is found much to ox.eed th,8 maybe am Ibod to the inflammatory state. The following brief ruloH for the tn.itmont of a few of the most common diseases, and n.jurios to which doi^s .,re liable M8TEMI.E., OR 8PECIRK CATABRHAL DISEASE. The term of distempor, though in itself a very ahsurd and in defimte tenn, has become so conv,,„.io„a. that ft cannot eadi"; be d„pe„sed w.th, as by this name and no other it is generally Whatever it might have been in ,h„ «„, instance, it is now . oons.,tut,o„al canine endemic, from which few inJividuaU -cape It ,sat times epidemical also, ,„, i, .„e„ pecj^y he ,1 ape of an ep.demic, has some peculiar chantcteristic type somotnnes tending .„ diarrh„,„, s„„.,aimes to epilepsy and^spasms, and sometimes, the most fatal of all, to a pufrid It is unqnestionably contagious, hut i, is, as I have stated e„dem,cal and epidemical also, and it is also self-genera,^ ft o adult, of as many years. It occurs also many times in thj same md,v,d„al, and dog. have been known to escape i, hr ^ uncomZn V T^ """'• '^" ''' '■°— ' '<>"— y^ uncommon. In the most highlybred dogs it is the most fatal and I have generally observed it to be especially a.n°„ the smooth ha,red races, as G,.yhounds and Bull-Lie^ With Newfoundland dogs, at times, it makes sad havoc. Its .ym' toms a,, so vanous. that it is not easy to set before the ZZ 94n FRANK FORESTBr's FIELD 8FORT8. any distinct or strict diagnosric signs, yet it is not difficult, on the whole, of detection. A dry, husky cough, followed by a loss of spirits and appe- tite, the staring of the coat, and a thin watery discharge from the nostrils and eyes, gradually instead of limpid becoming muco-purulont, are usually the earliest symptoms of the disease ; though at times the discharge does not appear, or is quickly arrested, and followed by convulsions, which usually tonninate the affair very quickly. "When the symptomatic epilepsy of distemper occurs, if the at- tack can be arrested with the occurrence of a single fit, the dog often recovers, but if one is followed by a second, the case is usually hopeless. The virulent or putrid type of the disease marked by a bloody and foetid discluuge from the nose, eyes, and sometimes even from the ears, and by bloody, mucous and bilious evacuations of the bowels, is, I think, so almost invariably fatal, that the most merciful method is at once to destroy the animal, as an act of kindness to himself, as well as a means of preventing extend- ed ravages by contagion. Again, distemper often leaves behind it a species of paralysis, with nervous twitchings of the limbs, similar to chorea or St. Vitus' dance, which continually increase, until it ends in convul- sions and death, though it will at times slowly and entirely dis- appear. The treatment of distemper must therefore necessarily varj greatly, and it is needless to add that although almost ever) sportsman and breeder has, what he believes, an infallible rem- edy—there is no such thing as a general specific for its cure or prevention. The best plan generally is to commence operations with a mild purgative or emetic, such as have been prescribed under the head of General Treatment. If there is very much cough, or the pulse be very greatly ex- cited, bleed from three to six oz., according to the age and size of the dog. If bleeding in adopted, use a very mild purgative. PPL4ND SHOOTINO. .349 The best emetic is Ti • y"^\ .' ' * ^' Tartarized antimony, . 1 -, of :.Xai: "'° """"■" '"*■ ^"' "-'"" --y '^'' After the ImwoI. .re cl6an.e,l and the body thu. depleted 5, 10 or 15 j™. *. AuluMoniul pow•/)«, 4 drachms, made into foui, six, or eight balls, with lard, according to the size of the patient, exhibit one every morning, and afterwards ad- minister a purgative, such as epsom salts, or castor oil, or a ■>1 irPLAND SHOOTING. 351 very slight mercurial dose, not exceeding 4 gra. of calomel in combination with aloes. POISONS. For any mercurial poisons, the best remedy is the white of eggs, beaten into a liquid, given in large quantities, and repeat- ed as often as they have been ejected. Mild clysters may be thrown up, and when the stomach is appeased, give an opiate and castor oil. Whet, .ggs are not at hand, largo doses of soap dissolved m water may be tried. For arsenic, largo doses of sugar dissolved in milk, until the stomach IS supposed to be cleared, then as above. For verdigris, as for mercurial poisons. ^For lead, give a strong dose oCepsom salts. If this be reject- ed a ball vvith calomel, aloes and a quarter of a grain of op um. After this the body to be kept open with castor oil. ^ For vegetable poisons, a strong emetic sliould be given as quickly as possible, followed by a large teaspoonful of mustard. or any other strong, spicy stimulant, such as pepper, or the like, mixed with vinegar. r ff > '^ "'e MANGE. For common Mange, the following formula for ointment will be found useful : No. 1 — Powdered sulphur, Aloes, powdered, 4oz. j^^J' Venice turpeutiiio, ijard, 6 oz., mix. No. 2.— Sulphate of zinc, 1 dr TnK..„„ • White iiellebore in j^wder. i t L^. u i'"St' Aloes m powder, . 2 dr. Lard ' "^"'''' No. ^-Powdered charcoal, 2 oz. Powdered sulphur, Venice turpentine, i oz., mix! No.4-SuIphuricacid, . i dr. Lard, Oxymuriate of quicksilver, 5 grs. ' With all these applications a fine wire muzzle must be used to prevent the dog licking himself, as if he do so he will InZt ^'••■.'ate of ammonia, powdered, jj oz. i oz. > i oz. 4oz. 6 oz., mix. • 4 oz. • 6 oz. 6 oz. 1 oz. 352 FRANK forester's FIELD SPORTS. l>ly perish from the strong poisonous properties of the remedies. For red mange, to any of the foramla, 1, 2, or 3, to 6 oz. of the ointments prescribed, add 1 oz. mild mercurial ointment. Use the wire muzzle as above. In addition to these outer applications, give mild doses of epsom salts tvi^ice or thrice a week ; and occasionally, but for red mange always, the following formula : Black sulphiiret of quicksilver, ^Ethiop's mineral, 1 oz. buportartarute of potash, 1 oz. Nitrate of Potash, Sdrs. Divide into sixteen, twenty, or twenty-four doses, according to the size of the dog, and give one morning and evening. Keep the dog warm and dry, and feed on vegetable diet. OPHTHALMIA, Whether aiising from cold, or external in-itation, as scratches, thorn- wounds, or the like, may be treated successfully as follows : (live gentle purgatives, feed low; if much inflammation, bleed. Apply the following wash several times a day, after fomenting, with an infusion of poppy-heads, or a weak infusion of opium in hot water. Siiperacetate of lead, J dr. Rose-water, . 6 oz. When the inflammation is disappearing, Sulphate of zinc, . 1 scmp. Weiik infusion of elm bark, G oz. Brandy, one teaspoonful. SORE FEET. " When dog's feet become sore by travelling it is common to wash them with brine, but tliis is not altogether a good practice. It is better to bathe them with greasy pot liquor, milk or butter- milk, and afterwards to defend them from stones or dirt by wrapping them up." — Blaine. My practice is always after shooting, to bathe a dog's foot when unwounded, with brine, which tends greatly to indurate and prevent them from becoming sore. If actually sore, I fol- low Mi-. Blaine's course of treatment. UPLAND SHOOTINQ. 353 ITie habit of woi-ming dogs is, I believe, now entirely out of of whi^h' V" "'"''^ ""'''' ^ " P^^^«"^^^« ^°^ hydrophobia, of which It ^vas ignorantly supposed to prevent the possible occunence. It is an absurd, useless and cmel practice 1 do not approve of the practice of either cropping, rounding or tailing dogs ; but if in compliance with an absurd iashionh njured-for deafness is a common consequence of cropping- he operation should be perfo^ed with a pair of sharp!^strtng scissors, and a ligature should be applied to the tail, in carder to prevent excessive bleeding. For the bites of poisonous reptiles, the best remedy is to rub the par bmen freely with volatile alcali, and to give to a lar^e be endured, and warm poultices, are the best practice In the han his own tongue. Whenever dogs are at aTll 1 a ^ foulness, as a tendonrv t^ .• , inclined to so licked, is sure to beeo- " T^'^'"^ ^^ ^^"^'^' ^ -- licking." '"'"' '"^"^^' ^"^ ^« be aggravated by the I shall conclude this branch of my subject a. T . VOL r ^ sunject, as 1 commenced 23 354 FRANK forester's FIELD SPORTS. It, by recommending it strongly to every sportsman to have al- ways at hand, as better than the best fairiers, Blaine's Canine Pathology, and Yoiiatt on the Dog: these, if he have ordinary intelligence, and ordinary caro, aided by a small medicine-chest, and a lancet — without vihich latter article no sportsman should ever take the field— will enable him to guard against the occur- rence of most disorders in his kennel, and to conquer such aa do occur, unless exti-aordinarily obstinate or malignant. ' FIELD MANAGEMENT OF DOGS. It is not, of course, presumed that the sportsman is necessari- ly to become a dog-hreaker, much less that a tyro at field sports can be made a dog-breaker by reading a few pages more or less of written or printed instructions. On the contrary, it is notoiious that scaice any science is more difficult of attainment, or requires more combinations of personal qualifications than that of subduing and breaking animals. Ex- treme patience, great steadiness of temper, sagacity, intelligence, quickness of comprehension, finnness and even severity, must be united to long experience, to personal strength, physical cour- age, the power of enduring fatigue, unwearied indust.y, indo- mitable energy, and constant perseverance. Even of professional dog-breakers, not one in fifty is really up to his business ; how then shall the amateur hope to jump at the conclusion in a minute. Again, it is presumed that every person who is not a most perfect and accomplished sportsman, will buy a well-broke dog; or if he breeds, which is troublesome, and very likely to lead to disappointment, will have his Pointer or Setter trained by a professional workman. It is true that a dog will certainly work better for the person who has first trained, and continually practised him, without ever clianging his master; but so few men have the ability, and so few of those who have, are willing to give the time or labor necessary to indoctrinate a dog thoroughly, that it is hardly ever 1.., " ■ ^' ;. UPLAND SHOOTING. oir.. *e a™.,, after „ai„g .ho..„:;,;,:2 J 'X;*'^ 'o ""•"• tice; and affain it i« w^li .i. ! ■^ ^'"''^' P^'^ ct m his prac- wan. „„. of pe,Bave,.a„ce, but of knowtle ' "' ™ Pointer and SetSa' taWi d ,7"°"; '" ""', """^ '''s'-'"-' «l.e ve,y pn,,s. ca,.„ of t; 'e ^ 1"° ."7-'' -"»«, and in lows, k also now l.o.edilar T I, ^ P""* "'' ** «"" puppies, not aWe six T-eeks„n "",""' ''■''"^™ ^°'"'» pointing the Pigeons „dft,s a,;;',"""'* "'"'" *» ^'■■•'> «eadily„a old dogs in the fil ' d , '^T^ """ '"°"""' " Pointer „,. Se.,e,'as w ^h the iroul r"' '''"''"' ^"^ *'»■ <-":tXL:tts\r:i:- ""■ ^ --""^. .» -;o.th Hreaking, .hi, J sh ,S j^ ^ r;:,""'' ="■ ;'-*-,„ and ,v„hont a g„n, where ga„e ab,™d„'? T" """'"'• aeons ami movements. If he have obse.ving his b.eci, he will „„.,„„,„,, p:/ro;r;'""-"''''''''''s"^ crossing the scent of Qnail &„„,. I ""™'™ °*' '"" TMs point once estl.l 1,^ X' so'"'"' 7 ^""^"''''■ fte Letter, and he is, on uT^t'^l T' " " ™'"'' '•'™^ a.K-n, or to s.o ga„; "" Tn "■■°''' '" •"■' ""'en out !■ is to the vidons p ^ If ' "" " '"*«'>■ ''--'-*' >«, and in ./„y;J „*;;,:„ ™7;""= ■"'neak dogs ,„ «. les. irr.ch,imable brni: is .; tTJlZ''' "^ ^''''^ ""* -..^.er:Sri;r^^.trv"^"«'°"^°-"- -cement, b, means of a cord fasrfdr,:;:^::^^^^^^^^^^^^ I 7 ■^'-4^ 356 FnANK fourstek's field spouts. gentle force, and gentle pimishmont— at first, at the word "down," or "charge," then hy the raised hand accompanying the word ; th» n l)y the raised hand alone. This done, the cord must be removed, and he mnst he accus- tomed to " charge" at any distance from his mastei-, and to lie steadily at charge, even although the master walks away from him with his back tunie.1, and goes out of sight of hivi, unless he is desired to " hold up." Lastly, he must be taught to consider the sound of the gq^n as equivalent to the raisixl hand, or the word " charge," and to obey any one of these sigiia!:^ when at the top of his speed. Next, he must learn to a-swer the sound of the whistle, ac- cording to his master's teaching. The best signal is to turn'and look at one shai-ji whisrle, to come, in at a prolonged blast. On turning his head, he i. to follow the wafture of his master's hand to the right or V:^, and Jie is then to be instructed in breakmg and quaitcring his ground regularly and evenly at the whistle, and ihe waive of the han.l. Gradually he will come to understand the object of this teaching, and will quarter his ground alone. This is a very important part of breaking, for no dog can bo regarded as at all perfect, which only runs about its ground irre- gularly, without settled and orderly method, leaving great spaces uncrossed, and, perhaps, ci-ossing other spaces several timeo over, wasting time thus, and failing to find much of its game ; and yet it is not unfair to say, that of fifty dogs turned out as broken dogs by American breakers, not one has ever been instructed m the nidiments of this branch. As soon as the pup drops to shot perfectly, and steadily, and tui-ns quickly to the whistle and call, having learned the neces- sity oi prompt and implicit obedience, and the certainty of punish- ment m case of wilfulness, he may be taken out alone, without a gun, to find game. He must thus be accustomed to the word 1 oho as the signal of pointing, and that bo thoroughly, that he shall obey the word " Tuho," by pointing steadily when there IS no game. UPLAND SHOOTING. 367 This done, several young dogs may be taken out to exercise together, and taught all to drop at once at the word " charge," the raised hand, or the shot ; and all to stop or point simulta- neously at the word " Toho," and at the sight thereafter, by each of the other's point. All that is requisite in order to enforce these lessons, is stea- diness. The dogs must now be broke to fetch, and this is the hardest lesson of all; but no dog is perfect until he has learned it; for it is, in the tiret place, almost indispensable to making large bags in our wild wooded country, that dogs should fetch ; and, secondly, it tends, if properly done, to render dogs deli- berate and steady beyond all means in the world. This, like the " down-charge," must, in the first instance, be taught in the collar and cord, and under the whip. Obsei-ve, above all things in dog breaking, that a dog is never to be taught anything by coaxing, but always by the fear of pun- ishment. A dog which is taught by coaxing, if he turn sulky, can never be controlled, as he does not know what punishment means. A dog is taught to fetch by charging him, putting a ball or some soft substance into his moutli, closing his jaws on it, and replacing it, with gentle punish.aent, so often as he rejects it. This learned, he is forced by a repetition of tlie same process, to rise and carry it about — then to fetch it when dropped, or thrown, till he is perfect. Thereafter, he is made to down-charge fii-st of all, when it is thrown, and not to attempt to fetch it, unless desired to " fetch," to drop several times to the " charge," before reaching the ball, after being sent for it, and, lastly, to '* charge" with his nose almost touching it. The final lesson of all is to deliver it quietly and willingly. All this is to be enforced by the whip, rigorously, but tempe- rately,—invariably, but never angrily,— with praise and caresses when he does well, and reproaches accompanying chastisement. All these things he must be accustomed to do, until they have i 858 KKANK FOHESTKh's FIELD SPORTS. b.<-omc ubsolu.ely his srcond nature, ^vitl,out his conc-eivin. to whnt ..he teuclung is applicable. This accomplished, when l.o nover fa. s ol obeying these signals and (.nlers-vvhen ho becomes thoroughly aware that the least infringen.ent of commai.ds is ^. lowed by sure i.dliction of the lash-when he perfonns the whole routine of his little instructionw. with the mechanical stea- am.ss and coolness of a circus horse, take him out with the gun afon,- and you will have no difficulty in controlling him,-he will r='l>'dly come to apply his theory to practice-he will become pa^n,na,ely and devotedly fond of his sport.-his enthusiasm ul aidor wall increase the more, the more game is killed over tZlI ' '^ "''"^ ^"'^ °^^'^'""' ^"^ ^^"'« «' no He wi^ll not associate his ideas of punishment with the game or he gun, but with the infringement of the old teachings, and he will a very «hoit time become-what he never would be if taken ou hal broke, and allowed to contract bad habits, and to com- mit faults before he knows that they are faults-perfect. In this case the prevention comes before the commission of the fault and the error itself-is checked by a word before it is committed.' In another word the dog is not flogged for flushing his bird, or fading to back his comrade, but for refusing obedience to the word " toho --not flogg.d for running in to'bite a bird, but for olteZl ""'^ "^^'-ff^^'-^he raised hand, or the sound in ^tl.5T n"- ''", f ' I ''"^^'''"" '^ "'•^""^^^^ '-^ impetuosity in he field, IS added to the natural difficulty of teaching, you will ton in vain. No dog can ever be made a ,.rfcct dog who IS notj>e,:/ectJ.>/ broke ,o " down-charge," to " toho," to " fetch " and to ol.,>y imj^licifl,/, before a bird is killed over him This IS the shibboleth, the grand arcanum of dog breaking All the rest is mere practice and experience, which make perfect both the teacher and the taught. Young dogs should always be hunted alone, or with other young dogs. But it is far better to hunt them quite alone, until Buch tune as tl^y come to understand their work thorougUy and to feel confidence in themselves. UPLAND SHOOTING. 359 If hunted with knowing old dogs, puppies will soon come to dt!pt!nd on them entirely ; will follow them, and watch their nvery motion, and never learning to beat their own ground, or fiftl their own game, will content themselves with backing, in- stead of pointing, and will become timid, and ultimately useless. Hunting puppies, on the contrary, together, vill tend to make them all wild and rash, and to induce their mutually learning the faults of all. On the whole, therefore, it is the better way to hunt young dogs singly during their first season, killing as many birds over them as possible ; and, at the beginning of the second year, re- membering that brace-hunting is the proper sphere of Pointers, or Setters, to introduce them to mates of their own ages, and thenceforth always to hunt, and, as much as you can, feed the same braces together. One brace of dogs, accustomed so to live and beat together, will do better work a-field, than three dogs of equal qualities, all working each " on his own hook." So much for the rules of dog breaking ! With regard to practice and management in the field, there is little or nothing to be said, beyond what I have already laid A.OWXV, passim, under the heads of the various kinds of Upland shooting. Dogs should not be harassed by too many, and never by con- trary, orders. No fault should ever be passed over in silence, and very few will be committed. Punishment should be in- flicted as rarely as possible, but when it is inflicted, it should be done thoroughly and severely. Never holloa at a dog — never run after a dog, but either make him come back to you, or bide your time till he becomes tired and returns of his own accord, then punish for the double event. When you enter a field, or covert, which you propose to beat, bid your dogs " hold up," and waive them right and left. Turn them by a whistle, and waive them hither or thither. When they strike a bevy of Quail, or other game, never hurry after them, but make them go slow by the word " steady." If they are rash, be you deliberate. If you hurry on, you best encou- 360 PRANK forester's FIELD SPORTS. rage their hurrying. Never mind if they flush me bevy, and you lose one shot. Be steady, and punish, so that they will not do so again. When they point, flush your own bird, even if you get a worse shot at it than you would do by hieing on your dog. To do so will make him heedless and iieadstrong. If you kill, stand still, cry " down-charge," and load your gun. If the dogs i-un in, don't run after them, it will only make them run the faster. Stand still, and cry " down," till you have done loading. Then go on deliberately, never heed the dead bird, which is probably half eaten by this time, but drag the offender back to the place whence he started, crying "down- charge," and lashing him all the ^ay,— then hold him down, and flog him most severely. Make him lie still, without stirring, till you have brought the bird, and laid it close under his nose. Then make him pick it up, and give it you,— he will not run in many times, if so dealt withal. Break your dogs thus, or have them thus broken, and when they are broken, handle them thus in the kennel, and in the field, and my word on it, they will be, and continue good ones. END OF VOLUME ONE. /4