From ca61bc41d2fbf609f6355d46d444c19e7900a119 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: nfenwick Date: Fri, 7 Feb 2025 12:35:45 -0800 Subject: Update from July 24, 2017 --- 55190-0.txt | 11239 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 55190-0.zip | Bin 0 -> 242609 bytes 55190-h.zip | Bin 1785669 -> 1784232 bytes 55190-h/55190-h.htm | 2 +- 4 files changed, 11240 insertions(+), 1 deletion(-) create mode 100644 55190-0.txt create mode 100644 55190-0.zip diff --git a/55190-0.txt b/55190-0.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..7c2f8d6 --- /dev/null +++ b/55190-0.txt @@ -0,0 +1,11239 @@ +The Project Gutenberg EBook of Florida and the Game Water-Birds, by +Robert Barnwell Roosevelt + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org/license + + +Title: Florida and the Game Water-Birds + +Author: Robert Barnwell Roosevelt + +Release Date: July 24, 2017 [EBook #55190] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: UTF-8 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK FLORIDA AND THE GAME WATER-BIRDDS *** + + + + +Produced by Chuck Greif and the Online Distributed +Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was +produced from images available at The Internet Archive) + + + + + + + + + +[Illustration: ROBERT BARNWELL ROOSEVELT.] + + + + + FLORIDA + + AND THE + + GAME WATER-BIRDS + + OF THE + + ATLANTIC COAST AND THE LAKES OF THE UNITED STATES, + + WITH + + A FULL ACCOUNT OF THE SPORTING ALONG OUR SEASHORES + AND INLAND WATERS, AND REMARKS ON + BREECH-LOADERS AND HAMMERLESS GUNS. + + + BY + + ROBERT BARNWELL ROOSEVELT, + + AUTHOR OF “THE GAME-FISH OF NORTH AMERICA,” “SUPERIOR FISHING,” + “FIVE ACRES TOO MUCH,” “ISMS,” “POLYANTHUS,” ETC., ETC. + + + ILLUSTRATED. + + [Illustration: colophon] + + NEW YORK: + ORANGE JUDD COMPANY, + 751 BROADWAY. + 1884. + + Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1884, by the + ORANGE JUDD COMPANY, + + + + +PREFACE. + + +In preparing this work, after I had written the account of Florida, +which, as a sporting country, had never been fully described, and was to +occupy the principal part of my attention, and when I came to the second +division, that relating to the game-birds of our waters and coasts +generally, I found so much in a book on a kindred subject, which I had +written years ago, that I concluded I could do no better than quote from +it freely. The directions therein given are as correct now as then, the +information as well founded, and I hope the reader will find the stories +of sporting excursions as interesting. + +My main purpose is to call the attention of my brother sportsmen to that +paradise of the devotee of the rod and gun, the Southern Peninsula of +our Atlantic States. Game is disappearing from our home country; +woodcock and ruffed grouse have almost been exterminated; ducks are less +plentiful; bay snipe now make many of their flights directly at sea +without passing over the land; and if we are to obtain satisfactory +shooting, we must go some distance for it. Many persons who are fond of +outdoor life cannot stand exposure to cold weather, and still more, to +keep up their interest, must have the chance of making a larger bag than +they can count on at the North. Yachtsmen are in the habit of laying up +their craft during the best season of the year for the enjoyment of +sailing. They have looked upon the South either as an uninteresting or a +dangerous country, a land merely of alligators or of hurricanes. They +will be as surprised as pleased to learn that there is no better sailing +ground, and that the Southern waters in winter are as safe as Northern +waters in summer; so much so that small vessels and open boats have +braved their terrors, while their sporting advantages are not to be +surpassed, if they are to be equalled, by any in the world. + +While not absolutely the pioneer in this exploration, I happen to be +nearly so, for no completed work or continued record has been published +which covers the ground described, or conveys the information contained +in these pages. No more delightful excursion can be conceived than that +to Florida during the winter, and no man can so thoroughly enjoy it as +the yachtsman. Thousands of tourists have been going there for years, +and their number is augmenting every season. But such persons merely +rummage a country; they do not possess it; they rush along sight-seeing +and curiosity-purchasing. Let the sportsman or the invalid go to remain +during the inclement winter weather, and they will never regret the +excursion. + +THE AUTHOR. + + + + + PART I. + + FLORIDA. + + + + + CONTENTS. + + + PART I.--FLORIDA. + + PAGE + + CHAPTER I.--Florida.--The Inland Passage 9 + + CHAPTER II.--In Florida 59 + + CHAPTER III.--Currituck Marshes 116 + + + PART II.--THE GAME WATER-BIRDS. + + CHAPTER I.--Game of Ancient and Modern Days.--Its Protection and + Importance.--The proper Shooting Seasons.--The Impolicy of Using + Batteries and Pivot-Guns 139 + + CHAPTER II.--Guns and Gunnery.--Breech-loaders compared + with Muzzle-loaders.--All the Late Improvements in + Breech-loaders.--Hammerless Guns 159 + + CHAPTER III.--Bay-snipe Shooting.--The Birds, their Habits, + Peculiarities, and places of Resort.--Stools and Whistles.--Dress and + Implements appropriate to their pursuit.--Their Names and Mode of + Capture 185 + + CHAPTER IV.--The New Jersey Coast.--Jersey Girls and their pleasant + ways.--The peculiarities of Bay-snipe further elucidated.--Mosquitoes + rampant.--Good Shooting and “Fancy” Sport.--Shipwrecks and + Ghosts 219 + + CHAPTER V.--Bay-Birds.--Particular Descriptions and Scientific + Characteristics.--A Complete Account of each Variety 261 + + CHAPTER VI.--Montauk Point.--American Golden Plover or Frost-Bird.--A + True Story of Three Thousand in a Flock.--Lester’s Tavern.--Good + Eating, Fine Fishing, and Splendid Shooting.--The Nepeague + Beach 301 + + CHAPTER VII.--Rail and Rail-Shooting.--Seasons, Localities, + and Incidents of Sport.--Use of Breech-loader or + Muzzle-loader.--Equipment 313 + + CHAPTER VIII.--Wild-Fowl Shooting.--General Directions, from + Boats, Blinds, or Batteries.--Retrievers from Baltimore and + Newfoundland.--Western Sport.--Equipment 328 + + CHAPTER IX.--Duck-Shooting on the Inland Lakes.--The Club + House.--Practical Views of Practical Men.--Moral Tales.--A Day’s + Fishing.--The Closing Scenes 344 + + CHAPTER X.--Suggestions to Sportsmen.--A Definition of the + Term.--Crack Shots.--The Art of Shooting.--The Art of not + Shooting 398 + + CHAPTER XI.--Directions for Building a Battery 415 + + + + +FLORIDA. + + + + +CHAPTER I. + +THE INLAND PASSAGE. + + +Florida--so named by its discoverers from the abundance, beauty and +fragrance of its flowers. The Land of Flowers--what a beautiful +sentiment. Alas, it was never called anything of the sort. Land +happening to be first seen by the brave and sturdy warrior but not +imaginative linguist, Juan Ponce de Leon, on Palm Sunday, his discovery +was called, with due and Catholic reverence, after the day and not after +any abundance of flowers, which were probably not abundant on the sand +spit where he planted his intrusive feet. But no matter about the origin +of the term, the epithet is more than justified, and the Peninsular +State is not only glorious in the endless beauty and variety of its +flowers--till in good old English it might be termed one huge +nosegay--but it is magnificent in the grandeur and originality of its +foliage. The jessamine climbs above the deep swamps and lights up their +darkness with its yellow stars; the magnolia towers in the open upland a +pyramid of vestal splendor; the cabbage palmetto waves its huge +fan-shaped leaves, seven feet long, like great green hands, and the moss +hangs and sways and covers the bare limbs with its ragged clothing. + +To the rough, practical Northern mind, Florida is a land of dreams, a +strange country full of surprises, an intangible sort of a place, where +at first nothing is believed to be real and where finally everything is +considered to be possible. When the visitor first arrives he cannot be +convinced that the cows feed under water; before he leaves he is willing +to concede that alligators may live on chestnuts. The animals and birds +are as queer and unnatural as the herbage, or as a climate which +furnishes strawberries, green peas, shad, and roses at Christmas. There +is the Limpkin, the pursuit of which reminds one of hunting the Snark. +You are in continual terror of catching the Boojum. It is a bird about +the size of a fish-hawk, but it roars like a lion and screeches like a +wild-cat, although it occasionally whistles like a canary. It has a bill +like that of a curlew, adapted to probing in the sand, and yet it sits +on trees as though it were a woodpecker. It is conversational and talks +to you in a friendly way during daytime, but at night it harrows up your +soul and makes your blood run cold with the fearful noises it utters. If +you hear any charming note or awful sound, any pretty song or terrifying +scream, and ask a native Floridian, with pleased or trembling tongue, +“What is that?” he will calmly answer, “That? that is a Limpkin.” There +are no dangerous animals in Florida, only a few of Eve’s old enemies, +and the sportsman is safer in the woods at night under the moss-covered +trees and on his moss-constructed mattress than in his bed in the family +mansion on Fifth avenue. If he hears any unearthly noises, any +soul-curdling shrieks, he can turn to sleep again with the comfortable +assurance “that it is only a Limpkin.” + +To the sportsman it is needless to say that Florida, when properly +investigated, is a Paradise. Birds and fish and game are only too +plentiful, till it has become a land of shameful slaughter. The brute +with a gun slays the less brutish animal for the mere pleasure of murder +when he cannot get, much less use, what he kills, till on most of the +pleasure steamers shooting has been prohibited; while the idiot with the +rod fills his boat with splendid fish that rot in the hot sun and have +to be thrown back, putrefying, into the water from which his +undisciplined passion hauled them. Sportsman should not come to this +land of promise and performance unless they can control their instincts, +for fear that they should degenerate into mere killers. In truth, the +excess of abundance takes away the keener zest of sport, which is +largely due to the difficulties that surround success. But for the +ordinary inhabitant of the rugged North, the quaintness of this border +land of the equator has an immense charm, while to the invalid the pure, +dry, warm air of both winter and summer brings balm and health. The +feeble and sickly, especially the consumptive, should seek Florida, for +to them it offers the fabled springs of perennial youth, which Ponce de +Leon sought more coarsely in vain. To the seeker after amusement, to the +man and woman of leisure, who wish to improve as well as enjoy +themselves, it is a very wonderland of delight. It has a store of +novelties which are absolutely exhaustless, and tracts of interesting +country which, while perfectly accessible, have never even been +explored. + +To enjoy Florida, however, one must seek it aright. If the visitor +follows the beaten track, he will see the beaten things--well beaten by +many vulgar footsteps. If he takes the steamers and lives at the hotels, +he will make quick trips and have good, accommodations. If he wants +originality he must pursue original methods. There are many ways of +reaching this floral El Dorado--the ocean steamer will carry you to +Savannah, whence the steamboat will transport you through byways and +inside cuts to Jacksonville, or the railroad will drag and hurl you +through dust and dirt by day and night at headlong pace from the St. +Lawrence to the Gulf. But if you want to enjoy Florida, if you want to +go where no man has gone, and see what no eye has seen, and handle what +no hand has touched, then go there in a yacht--in a small yacht, just as +small and of as light draft of water as will accommodate comfortably the +party, that must be composed of individuals sufficiently accustomed to +one another to be sure they can live together for three months without +quarrelling. Then, indeed, will you learn what Florida is, will possess +its charms in close embrace and have experiences and pleasures never to +be forgotten and not otherwise to be obtained. How is this to be done, +you may ask, and the purpose of this chapter is to tell you exactly +how. + +A wealthy magnate may go in a big yacht to Florida, give good dinners +aboard and live in grandeur and luxury, and he will see about as +much--not quite--as if he had left his yacht at home; or the +hasty-plate-of-soup man may take a little steam launch and stave her in +on the first snag or oyster rock he runs her against. But if the +traveller and his friends hire or buy a light-draught sailing vessel, +they will require more time, but they can go almost everywhere and see +absolutely everything. It was just such a vessel that I had built for +use in the shoal Great South Bay of Long Island--a sharpie, to give its +nautical appellation--of sixty feet length and fifteen beam, with two +state-rooms, a cabin having four comfortable berths and over six feet +head-room, and a cuddy for the men and for cooking, although we had an +auxiliary cook stove in the cabin. This vessel was intended to carry six +passengers and two men; but boats of seventeen feet length and a +catamaran have safely made the passage to the St. John’s River and are +there now, so that a much smaller craft would do. The advantage of the +sharpie style of construction was that the yacht only drew two feet of +water, and as I proposed to run entirely by chart, and not to use the +services of a pilot, this was an inestimable advantage. We could have +braved the battle and the breeze of the Atlantic and gone outside all +the way, but those who know most of the ocean care least to have to do +with it unless equipped on the most thorough basis to encounter its +buffets. As an old sea captain said to me:--“When I go to sea I want to +go in a steamer, and the biggest and strongest steamer at that.” +Moreover, the inside route is much the more interesting; there is +nothing very novel about the sea but the danger of it, whereas the bays, +creeks, canals and rivers furnish a fresh and continually changing +panorama. There is a frequent encounter with strange people, with +vessels of queer rigs and builds, an alternation of scenery, the arrival +at and departure from cities, the chance to occasionally kill a bird or +catch a mess of fish--something new happening every day. At sea there is +the ocean--a great deal of ocean--and nothing else. + +There exists a complete inside route from New York to the St. John’s +River, with the exception of about a hundred miles south of Beaufort, +North Carolina, and on this stretch there are many accessible inlets +only a few miles apart, so that no vessel need be caught out overnight +or can fail to make a safe harbor in case of necessity. The charts are +nearly complete and enable a person of ordinary intelligence, in a +vessel drawing not over four feet of water, to be entirely independent +of pilots. The lighter the draught, however, the better, and I should +not advise the use of any boat which requires more than three feet to +float in, two feet being greatly preferable. + +Do not start for the South before the first day of November unless you +wish to encounter a multiplicity, variety and intensity of fever that +would be the delight of the medical profession. Until frost comes, +there is waiting for you a choice between fever and ague, intermittent, +remittent, typhoid, putrid, break-bone, yellow, and _d’engue_ fevers, +each of which, when you have it, seems a little worse than all the +others until you have one of them also, an event which is very likely to +happen, when you discover that your first conclusions were erroneous. +Then before you start get good and ready. Look over your fishing tackle; +be sure you have cartridges enough, and load them all with powder, but +not shot, so as to avoid unpleasant explosions. Use your five hundred +pounds of shot for ballast. + +Lay in a tub of Northern butter and some white potatoes, but do not +imagine you are going to a land of barbarism. You can get better hams, +better hard-tack, and as good and cheap canned goods in Norfolk as you +can in New York. Fresh eggs are to be had everywhere, turkeys and +chickens are fair, and are sold in market cleaned, and if Southern beef +is tough it has a peculiar game flavor which is very agreeable. Take in +a good supply of coal; use it for ballast if there is no other place to +stow it, for you may get frozen in during a cold spell, and will surely +want plenty of extraneous warmth before you reach the “Sunny South.” +Then when you are ready, sail up Raritan Bay, get a tow through the +Raritan and Delaware Bay Canal, and even across to Delaware City if you +please, and so across to the Chesapeake Bay, where your journey may be +said really to commence, for thenceforth you will have to rely on your +sails and your brains, your motive power and your charts. There are +very thorough and complete charts of the Chesapeake, six in number, +carrying you the entire way to Norfolk and insuring you a good and safe +harbor whenever you need it. Do not forget that this is a big sheet of +water, and that you are on a pleasure trip, and will be much more +comfortable if at anchor during the night. Besides, there is time +enough; you have all winter before you, as you cannot get back until +spring if you wanted to, now that Jack Frost is about shutting the +gates. From Norfolk you can take a tow through the Albemarle and +Chesapeake Canal or not, as you please; much better not if you happen to +have a good northerly wind, as there is only one lock, and you can make +the distance more pleasantly and safely under sail. If your vessel draws +less than three feet, you leave the canal when you reach North Landing +River, of which there is a chart, and you go down through Currituck +Sound by Van Slyck’s Landing, and thence through the Narrows. Beyond +that for some distance, as the chart says, you “can only carry three +feet of water, and that with difficulty.” If your vessel is of greater +draught, you must take the extension of the canal which carries you to +North River, from which point there is plenty of water all the way. You +can get a condensed chart from the Albemarle and Chesapeake Canal +Company, which will give you a general idea of the route from Norfolk to +Smithville, and which will be found very useful. But the Government +charts of Pamlico Sound, which were completed in the fall of 1883, +should by all means be taken also, as they are simply invaluable in case +of storm and the necessity of seeking harbor unexpectedly. Government +chart No. 40 or 140 (both numbers are used) will give you Currituck +Sound from just above Van Slyck’s, and also North River from the mouth +of the canal, all that is necessary of Albemarle Sound, Croatan and +Roanoke Sounds, either of which you may take, and the magnetic courses +and distances to steer by as far south as Roanoke Marshes Light. The +post office at Van Slyck’s Landing is called Poplar Branch Post Office, +Currituck County, N. C., and you can get your letters and coarse +supplies there, but no bread. The next good harbor is Kitty Hawk, where +there is also a store and post office. If you go through Roanoke Sound, +remember that below Shallowbag Bay the channel runs close along shore, +closer than it seems on the chart. You will have to feel your way +carefully across below Broad Creek. There is plenty of water if you find +it, but it is not easy to find. From the southerly end of Roanoke Island +to Long Shoal Light the course is south by west; from Roanoke Marshes +Light it is south, one half west. You can go a mile inside of this +light, but not further, as the shoal beyond has not a foot of water on +it. Just north of this light is Stumpy Point Bay, where you can make a +good harbor, carrying clear inside four feet of water. From Long Shoal +Light the course is south-west to a buoy on Bluff Shoal; but as there +is seven feet of water on the shoal, accuracy is not necessary, and the +same course continued will take you near Royal Shoal, which is easily +made out, as there are two lights on it. From this the course is south +by west to Harbor Island light, at the entrance of Core Sound. This +light is abandoned and is falling down, but during the day the building +is visible a long distance. If you can get a free wind, you can make the +run from Long Shoal to Harbor Island in a day, provided you get under +way early, which every sensible yachtsman is careful to do. If not, you +must hug the main shore and look out, as there are many shoals and no +tide to help you off if you get aground. The waters are salt and only +moved by the wind; and as Pamlico Sound is a miniature ocean and gets up +a big sea, it is well to be careful. If you are caught near Royal Shoal, +unless you are acquainted with the channels, steer for the beach, where +you can get holding ground if not much of a harbor. The charts of +Pamlico Sound are Nos. 42, 43, and 44. + +There is a good chart of Core Sound, which is shallow but well staked +out, the stakes having hands on them to show on which side is the best +water. You can carry two feet of water close along the shore from the +buoy off the middle marshes, just west of Harker’s Island into Beaufort, +but the main channel is more to the southward and runs to the point of +Shackleford Banks. Then you go up Bulkhead Channel, keep along the north +shore of Town Marsh a hundred rods, and then northeast and keep the +lead going to Beaufort, N. C. From here you can either sail through +Bogue Sound, of which there is no chart, or go directly to sea. As the +land trends westward, it makes a lee even from a north-easter and is as +safe as any outside sailing can be. + +There is a chart of Beaufort, N. C., which takes you a few miles into +Bogue Sound, but that is all. South of Bogue Inlet, New Topsail Inlet is +one of the best, then Masonboro, and from either of these a good wind +will carry you past Cape Fear, the only spot you have to dread and where +you must manage not to get caught. There is a good chart of Cape Fear, +but the rule of the local pilots is to follow the eighteen-foot shoal +down till you open Fort Caswell by the main Light on Bald Head, and then +steer straight for the Fort, which will give you six feet of water up to +the beach. But remember, there is shoal water outside of you, and you +must look out for breakers. The next harbor is Little River Inlet, and +then comes Winyah Bay, of which there is a chart, and then Bull’s Bay, +of which also you can get a chart. + +From Bull’s Bay it is inside work and a shoal, but not a difficult +passage, to Charleston Harbor. Of this there is no chart yet printed, +and it ought to be run, if possible, in a tide which will help at both +ends by running up from Bull’s Bay and down into Charleston Harbor. You +come out at the cove near Fort Moultrie where it is well to stop, as +Charleston Harbor is a large place in rough weather for small boats. +Here you begin on Coast Chart No. 54 (or 154). Go up the Ashley River +till St. Michael’s Church (which has the whitest spire) opens to the +north of the rice mills, and steer into Wappoo Cut, which lies just +south of some prominent buildings on a point on the left shore. It will +carry you without trouble into the Stono River. Here the chart fails +you, you ascend the Stono, keeping a westerly course past the first +branch to the north which heads toward a railroad in full view. When a +large mill on the north side is reached a lead branches to the south. +This must be avoided, and a mill with a tower will soon be reached. This +is on Wadmelaw River, where the chart resumes its proper vocation. +Thence across the North Edisto, the Dawho River, thence into the South +Edisto, around Jehossee, but not through Wall’s Cut, which the natives +assured me was not open. Just at the south point of Jehossee Island, +Mosquito Creek enters the South Edisto; take the westerly lead where +they branch just inside the mouth, and then through Bull’s Cut into the +Ashepoo; down the Ashepoo and across St. Helena Sound and either up the +Coosaw and past Beaufort, S. C. The name of the town being pronounced +Bufort, which is about as short as any route, or across the Sound to +Harbor River and through it and Story and Station Creeks into Port Royal +Sound. This is a big place again and uncomfortable at night in a storm +with a heavy tide and sea. + +You now take Coast Chart No. 55 (or 155). There is a special chart of +the route from St. Helena to Port Royal, but it is not necessary. You +steer nearly west from the buoys off the mouth of Station Creek to +Bobee’s Island at the mouth of Skull Creek. There is an oyster rock in +the middle of Skull Creek where it makes its first bend to the +southeast, and this is the only danger before reaching Calibogue Sound. +In crossing Tybee roads, keep well out to Red Buoy No. 2, whether you go +directly south or turn north to visit Savannah. If the latter, go by the +Light Beacon and to the westward of it, if the former, take Lazaretto +Creek into Tybee River and Warsaw Sound. Keep well out by the buoys +again and head for Romerly Marsh Creek. + +If you have gone to Savannah, continue your journey by the way of +Wilmington River to the same place, unless your boat is small enough to +pole easily, in which case you can go through Skiddaway Narrows. Romerly +Marsh and Adams Creeks will bring you into Vernon River, when you steer +for Hell Gate, between Little Don Island and Raccoon Key. If you have +come through Skiddaway and down the Burnside and Vernon Rivers, you can +go inside of Little Don Island. Here you use chart No. 56 (or 156). +Cross the Ogeechee River, and follow up the west bank to Florida +Passage, through it and Bear River to St. Catharine’s Sound, across it +and up Newport River to Johnson’s Creek; thence down the South Newport +to Sapelo Sound. + +There is good fishing in Barbour’s River, just above where the words +“Barbour’s Island” are on the chart. Continue across Sapelo Sound and +into Mud River; take the middle of this to New Teakettle Creek, which +will bring you into Doboy Sound. Keep to the north of Doboy town, which +is a prominent object on the flat meadows. Here chart No. 57 (or 157) +begins, and you go from Duboy straight through Little Mud River and the +same course across Altamaha Sound; then follow the channel northwesterly +into Buttermilk Sound; then either through Mackay’s or Frederica Rivers, +as the wind best serves, into St. Simon’s Sound. Here the water is +deeper and you can go directly across from the black buoy No. 7 to the +black buoy at the mouth of Jekyls Creek. There are two mouths to this +creek. Take the easterly one and run straight from the ranges on the +point. Follow across Jekyls and St. Andrew’s Sounds up Cumberland River. +At its head waters there are some islands; the channel is from a stake +on shore to the west of the eastermost island, then by ranges on the +point, which carry you past a little island with ranges which give you +the course south. Use the lead here. Thence down Cumberland Sound by +Dungeness, formerly the property of Gen. Nathaniel Green, and which is +much visited by tourist parties, across the St. Mary’s River and up the +Amelia to Fernandina. + +Here chart No. 58 (or 158) begins. From the Amelia River you go to +Kingley’s Creek past two drawbridges. The railroad bridge is out of +order and will not open square with the bulkhead. Be careful here, as +several accidents have happened and the tide runs strong. Continue +across Nassau Sound to Sawpit Creek, at the mouth of which there is a +black buoy not laid down on the chart. Keep to the southward of this +buoy and run on through Gunnison’s Cut, which you will recognize by two +palmetto trees that look like gate-posts at a distance. Down Fort George +River to the Sisters Creek and thence to the St. John’s River where you +will find a dock--a watermark not to be forgotten on your return trip. +There are three charts of the St. John’s, which give it in full from its +mouth to Lake Harney; the points to remember are to cross from Hannah +Mills Creek to St. John’s Bluff, and thence back again to Clapboard +Creek, whence you follow up the north shore, keeping it as far as Dame +Point close aboard. Beyond this you can have no trouble as the St. +John’s has but one or two shoals where there is less than six feet of +water, and it is well marked out with buoys and beacons. + +If this description sounds a little tedious to the reader, he will not +think it so when he makes the trip. If you want a pilot for any part of +the route, one can be had by applying to Captain Coste, of the +Lighthouse Service at Charleston; but there are few persons who know +what I have herein recorded, and none of those will tell. We have had a +long trip--for long as it has been on paper, it has been longer in +reality. Two weeks from New York to Beaufort, N. C.; ten days thence to +Charleston, and ten more to Jacksonville may be required, unless the +traveller is one of those lucky fellows who always have a free wind +through life. So he may want to rest, have his clothes washed, dress up +in “a boiled shirt” for a change, and revive the fact that he is one of +the aristocracy, not an ordinary seaman. He will soon tire of +civilization, however, and long for the pleasures of the chase. Then let +him ascend any of the tributaries of the St. John’s from San Pablo at +its mouth to Juniper Creek, which empties into the southerly end of Lake +George. It was on the latter stream that I nearly killed a Limpkin. + +The man does not live who has actually caught or shot a Limpkin. There +are no Limpkins for sale in the curiosity shops, where almost every +other production of Florida is to be had. It is admitted that the +Limpkin, like the recognized ghost, is proof against powder and ball. +But the writer never misses--that is, on paper and when he is recording +his shots. All writers do the same. So when the Limpkin sat on a limb +and whistled and chuckled and bobbed and bowed and finally flew away +just before we were near enough, and I fired as he disappeared with +horrible screams through the forest, one leg dropped! I had not killed +him, but even a Limpkin was not quite proof against my aim. Mr. Seth +Green, who was with me at the time and can vouch for the truth of this +statement, remarked in a melancholy tone of voice that he wished he had +had his rifle. As he had not succeeded in hitting anything with his +rifle thus far since we started, although he had fired away half his +cartridges, there is a chance that he might have succeeded this time by +way of a change, and so I agreed with him heartily. + +Alligators will not appear till warm weather--that is, till the middle +of January--by which time the tourists will think he has got into the +dog days, but fish are abundant in all the fresh-water streams. In that +very Juniper Creek we caught so many big-mouthed bass with fly and spoon +that we not only gave up fishing, but had to salt down dozens. And, by +the way, these fish are much more of game fish than they are at the +North; the smallest fight well, take the fly freely and jump out of +water as frequently and fiercely as the small-mouthed variety in our +waters. + +Before leaving the instructive branch of my subject I wish to advise the +yachtsman against giving too much weight to the appearance of the +Southern sky. This will often cloud up toward evening in the most +threatening way. Such a heavenly monitor at the North would warn us to +make everything snug and get the best bower over, but in the South these +appearances signify nothing. After a most frightful-looking evening the +morning will break clear and warm and quiet. There are few storms in +Florida during the winter, a “norther” occasionally and possible a +thunder storm, but no fierce northeasters and no hurricanes. As to the +comparative advantages of working through the tortuous creeks with +changing tides, or running outside for short stretches, a preference +might be given to the latter were it not that the shoals off the mouths +of the inlets extend so far to sea. Many of the rivers have carried down +so much sediment that they have made shoals ten or fifteen miles off +shore. So that apart from questions of safety and comfort, the distance +by the inside passage is the shortest. + +In going South the yachtsman will pass large and numerous flocks of bay +snipe on all the marshes south of Charleston. These marshes are muddy +islands and of a peculiar nature. On the surface when dry they are firm +enough for walking, but their shores are unfathomable ooze beneath which +a man would sink at once out of sight and into which an oar can be run +for its entire length without an effort. Curlew, willet, marlin, all +varieties down to the tiny ox-eye, and in immense flocks, frequent these +islands, where they seem to find food without stint. To stool them you +can set out your decoys in the thin grass and make a stand near by from +reeds or bushes. They are quite wary, however, and seem to have learned +the evil significance of a gun. These marshy islands are honeycombed +with the burrows of the fiddler crab, and mussels grow on their surface +in soft mounds of earth. They are covered by very high tides and are +always more or less damp. The bay snipe, however, do not seem to winter +here. They leave a small proportion of their numbers, but the main body +goes further South, possibly beyond the equator. There are no such +myriads as the Northern flight would require, and they grow fewer and +fewer as the season advances, till in March they are almost scarce. Let +the sportsman take his toll from them while he can; stopping amidst the +lonesomeness of these islands where it is certain death to pass a +summer, and few of which are inhabited, and where he may sail tens of +miles without seeing a man, white or black. Let him try the deep holes +alongside of bluffs or where two creeks meet for sheepshead, using for +bait the Southern prawn, that gigantic shrimp, with its body six inches +long and its feelers ten; and if he can catch no fish and misses the +birds, let him rejoice in knowing that there are millions of both in +Florida. + +In describing my trip to Florida, I do not intend to pursue any +consecutive plan, or follow the positive order of events. It is not +important to know that we turned out--to use the proper nautical +term--at a certain hour in the morning of a certain day, and that we +turned in again at night at some other division of mean sidereal or +solar time, nor that we went a certain course or made so many miles one +day and so many more or less the next. That is, the reader does not want +to have too much of this, although a little now and then may tend to +give a general idea of the trials, difficulties, and enjoyments of a +yachtman’s life. But whether we arrived at a place at five P.M. or five +A.M., important as it may have been to us at the time, cannot, so far as +I can judge, interest the reader as deeply as I hope to interest him. +For all such information I will refer him to the ordinary books of +travel. That we did occasionally make fast time in our little half scow, +half yacht, that I built on the scheme of putting a sail in a canal +boat, will be proved by this single event; when running across St. +Simon’s sound in a fog, we passed a large steamer yacht, called the +“Gleam,” one of the largest and finest of Herreschoff’s productions. We +found her again in Jacksonville when we reached there. She had left +Savannah on the second of January, we had left Charleston on the tenth; +she had arrived two days ahead of us, so that by being able to keep +inside out of the storms and fogs of the Atlantic, we had actually gone +nearly double the distance in six days less time. + +The personnel of our party was made up of a sporting medical man, Mr. +Seth Green, the famous fish-culturist, the ladies of the families and +myself. We went without any restriction as to time, which is a most +essential point in a yachting trip, and we stopped where we pleased, and +as long as we pleased, we shot where there were birds to shoot, we +fished where there were fish to catch, and where there were neither, we +lay in the shade of the awning, if the weather was warm, and smoked, or +ate those globes of concentrated lusciousness, the grape fruit when we +felt too energetic to loaf, and not energetic enough to fish or shoot. +Our trip was something of an exploring expedition, and we had possible +dangers and inevitable inconveniences to encounter. Other parties had +gone to Florida in the same way, but they had left no record of their +adventures, no guide-posts for those who should come after them. So far +as we were concerned, the country from North Carolina to the Land of +Flowers was a _terra incognita_. We knew that there were birds, and +beasts, and fish, in that equatorial region, but where to find them, how +to reach them, and by what methods to catch and kill them, were wholly +unknown to us. No one, after reading this record, will have the same +complaint to make. Several of the Government charts were not completed, +notably those of Pamlico Sound, and the corrections of that from +Charleston south, so as to show the inside route had not been made in +the year 1882, which was the one I had selected for the expedition. + +We had sent the “Heartsease” to Norfolk, and were to meet her there, as +by so doing we would save time that could be better utilized than by +going over ground with which we were pretty well familiar--that of New +Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Virginia. At Norfolk, after we had purchased +what hard-bread, cake, pies, and other stores and luxuries we needed, +and had been through the fish market, and selected an abundance of the +largest “spot,” which is regarded as the most delicious native fish, +although it is nothing more than what we call the Lafayette fish at the +North, we engaged a tow and started on our journey. We had to go through +the Albemarle and Chesapeake canal, and made our first mistake in +supposing that a tow was a necessity for the operation. The puffy, +dirty, fussy, little steamboat ran us against everything that she came +near, and were it not that she was unable to attain any considerable +rate of speed, our journey might have terminated before it fairly +began. She jammed us against the dock when we were starting, banged us +into the first vessel we met on our way, bumped us into the banks of the +canal when we had entered it, dashed us into the only lock there was to +get foul of, and then rammed us against a dredging scow so fiercely, +that there was a momentary doubt whether we should not be dredged out as +an impediment to travel. + +However, in spite of all these misadventures, we made Currituck before +night. We determined to stay there some days for duck shooting, but I +shall not stop to describe the sport we had. It is enough, that we +loaded down our vessel with provisions, which, as the weather came out +cold, kept till they were all consumed, and saved us from recourse to +those last resources of the way-farer, the insipid canned meats, which, +somehow, the manufacturers manage to make taste so nearly alike, that +one will answer for the other, whether it is called mutton, beef, or +fowl. Then we sped away south, running into Kittyhawk Bay for a harbor +and a turkey, for no one must imagine that it is necessary to starve in +the South, even amid the desolation of the desolate Eastern Shore. Not +only does the proverbial hospitality of the Southern people still exist +as far as the effect of a desolating war has left it a possibility, but +there are certain kinds of food to be got there more readily than even +at the North. It has heretofore been a reproach to our Southern colored +brother, that the attractions of a hen-roost and lusciousness of a fat +turkey gobbler were too much for his virtue. But this state of facts +and morals is changing, the darkey is turning poultry fancier, he is +getting to raise chickens and sell eggs, he is fast becoming a bloated +fowl holder, and regular goose and turkey wing clipper; in his eyes the +chicken is assuming a different status, and hen-roost marauding is fast +becoming a heinous crime, than which there is none more unpardonable. He +will soon be the fowl monopolist, and when that day comes I predict that +the chicken will be regarded as a sacred bird, and placed in the same +category as the ibis of Egypt. As it is, eggs can be obtained almost +anywhere, and wherever there is a darkey’s hut, there the voice of the +cackling hen ascends in welcome and suggestive music to high heaven, +resonant of omelettes plain, omelettes _aux fines herbes_, with ham or +with onion, of scrambled eggs, boiled, roasted eggs, of pan cakes and +sweet cakes, of custards, egg-nog, and all the thousands delicacies +towards which the hen contributes with enthusiastic zeal, and greatly to +the happiness of man. + +The course of the contraband can be exemplified by that of the milk +farmer, if the story which I once heard from an eminent retired +politician is true, as I think it may be. Many of the farmers living in +the neighborhood of Utica were in the habit of supplying that city with +milk from the herds of cows that the magnificent meadows of the vicinity +easily supported. Those careful and conscientious gentlemen, aware of +the heating properties of milk in its strong and crude state, felt it +was but a duty they owed their fellow beings, and especially their +customers, to make sure that they did not incur the evils which were +certain to arise from the unguarded use of so deleterious a beverage. +They mixed the dangerous fluid with a sufficient proportion of water to +kill the germs of disease, and lest their motives should be +misunderstood, they did not mention their thoughtfulness to the +consumers. Hence it was that Utica enjoyed unexampled health, and it +would no doubt have continued in the same enjoyment except for a change +in the methods of milk culture. Milk, instead of being converted into +butter or sold in its natural state, came in time to be manufactured +into cheese. Great cheese dairies were established, to which the farmers +sent their milk, in place of disposing of it by local trade. Now it was +essential that the milk so delivered should be absolutely pure, for the +excellence of the product not only depended on this, but also in order +that the amount might be fairly credited to each of the persons +furnishing a share of the supply. Then the bucolic view that had +heretofore obtained in that neighborhood was modified, and of all the +sins in the decalogue, none was quite so heinious as the adulteration of +milk. I do not vouch for this story, although a long course of lactic +experience in the city of New York gives it an air of possibility. +Certain it is that since the introduction of cheese factories, the +health of Utica has declined, but then no one can positively say that +this change is due entirely to the purity of the milk. + +On our way to Kitty Hawk, we had passed a number of nets which the local +fishermen were hauling, and Mr. Green, who had a mania for interviewing +every one he met, had promptly boarded the first of the boats, obtained +all the statistics, and even helped make one haul. He found out that +they caught what they called chub, the big-mouthed bass (_Grystes +salmoides_), as large as eight pounds; white perch; the robin, which is +our sunfish; red fin, our yellow perch; bull sucker, our black sucker; +sucker-mullet, our mullet, which were taken in the creeks and up in the +swamps, and nanny shad, which seemed to be our gizzard shad, known in +Baltimore as bream. As they did not have all these varieties in the boat +at the time, we were not quite sure as to the last. The fishermen knew +nothing of the spawning season, but we found roe three inches long in a +seven-pound big-mouthed black bass. + +There is a club house at Kitty Hawk Bay, belonging to the Kitty Hawk +Ducking Club, but it was deserted when we were there by the club, and +given over to the possession of Captain Cain, who runs the principal +fishery in that part of the country. He told us that the bass spawned in +March, and that the same kinds of fish were caught near there which I +have described. While we were ashore enjoying his hospitality, a sudden +squall came up and blew most of the water out of the bay, so that the +small boat in which we had come ashore was left a hundred feet from the +edge of the water. + +The next day, which was December 8th, we passed Nag’s-head Hotel, and +came to anchor in a perfect little harbor in the lower part of Roanoke +Island, where Captain Cain once had a terrapin farm. It was a charming, +though deserted, spot, a bay just large enough for the yacht to swing +in, and completely land-locked, the buildings tumbling to pieces, the +terrapin ponds still there, but with not only their occupants departed, +but the very fences falling down or being used for firewood. The +speculation had failed, because even there, in the very home and abiding +place of the terrapin, he had grown so scarce that a sufficient business +could not be done to make it profitable. Terrapins are taken, as Mr. +Green soon found out, in bag or trawl nets, that are drawn along the +bottom, as we at the North use a dredge for oysters. On the front of the +net, which hangs loosely behind, is an iron bar, of sufficient weight to +lie close to the bottom as it is being dragged; this slips under the +terrapins, which are thus carried into the net. We readily understood +that they were not plenty, when we were informed that “count” terrapins, +that is, those over six inches in length, bring on the ground one dollar +apiece. + +The weather had become very cold for yachting. The thermometer fell to +eighteen degrees during the night, and we found that all the resources +of our vessel were hardly equal to keeping us warm in our berths. Early +next morning we obtained our first oysters. We had brought oyster tongs +with us; in fact, if there was any kind of rod, reel, line, net, hook, +sinker, swivel, or fishing device whatever that we had not brought I +should like to be informed of it. When Mr. Green joined the yacht and +produced from the bowels of an immense trunk, a luxury that in itself I +never knew him to allow himself before, and which was in our way the +entire journey till we got rid of it at Jacksonville, much to its +owner’s chagrin--first two breech-loaders, then a rifle and a hundred +weight of ammunition, then an immense bundle of sporting rods, next a +box of lines and reels, and finally an overgrown scrapbook filled with +all manner of gangs of hooks, the doctor and myself felt that the +sporting interest would not suffer. As I had sent him word that he need +bring neither guns, fishing tackle, nor ammunition, it was evident that +he intended we should not fall short. But now when our men began tonging +up the delicious bivalves which we had not seen for so many days, on +account of the freshness of the water, we felt thankful for one of our +precautions. Here let me warn the reader that he be sure to bring oyster +tongs with him. He will find it difficult to get them in the South at +all, and if he can they will be much heavier and more awkward than those +in use with us. Just South of the opening into our night’s harbor, and +in the main channel, we found a man at work oystering and we joined him +promptly, confident that where there was enough for one there was in +this matter enough for two. Either the oysters off the lower end of +Roanoke Island are very delicious, or else our appetites were sharp +from abstinence. For as fast as our man Charley brought them to the +surface and deposited them on the deck, we opened them with a skill +founded on some experience and more desire, and devoured them with +hearty gusto. + +We loaded up with oysters and then started once more on our course, but +the wind fell off and we anchored in Stumpy Point Bay, some thirty miles +to the southward and on the main shore. At our last stopping place a +sick man had come aboard for advice, and here we not only found two +others, but were also informed that their mother was at the point of +death. There seemed to be a sublime faith in these people that all +Northerners must know something of medicine, as none of them had a +suspicion of our having a physician in the party. Indeed they came for +“a drawing of tea” as they called it, rather than for any special +medicine, for they appeared to consider sickness the natural condition +of man, as among those terribly unhealthy swamps and low lands it +probably is. After that almost everywhere we went we were asked for “a +drawing of tea” for some sick person. + +Their ailments were evidently only too well founded, and as the people +were clearly not a complaining set, we were sorry that we had not +brought more of the coveted article with us. The whites of this coast +looked weazened, thin, yellow, and cadaverous, as if they had a +perpetual conflict with fever in which they invariably got the worst of +it. They had the shadow of death in their faces. In their motions they +exhibited a langour which strangers are apt to attribute to laziness, +but which I believe due to disease. Let a man once take the southern +fever, and it will be many months if not years before he feels like +himself again. Our latest patients were fishermen, and to Mr. Green’s +insatiable inquiries they explained that they caught in their seasons +shad; rock, our striped bass; trout, our weakfish; hickory shad, white +perch, mullet, spot, round-nosed shad and flat backs, though what these +latter were was more than we could guess. They said that the fishing had +fallen off greatly of late years, but that the prices had increased and +that now they were paid seventy five cents for a roe shad, and thirty +for bucks. + +Next day was clear and cold, with a strong and favorable wind from the +north-west, so much so that even the imperturbable doctor was impatient +to be off, but Mr. Green had an idea, and when he has anything of that +sort he is the last man to part with it without full fruition. To our +proposal to get under weigh early he replied. + +“Beyond this you tell me that we have a great stretch of open water?” + +“Yes,” I answered, “the entire Pamlico Sound, which must be a hundred +and fifty miles long and fifty broad, so the more advantage we take of +this favorable wind the better.” + +“Well, you expect to find ducks, don’t you, on the route?” he inquired +by way of response. + +“I hardly know what we shall find,” I answered, “but I should like to +find ducks, and have heard that there are innumerable brant on the +ocean side.” + +“That is just as I supposed,” was Mr. Green’s reply, as he took up the +axe that lay on the deck, “and as you have no battery, how do you expect +to kill them?” + +The doctor and I had nothing to reply, and Mr. Green, carrying the axe, +called one of the men and rowed away to the shore in triumph. During his +absence the doctor, who is a _cordon bleu_, prepared the turkey that we +had purchased at Kitty Hawk for cooking, by stuffing it with the oysters +that we had tonged at Roanoke Island. By the time this culinary feat was +accomplished, our master of fish culture had returned. He had cut a +dozen stakes about eight feet long, which were to be used to improvise a +blind, by thrusting them into the bottom and tying strings around from +one to the other, and hanging reeds or grass tied in bunches over the +strings. + +These precautionary measures being taken, we got under-way. The wind had +increased to almost a gale, and our brave little vessel fairly leaped +before it towards the South like a race horse. Quite a sea had made in +the broad expanse of Pamlico Sound, which can be stormy enough when in +the humor, and the waves rolled after us in vain and vindictive fury. +There were two large steamers going South, and we held them for some +time, and had hopes of keeping up with them, but they slowly drew ahead, +and left us alone in the waste of tumultuous waves. + +[Illustration: ENGLISH SNIPE.] + +We made one of our best runs that day. The weather was too perfect for +us to stop for fish or birds, although we saw clouds of the latter +rising up in the distance from the disturbed surface of the Sound. We +ought to have gone to Hatteras, or Roanoke Inlet, where we had been +assured by the residents the brant shooting was magnificent, but we +could not lose such unusually favorable weather, and sped on and on +through the seething waves, hour after hour, till when the sun was still +quite well above the horizon, we ran through the narrow channel into the +peaceful waters of Core Sound. + +What a change came over the spirit of our sailing, from the boisterous +violence and rough seas that beat our vessel’s sides turbulently, or +followed us fiercely to the scarcely ruffled bosom of the small and +shallow bay, only a few miles wide, and shut in on all sides by the +land. We managed to reach Lewis’s Creek before sunset, where we saw a +number of working boats going to find security for the night. When we +had anchored among them, the fishermen told us that there were the usual +kinds of salt water fish, although there was no tide in Core Sound other +than that made by the wind. They said there was good oystering off the +point of Lewis’s Creek, and next day proved their words. It was a wild +spot. The only mark of human habitation being an old wind-mill, which +stood on the point. The weird effect was further heightened during the +darkness by the lighting of fires by the fishermen, who had no sleeping +accommodations on their boats, and who went ashore for the purpose. + +“Would you like to kill an English snipe?” called out Seth Green to me +next morning from the shore, whither he had already gone with our +boatman, Charley. I had been busy, or perhaps, if the truth must be +confessed, sleepy, and had just come on deck. + +“Of course,” was my instantaneous reply, the idea of any one not wanting +to kill an English snipe being too ridiculous to entertain for a moment. + +“Then get your gun, and Charley will come for you in the boat.” + +In five minutes the doctor and I were both ashore, and in less than as +many more we had put up and bagged our first bird. It seemed that +Charley, who, as I have already stated, was an old gunner, had heard the +bird as he flew over, and had seen him alight. He did not know that +there were more than one, but we found quite a flight of them. The spot +was not large, but it was evidently a favorite one. We had no dogs and +went floundering about through the mud, but at every few steps a bird +was flushed, and his appearance commemorated by the report of a gun or +the cheery cry of, “mark!” It was a delicious episode in our trip, for +no sport is more appreciated by the true sportsman than the killing of +our gamest of all game birds, the stylish English snipe. In two hours we +had bagged thirty-one. In fact we had killed them all, for if we did not +get them at the first rise, it was easy to follow them up, as they +seemed so fond of the place that they would not leave it. After we had +gone on board with our trophies, and while we were getting under way, we +saw new whisps arriving to take the place of those which we had killed, +as if they were informed of the event, and were anxious to profit by the +disasters of their friends, even at the peril of their own lives. + +Core Sound was full of wild fowl, of which many were red-heads and +canvas-backs, and had we had a battery, we could have killed unlimited +numbers. We had to do as well as we could with Mr. Green’s substitute, +which, although better than nothing, was not at all equal to the proper +machine. Neither had we time to wait. Florida was a long way off, and +well we knew that, once there, we should have all the game we wanted; so +as we struck another favorable wind, we did not stop at Barker’s Island, +where the best shooting is to be had, but ran on to Beaufort. We had +actually dawdled not more than three or four unnecessary days in Core +Sound, before going into the narrow, shallow and difficult harbor of +what was once the watering place as well as business mart of that +section of the Southern country. The port dues are heavy, and I would +advise the yachtsman to avoid it altogether and go, if he needs must go +into any port, directly to Morehead City, which is rapidly appropriating +the trade and fashion of its older rival. + +There is a large business in oysters at Beaufort, and the civilization +of moss-bunker factories has been introduced from the North. Fish were +scarce, but we purchased some very fair beef at very moderate prices, +eighteen pounds of porterhouse being sold to us for eight cents a pound. +The town is a pretty one, and the next day being Sunday, we went to the +colored Methodist Church, a thing that no visitor must fail to do, and +heard some very charming singing. This was our first experience of the +quaint, wild, and slightly barbaric harmony of the voices of the +negroes, of which we were to hear a great deal before our return to the +North. + +Beaufort was the first thoroughly Southern town, with its fig trees in +the open air, the Yupawn, or native Tea tree, the red-berried evergreen +bushes, whose name we could not ascertain, and its genial air of +Southern indolent happiness, which we had visited. We were sorry to +leave it, and had Florida been only placed where it ought to have been, +five hundred miles nearer New York, we should have stayed days if not +weeks longer. But the time was flitting by, and still we were a thousand +miles from our destination. So without more ado we put to sea. From +Beaufort to Cape Fear there is such a bend in the coast that it is laid +down on the charts as a bay. Being shielded from the terrible +northeasters of the Atlantic, which reach no farther than Cape Hatteras, +it is as safe for a small vessel as any part of the boisterous ocean +ever can be. But I was glad when Heartsease got through the voyage. With +care there is no danger, and the trip is not half as perilous a one as +we are accustomed to take at the North, where we are at home, without a +thought of fear. There are numerous and very practicable inlets, and +the yachtsman should make sure of getting into one of them at night. The +same may be said of the stretch beyond Cape Fear. Treat the mighty ocean +with the respect it deserves, and it will never illtreat you. On the +charts the northern or old inlet of Cape Fear is laid down as closed by +a bulkhead. This it is no doubt intended to be, to the discomfort of +small sailing craft, but at the time I speak of it was open. Possibly it +was only opened temporarily by a storm, and may be shut again now. + +There were some birds in Bull’s Bay, but not enough to induce us to +pause, as we were anxious to get the yacht to Charleston as quickly as +we could. So we made the most of the wind and the tide, and anchored +over against Fort Moultrie early in January. Does any of my readers care +to hear how we enjoyed Christmas Day! If so, I will in that connection, +and with the happy sacredness of that day in my mind, make a confession. +In one of the opening paragraphs of this history I mentioned the fact +that we had a stove, a cooking as well as heating stove, in the main +saloon. I did not, however, acknowledge what I am now about to make +public, that every one of the party, from the state-rooms to the +forecastle, was a cook, and in the opinion of him or herself a most +sweet and dainty _chef de cuisine_. Aware of this divine afflatus, they +were none of them entirely content unless they were exhibiting their +skill, so both stoves were run to their utmost capacity, and as the +appetites of the party were good and daily growing better, a vast +consumption of provisions was continually taking place. While each was +at heart assured that their own productions were a little the best, and +tempted the others to admission of the fact by the offering of special +delicacies where delicacies were not needed, there was no one mean +enough to repudiate the work of a brother or sister artist, even if it +were ruined in the preparation or burned to tastlessness in the cooking. +Christmas was by common consent set apart as the day on which each and +every member of our briny household should cook whatever they found best +in their own eyes. The store-room was thrown open and free liberty of +selection was given to all. + +To the male kitchen genius the most difficult article to prepare, is the +most necessary one, bread. Within the realms of civilization the staff +of life seems, as it were, to grow of itself. It can be found on every +corner; stares in fat complacency at you from the shop windows on every +block; there is never any dearth of bread so long as there is a penny to +purchase it; delicate-minded tramps scorn it, and in every +well-regulated household enough of it is thrown into the waste pail to +feed another household of equal numbers. But at sea this is different, +and when man, though he pride himself on the brilliant hue of his blue +ribbon, is required to make good the deficiency, he is apt to come to +grief. So the queen of our marine family announced that she would make a +big batch of bread for that special festivity. + +While no one could or would dare to dispute the ability of that lady to +do well whatever she undertook, yet in the matter of bread making her +methods were peculiar. In the first place she had to have the cabin to +herself, and as bread has to be set over night, we were all turned out +on Christmas eve and left to shiver on the deck. Then she has a way of +strewing flour about in the operation till she covers the tables, the +chairs, the floor, even the sides of the saloon and sometimes the cabin +roof with dough or its ingredients. It was not five minutes after we +were allowed to return, the “rising” having been made an accomplished +fact and set away in a corner, before our hands, our clothes, our faces, +and our very hair were covered with incipient bread. But worse even than +that was the injunction that was solemnly laid on us under no +circumstances to presume to touch the “rising” which had been deposited +directly over the stove, and without moving which it would be impossible +to get breakfast. As our lady was a late riser herself, and would never +stir till she was assured through the state-room door that her breakfast +was ready and on the table, the question of having that important meal +was as complicated as getting the fox, the goose, and the corn over the +stream. + +One of the associate lady patronesses devoted herself to making +biscuits, as the bread would not be cooked till dinner time. I evolved +pancakes, the doctor compounded a hash, and altogether we began +Christmas with such a breakfast as is rarely met with on the desert +surface of the inland water communication between the North and the +South. Seth Green had reserved himself till, as he politely remarked, +“the rest of you should be through your mussing,” then he began. But his +efforts did not last long unmolested, he had split open a duck, a fat +one had been especially selected for so unusual an occasion. This he had +laid between the wires of an oyster broiler, then he opened the entire +top of the stove and proceeded to broil it upon the hot coals. It is +unnecessary to remark that such a proceeding evolved an amount of smoke +that filled the cabin full in a moment. The rest of the party were busy +at their breakfast enjoying the delicacies which had already been +prepared, when they were fairly suffocated by this torrent of smoke and +began to realize as never before the sad fate of the inhabitants of +Pompeii. + +“Seth” I exclaimed, “can’t you keep part of the stove covered so as to +let some of the smoke go up the chimney?” + +“Mr. Green, Mr. Green,” came from the ladies all at once, “please don’t +smother us.” + +“Smoke and the gas of cooking” gasped the doctor, his philosophy almost +dissipated in it “are injurious at meal times, there is such a thing as +being asphyxiated.” + +“For heaven’s sake,” I implored, for by this time the condition of the +atmosphere was unbearable, “do throw that duck out of the companion +way.” + +“Oh Mr. Green do stop cooking that horrid duck,” exclaimed our +princess, “if you do not I shall have to leave the table.” + +That last threat was too much, Seth could not bear to be ranked as an +obstructive when he was accomplishing a culinary triumph which was to +delight our gustatory nerves and establish forever his reputation as a +cookist. He turned a reproachful face towards the party without showing +the slightest sign of discontinuing his fell work, and with an air of +bitter rebuke retorted upon us. + +“This is the first time that I have done any cooking. All the rest of +you have cooked as much as you liked. I have stood to one side and got +out of the way and never had a chance, and now the very instant I cook a +little duck you all make a fuss. I don’t think it’s fair. I did want a +piece of duck for my breakfast and I picked out the smallest one for +fear somebody would think I was greedy, and now you ask me to throw it +overboard; it is almost done, and if you will only have patience for a +few moments I will be through.” + +His manner was more impressive than even his words, and no one had the +heart to reply. We tearfully held our napkins to our noses to keep out +the smoke and smell as well as we could, we coughed and choked, but we +allowed him to finish. Unfortunately Seth believes in cooking a duck to +a chip, and hence he was occupied longer than he had promised, but he +was through at last, and then not only was he happy in the vindication +of his culinary knowledge, but he had the satisfaction of bringing our +ingratitude home to us, by pressing on us choice morsels, which he +offered in a delicate and forgiving way upon his own fork, and which we +were fain to accept and swallow in the same fashion under pain of again +offending him. + +Nevertheless the duck was good, the biscuits were good, the pancakes +were excellent, the hash was superb, every article of diet all day long, +from the gorgeous breakfast to the gorging at supper, when appetite had +been more than sated, were unsurpassable and we had a Christmas long to +be remembered. + +We remained in Charleston for two weeks. If the reader asks what we were +doing all that time, let him go to the old time Queen City of the South, +now apparently being displaced by her enterprising rival, Savannah; let +him roam about her quaint streets and mingle with her hospitable people, +and he will find out. There is much of physical and human interest in +and around Charleston, from the live oaks on her Battery or White Point +Park, and the moss covered trees of her famous Magnolia cemetery, to the +oysters growing in thousands around her sea-wall, and which would +furnish unlimited sustenance to her citizens were they not oyster +surfeited. We stood and gawked at the tropical plants in full foliage, +and at the orange trees in full bearing, in the house door gardens till +the residents, unacquainted though they were personally with us, took +pity and gave us the names of the plants and told us that the oranges +were sour, none of the sweet varieties being able to grow so far north. +We loafed around the market which was an ever renewing delight to Mr. +Green, who, before we left, had established a personal bond of +admiration and friendship from every darkey fisherman who brought his +cargo there. We fed the turkey buzzards, we ascertained that the fish +about Charleston were, in their various seasons, mostly sheepshead, +bass, the drum of North Carolina and channel bass of Florida, _Corvina +Ocellata_; sea-bass, here called black fish, which are mostly caught by +the negroes outside the bar in their open boats; sea trout, our weak +fish; mullet, which they told us were becoming scarce; blue fish which +are never caught in winter, and which also were diminishing in numbers; +black drum; big porgees of four or five pounds; both the salt and fresh +water varieties of cat fish, which were very abundant; whiting, our king +fish, and their finest table delicacy; angel fish, crevalle; fresh water +trout, our black bass, and shad, which begin their run in January. + +All around Charleston the negroes seem to be in possession of the +country. They are pleasant, polite, and lazy, are content to do the old +slave tasks even when working for themselves, and will never consent to +do more when working for others at any price of remuneration, as though +if they worked too hard the work would be exhausted and there would soon +be nothing more to do. They are paid fifty cents a cord, for instance, +to cut wood, and they stop when they have cut one cord, although they +are through at one o’clock. They look more healthy and happy than the +whites throughout the entire South, which is a probably a climacteric +result, but pregnant of many possibilities for the future. It is they +who supply Charleston market, it is they who do the fishing and the +work, and more important still, it is they who make all the Sea-island +cotton and bring it to the city in their boats from the shores where +inevitable death lurks for the superior race. That most valuable of +Southern products, the old time king of the world, arrives in driblets, +here a pound and there a pound. It is badly baled, but it comes and in +good order too. To day the negro controls the whilom king, which is +indeed putting the bottom rail on top. + +The Charleston “Eagles,” as he called the buzzards, were a source of +infinite complacency to the philosophical soul of the doctor. He would +watch them by the hour, sympathizing with their metaphysically +thoughtful ways. He would study their awkward and ungainly motions on +the ground, and wonder that anything so ungraceful on foot could be so +exquisitely elegant and graceful in the air when on the wing. These +queer creatures stay around the market, and although the law forbids +their being fed, as it is found with them as with human buzzards that +necessity is the mother of scavengering, your butcher is always ready to +throw them a surreptitious piece of meat for your amusement. They are +the only street cleaners, and if they got their dinners gratuitously +they might cease their useful public labors. + +On January tenth we tore ourselves away from Charleston, bidding good +bye to its pretty streets, its tall spires, its beautiful gardens, and +its pleasant inhabitants, among whom we must especially mention +Commander Merril Miller of the Light-house service, who was very kind in +furnishing us charts and assisting us in many ways. We bid a last +farewell to Forts Sumter and Moultrie, and all the historic memories +which are entwined with those names; to Sullivan’s Island, the Coney +Island of Charleston, to the Three Sisters, three palmettos which guard +the gate where once the confederate soldier stood sentry, and to the +tomb of Oceola close by, to the buzzards and the beauties of the city, +catching a last glimpse of White Point Park to which we waived a tender +adieu. We headed our course towards the creek which has received the +euphuistic appellation of “Wappoo Cut.” We carried away from Charleston +this one valuable piece of information: to make “Hop-in-John,” boil one +quart of cow peas (a sort of small bean), and one pound of bacon till +thoroughly cooked, then put in two quarts of rice, boil for about half +an hour longer and until well done, then add salt and pepper. This +recipe came from the colored _chef_ of the Charleston hotel and must be +correct. Hence hereafter no man or woman can claim to be so ignorant +that they cannot cook “Hop-in-John.” + +Beyond Charleston we had our first disagreeable adventure; it occurred +when we were running through Wappoo Cut. We had been offered a volunteer +tow by a small steam tug that we met there, but had hardly hitched fast +to her, before a passenger steamer came in sight going the same way. +This vessel gradually gained on us, and when she was close at hand, +finding there was no room to pass, as the cut is extremely narrow near +its outlet where we were, ran deliberately between our yacht and the +tug, cutting our stern line away and nearly sinking us. This was an +occasion, in which we should have been justified in shooting the pilot +at his post, but we were in a foreign country, so to speak, and all we +did was to cast loose our lines and get clear the best we could. The +whole performance was the less excusable, because the wheelman saw there +were ladies on board our boat, and that we were strangers. As this was +the only piece of discourtesy shown us on our entire trip, I give the +name of the vessel which was guilty of it, and warn all passengers to +shun the “Pilot Boy.” It was by good luck alone that we escaped, for +hardly had we got clear, than the two steamers jammed together, filling +the cut from side to side, so that both were aground, and we heard the +crashing of timbers and saw them fast there for nearly an hour. Had the +“Heartsease” been between them, she would have been crushed. If any of +our readers go South by the inland passage from Charleston, and it is a +pleasant way of travel, we hope they will in a measure revenge our +wrongs, and give a brutal captain a lesson in decent behavior, by +refusing to patronize the “Pilot Boy.” + +One of the most interesting features of the country we were now passing +was the rice fields. These were separated by dykes, and being nearly +rectangular, gave a novel appearance to the low, marshy land. Had we +known where to go, we could probably have had good English snipe +shooting. But we did not stop to give Mr. Green a chance to interview +any one to find out. We, however, saw numberless flocks of bay snipe on +the lower part of the South Edisto, where the wind left us one night, +and where Mr. Green killed a couple of dozen. On the following day, that +gentleman was so pleased with the performance of the yacht in crossing +St. Helena Sound in a squall, that he insisted on our putting to sea, +upon the ground that he was tired of such tame sailing. The rest of the +party were nothing loth, and the good little ship was soon across the +bar and on the broad bosom of old Mother Ocean, a very step-mother as +she can at times prove herself to be. Unfortunately, the wind died out, +and we were becalmed or nearly so, and crawled slowly past Fripp’s +Inlet. When we were just outside Port Royal breakers, which we reached +at sundown, there was a dead calm, and we drifted backwards till we came +to anchor in some four fathoms of water. + +Our luck did not desert us, and before dark a nice breeze sprang up, +which carried us into the harbor and up to the mouth of Skull Creek, +where we passed the night in perfect comfort. Next morning the wind came +out strong from the northeast, blowing what sailors would call half a +gale of wind. We got under way as soon as we could, and were soon +slashing along at a good nine miles an hour. To be sure of our speed, I +proposed to make a log line. Now there is one point about Seth Green, +which is if possible more decidedly developed than another; while he is +perfectly satisfied that anything he does is better done than it ever +was, ever will, or ever can be, by any one else, he is equally well +convinced that no one else can do anything that he cannot, so when I +made this proposition he simply smiled an incredulous smile. Under the +force of that implication, a log line had to be made, and made to work, +if all hands had to swear that she was making ten miles an hour when she +was only making two. + +It was an original species of a log. I knew the proper divisions for a +fourteen second glass, which was the one we had on board, but the “chip” +had to be manufactured out of the side of an old cigar box. I never +shall forget Seth’s air of triumph, when having driven in the pin too +hard, it did not slip out at the scientific jerk I gave when “time” was +called on the first trial, the result being that the line parted when I +was drawing it in. This merely encouraged me, as there was no difficulty +in curing that defect, the only danger having been that my improvised +“chip” would not hold well enough. So the log was soon in working order, +and informed us that we were running nine miles an hour, and repeated +the figure so often, that the skeptic was convinced, and asked me to +join him while he apologized. + +More bay snipe of all sorts, little and big, but no time to shoot them. +They were flying about by twos, by threes, by dozens, by hundreds, but +the wind was too fair and too fresh for us to lose it. We might be +punished by being reduced to living on canned food, which, with the +exception of corned beef, vegetables, and preserves, was an abomination +to the entire party, and we did not stop voluntarily, till we reached +Jekyl’s Creek. In reference to Jekyl’s Creek, there is an entry in my +log, that is interesting to show how history repeats itself; “Oysters +Excellent.” Half a century before, Professor Bache, who made the very +charts by which we were sailing, had appreciated the excellence of the +Jekyl Creek oysters, and had them barrelled and sent to him every year. +I doubt, however, whether he knew how to cook them, at least in the +quantity necessary for a hungry yachting party, and with the limited +cooking appliances of a yacht. + +They are called “Raccoon Oysters,” for the reason that the raccoons +exhibited so much human nature in first appreciating their excellence, +and in getting at their contents. They exist in immense mounds and +piles, and to the Northern eye seem inexhaustible in numbers, covering +hundreds, if not thousands of square miles, and averaging three feet +thick. They line the shores of the creeks and water courses like two +walls, and cling to branches of bushes, till it can be truly said of +them that they grow on trees. Their natural position is with their edges +upward, and these are nearly as sharp as razors, and will cut one’s +fingers or a raccoon’s paw terribly, unless care is taken in handling +them. The ’coon’s plan is to slyly watch at low tide, when the beds are +bare, till the unsuspicious bivalve, longing for a breath of the pure +air of heaven as a change from the insipid diet of salt water, opens his +mouth, when he quietly creeps forward and drops a piece of shell into +the opening. Master oyster endeavors to resume his natural closeness of +mouth, but in vain; the early closing movement has no reference to him. + +My plan of treatment was different, although the final consequence to +the oyster was about the same. To open such sharp-edged creatures in the +ordinary way would soon have put our crew, experienced in oyster opening +though they were, _hors du combat_, or to state it in English, useless +for rope-hauling. Even to separate them from one another was a perilous +job, so I hit upon the simple plan of putting them in bunches just as +they grew into the ovens of the two stoves. There I let them roast till +they opened their mouths of their own accord, precisely as they had done +for the raccoon, but under a little more compulsion. Cooked in this way +they were so delicious as to be worth a trip to Jekyl’s Creek merely to +get. We almost lived on Jekyl Creek oysters, and if any one of the party +got out of spirits, if Mr. Green or the Doctor wanted to propitiate one +of the queens of the yacht, and the Doctor especially was continually +engaged in that way, he never failed with a roasted raccoon oyster. + + + + +CHAPTER II. + +IN FLORIDA. + + +And now we are at Fernandina, in Florida at last. It has been a long but +a delightful trip. Of all the yachting we ever did, and all of us have +been more or less followers of the sea, that is, the inland sea, since +childhood, we agreed unanimously this sail from New York to the South by +the inland navigation, was the most delightful. It was an unbroken charm +from the beginning to the end, with no more of real danger about it than +would have been encountered on Broadway under falling bricks and over +caving vaults. The variety of scenery was charming, the oddity of the +trees and plants most interesting, and had we had the time to devote to +it, the fishing and shooting would have been superb. + +We had passed old Fernandina, and came to anchor opposite the new town +of the same name, which had been selected on account of its having a +better harbor in a norther, that terror of southern latitudes in winter, +and which must have raked the old town pretty thoroughly. We had to go +ashore at once. The tides have a great rise and fall, and we were glad +to avail ourselves of the boat club landing which was kindly placed at +our disposal. We found Fernandina a quaint old town, with a mixture of +newness and age about it. Northern men coming for their health had +brought Northern ways and extravagances; there were modern villas and +trim gardens, but the old mansions were still to be seen, and a few of +the ancient houses built of coquina, a combination of lime and shell. No +innovations could do away with the Southern foliage, which here was in +rank growth and profusion. We saw orange trees in full bearing; palmetto +trees in abundance, from the scrub saw-palmetto to the lordly cabbage +palm, and cactuses six feet high, together with all the other trees and +plants of the warm latitudes. + +There is a fine shell road to the sea beach that is so hard that the +wheels of a wagon scarcely make a mark upon it. This beach is the +favorite promenade drive of natives and visitors in the season which had +not come quite yet, although near at hand. Boys in the streets were +selling sugar-canes at five cents a stick, and banana bushes, which are +herbacious plants, were growing in many of the gardens. Mr. Green +proceeded first to indulge in the entire luxuries of a barber’s +establishment that he found, and then to interview the whole population. +He came to the yacht in time for supper, laden with information and two +fine Southern weakfish, which are much better to eat than our Northern +variety, and which are locally known as trout. + +The fishing around Fernandina is exceedingly good, and we found the +colored population, which takes to fishing as naturally as the bee is +nautically supposed to take to a tar bucket, everywhere, pursuing the +finny tribes through the numerous creeks and arms of the sea. Here we +saw for the first time the circular cast net. It was used for catching +the enormous shrimp or prawn, which, while shaped like the common +shrimp, has a body six inches long, and feelers still longer. This +curious creature is mostly used for bait, though it is excellent eating +when boiled. There is good sheepsheading in the creek opposite the last +house before reaching the cut, and as it was impossible to keep Mr. +Green quiet longer without a day’s fishing, we had to let him go while +the rest of us enjoyed the mere pleasure of existence in the delicious +climate. We ate oranges and sucked sugar-cane in true childhood style, +and wandered through the village while he was pursuing science. We were +not a little ashamed of ourselves when he returned with a magnificent +string of sheepshead, both the large and small kinds, sea trout, and a +dozen other varieties, victualling the ship for several days. Then our +sails were once more set and we were off for the further South, for +there always is a higher height and a deeper depth; so there is a +further south, a further west, and a more inaccessible north. We did not +go far, however, before we had to stop. Not that there was any dire +necessity, not that any member of our party was sick, nor that the wind +or the bread had given out; not that we had lost our course or were +actually impeded in any wise, but still we had to stop--in order to +catch crabs. I take it for granted that there is none of my readers so +unfortunate as never to have eaten that most delicious of table +luxuries, the hard-shell--for I have never given my allegiance to the +soft-crab. If that is so, then I will have no occasion to make further +explanation, when I say that the finest crabs which we got in the +Southern waters, we caught at Fernandina, or rather between that place +and Jacksonville, for the crabbing was good all the way. Mr. Seth Green +is especially fond of these strange animals, who insist on wearing their +bones outside of their skins, and no inducement except satiety will +persuade him away from good crabbing ground. The Doctor is also fond of +crabs, and so were all the rest of those on board, and hence there was +not the slightest objection when Mr. Green made the following sensible +remark: + +“Well now that we have got to Florida, don’t you think it ’most time to +begin to enjoy ourselves? You have kept us all hard at work as if our +lives depended on it, driving away through good weather and bad, through +rain and shine in order to get here, and now that we are here don’t you +think that you might let up for a few days at least till we could have a +little of the pleasure we came after?” + +The wild ducks which we had killed in Currituck were gone long ago, the +snipe we had found on the way down, had lasted only a short time, but +Mr. Green had supplied us with all the fish we could eat, oysters lay +around us begging to be picked up and roasted, and now we had an +unlimited supply of crabs, which merely requested us to offer them a +piece of refuse meat in exchange for their luscious bodies. If a man +wants to live well and cheaply let him go to Florida, there certainly +never was such a place for a yachting expedition. When we had boiled a +reserve of nearly a hundred crabs, and we had all eaten as many as we +could, we ceased crabbing and went to sailing once more. + +Instead of going through the Sisters Creek, which is the shorter course, +we stood out to sea from Fort George Inlet and ran into the St. John’s, +a thing which I would advise no man to do unless he was well acquainted +with the bars, or had like myself a very light draft vessel, for both +the channels are narrow and shoal. When we were once inside the St. +John’s we got out our nets in order to ascertain just what the waters +contained. Although net fishing is not so stimulating as that with the +hook and line, it is more certain even if both are in skilful hands. + +We were rewarded by some small yearling mossbunkers and bluefish, which, +while the Doctor looked on them as a disappointment, were valuable as +settling the question that both of these fish spawn in the Southern +waters. A further result of our efforts was, that we hurried on to +Jacksonville as fast as we could. On the way we ran over a shad net. It +was early in the morning, and there was a sort of haze on the water, so +that we did not see the log that the fishermen tie to the end of their +nets, to point out where it is. The owners of it were taking it in from +the other side of their boat, and even so old a fisherman as Mr. Green +was deceived as to the direction in which it was stretched. We carried +a piece of it away with us, and had to cut it off from our rudder. For +this we were sorry, but were miles off before we had even got an idea of +the extent of apology we would have to make, or of the damage for which +we would gladly have paid. + +At Jacksonville we felt almost as much at home as if we were in New +York. We found friends there, we made others, and enjoyed ourselves so +thoroughly that it was only the imperative demands of sport that +compelled us to move on. Just in the neighborhood of so large a city +there is naturally not much to shoot or to catch. There are innumerable +cat-fish which Mr. Green was never tired of taking, and which weighed as +much as ten pounds each. He insisted they were excellent eating, a +matter in which we allowed him to have his opinion without contesting +the question. The water on the surface is fresh, and some black-bass can +always be caught in the vicinity. The condition of the water in the St. +John’s is different from that of any other stream with which I am +familiar. Even as high up as Pilatka, eighty miles above, the surface +water is absolutely fresh, while near the bottom there is a current so +salt that crabs are caught in the shad nets. The salter fluid seems to +be denser and heavier than the other, and will not mingle with it, so +that we have the anomaly of both fresh and salt-water fish being caught +at the same time and place. + +Into the St. John’s there empty at every few miles tributary streams +that are rarely ascended by the visiting sportsman, and where the birds +and fish exist in their primeval abundance and fearlessness. It is +unnecessary to specify these by name, or to particularize any as better +than others, for they are essentially alike. We could not explore them +all, but those which we did, we found filled with fish and with a fair +amount of game. It was too early in the year for alligators, if they can +be called game, to show themselves, but birds were to be had +plentifully, and fish were simply innumerable. Of these we killed so +many that we had to salt them down. There is an additional interest, the +interest of new explorations, in ascending the secluded rivers, and I +advise every tourist who visits this portion of Florida in his own +conveyance, not to omit going up one or more of them. + +This was a late season, shad were running, and we had them continually +on our table, but roses were not in full bloom in the open air, and as +for strawberries, which are usually abundant by New Year’s, they had not +come in at all yet. We had bought up all the curiosities that we could +distribute among our Northern friends; we had played with the baby +alligators in the jewelry stores; we had listened to the first +installment of the wonderful Florida stories; we had dined at all the +excellent Jacksonville hotels, and were ready to withdraw once more from +civilization. So the Heartsease spread her sails again, and started up +the river. I say “up,” because by the current our course was up stream; +but it was down by the map. We were going south, the St. John’s being +one of the few of the North American rivers which seem to run the wrong +way, that is, from the south to the north. In our short stay in +Jacksonville we had learned that alligator-tooth jewelry is occasionally +made of celluloid; that one of the best drinks in the world of +bar-keeping is a punch compounded from the native sour orange; that +Florida stories are always reliable, even when they assert that +mosquitoes are so abundant that hogs make meals of them, or inform us +that the favorite game fish of Florida, the tarpon, jumps six feet out +of water when he is hooked, or that sharks will seize a man if they have +to leap as high as the deck of the yacht to do so. In leaving +Jacksonville, we supposed we were leaving all this behind us, not +knowing that Florida is full of quaint jewelry made, as the jewelry of +no other part of the world, out of fish scales, saurian teeth, sea +beans, shells, orange tree woods, and sharks’ molars; that everywhere +there are wonderful stories which only differ from one another in size; +that palmetto hats were to be bought in every village store, and that +sour oranges hang from innumerable trees, valueless for traffic, and +only begging to be made into nectar fit for gods. + +By the time the Doctor had made these philosophical reflections, +Heartsease was tearing along before a favoring breeze past Mandarin, +past the Magnolia Hotel and Green Cove Spring; past Tocoi, the terminus +of the St. Augustine Railroad, till she made anchorage by nightfall off +Pilatka. On the way we had put up many ducks, had seen the cows up to +their backs in water feeding off the cabbage at the bottom, and +thrusting their heads clear under to get it, and we began to realize +that in the end we might come to believe anything of the wonders of this +wonderful land. On the last day of our stay in Jacksonville, we had +given a little lunch on board, and to show what dinners can be got up +there, and how easily, I will reproduce the bill of fare. Everything had +been prepared on board, and although our cabin could only seat twelve, +we placed before the guests cold turkey, beef and tongue, chicken salad, +prepared by the Doctor in most artistic style, stewed oysters, roast +potatoes, radishes, and for dessert banana salad--an invention of the +better part of the party,--Dummit Grove oranges, sapidillas, and grape +fruit, with _pieces montées_ of palmetto leaves and sour oranges _en +branches_. There was a little _paté de foies gras_ also, but that need +not be counted, because it came from the North. + +We found that when we had reached Pilatka the stories, instead of +diminishing, developed yet more astonishing proportions. The mosquitoes, +that the hogs fed on at Jacksonville, put out the head light of the +locomotive at Pilatka, extinguished a bonfire, and made nothing of the +negroes “light wood torches;” the tarpon of Jacksonville could only jump +six feet high when hooked, while the tarpon of Pilatka, without being +hooked, bounded clear over the rail of the steamboat Seth Low, which was +ten feet from the water, struck the captain in the stomach, and knocked +him down. We had not been at Pilatka two days, before we were ready to +swallow any mental hallucination, so rapidly does faith grow in the +glorious, and balmy air of Florida. + +If Jacksonville had been attractive, Pilatka was equally so. Opposite to +if is the famous orange grove of Mr. Hart, which we had to visit, and +where we ate our first oranges, plucked by ourselves from the trees, +beside tasting mandarins and tangerines, lemons, limes, guava and +bananas, and that best of all oranges, the grape fruit. There were great +plantations of bananas, which grow by suckers from the roots, and +increase like weeds. They have to be three years old before they bear, +and the development of the flower and fruit, which was going on while we +were there, was a pretty sight. The top of the stalk turns over and +produces a huge purple flower of a single leaf, as large as the hand of +a giant. From under this large leaf starts a circle of small sprouts +like fingers. The big leaf falls off, but from the ends of the fingers +burst other, much smaller purple flowers. Then below the row of fingers +grows another large flower like the first, and it also uncovers another +row of fingers, so on till the entire bunch of bananas, as we know it in +the market, is formed. Even then the flower point does not cease +growing, but exhibits flower after flower, which are merely ornamental +and do not result in fruit. Sprouts start so freely from the roots, that +the young bushes have to be cut away every year with scythes, or they +would become crowded, and the fruit degenerate. Every day, that was +spent studying the wonderful productions of Florida, every new tree or +bush, which attracted our attention by its beauty, or its oddity, every +new species of fruit, which charmed our palate with its originality of +flavor, made us more in love with this interesting country, and wish +that it and its accompaniments could only exist in a colder climate. +There was but one feeling in the minds of the party on leaving Mr. +Hart’s plantation, which was that each of us could own an orange grove, +and have it close at home. + +One evening as we were returning after a sailing excursion to visit the +neighborhood, we heard cries which sounded like cries of distress. The +negroes were so in the habit of laughing at, and jibing one another, +that we at first took no notice of these. It was nearly night, so dark, +that objects could not be distinguished at any considerable distance; +but the cries continuing, we determined to see whether they meant merely +fun or something more serious, and kept away in the direction from which +they came. That moment’s delay cost at least one man his life, and +brought sorrow to one household. After sailing a few minutes, we were +able to distinguish an object in the water, which looked like a boat +capsized. Such it turned out to be, and as we approached, we could make +out a number of men clinging to its sides. It was a launch belonging to +the crew of a steam ferry boat, and was used by the men after their +day’s work was over to take them across the river, as they left the +steamer on the other side. It was abundantly able to carry the number +that started in it, and more, but some of them had been pouring out +libations to Bacchus, or had been carried away by foolish animal +spirits, we could not exactly determine which, and the result was, that +the party of merry-makers was suddenly turned into one of mourners. + +We luffed up alongside, and lay to, while our men lowered the boats, and +picked up all the poor fellows who were left. Two were unaccounted for, +one of whom had been seen to let go his hold and sink. Several of the +others would have soon followed his example, except for our timely +arrival, for the water happened to be cool that evening, and quickly +benumbed their warm southern blood, although they were whites, and not +blacks, as we at first supposed. After they were all on board, and it +was apparent that there was no use in looking for their lost comrades, +we hitched a line to their boat, and towed it behind us towards the +shore. As the men crowded on our deck, they seemed so miserable, and did +so tremble with the cold, that the hearts of the ladies were touched, +and nothing would do but they must be brought into the cabin, and warmed +at the stove, there being not room enough for so many in the forecastle. +Their clothes dripped and drained over our pretty carpet, and left +stains, which never were to come out, but we felt only too glad that we +had been able to be of some use to any of our fellow “toilers of the +sea.” We finally warmed their blood, and put fresh life into them with +liberal rations of rum, which was fifty years old. Amid their sufferings +what caused them the most pain, was, that they would have to tell the +wife of the engineer, who was lost, of his death. This they dreaded as +much as they would have dreaded another struggle in the water. + +There is often danger from the heavy fogs, which roll up dense, and dark +on the St. John’s in the night time, and we saw several accidents from +that cause. We took the precaution of always anchoring, when not in +port, on some flat, and making sure of a well filled anchor light. The +steamers invariably follow the channel, for their own protection, and +the pilots run at full speed, as in that way alone can they be sure of +their position, a knowledge which comes to them by habit. There was, +however, one annoyance, which no lights would prevent, no mosquito nets +keep out, and no preparation mitigate, the plague of gnats; they come, +when they make up their minds to come, in myriads, pour down the +companion way, preferring the inside of the cabin to the outside, make +themselves at home, push into the state-rooms, and do not care in the +least how many millions of their number you immolate. I had been advised +that insect powder, if burned in the cabin, would drive them out. On +their first visitation I tried the remedy. It is to be feared that the +heartless person who gave me that recipe was a practical joker. There is +nothing in the nature of gnats to specially provoke merriment so far as +I could ever see, or feel, but there are persons who extract pleasure +from a funeral. I placed a small quantity of the powder on a piece of +paper, which I lighted. The paper was soon consumed, but the powder +remained intact, in fact it preserved that part of the paper, which was +directly under it. Then I added some chips, and laying the whole on an +old plate, tried it again; failure number two, the powder was still +unconsumed, and the gnats, who had not neglected these opportunities, +while I was busy, to pay their respects to me, were as happy and lively +as ever. Determined not be foiled, I then built a fire in the stove, and +leaving the stove holes open, poured the powder on the flame. In vain, +it only put out the fire. After that I lost faith in the virtues of +insect powder, and had to endure as well as I could, lamentations coming +faintly through the doors of the state-rooms “Oh what are these strange +things that are biting us so.” Patience seems to be the only cure for +gnat bites, and we did not carry that article with us. + +“Doctor,” said Mr. Green one morning, after we had spent a couple of +weeks in the delightful laziness of sight seeing and curiosity buying, +“how much longer do you think the skipper intends to keep us idling +here?” He had devoted his attention lately to dragging the Doctor with +him on his interviewing expeditions, and they had just returned from +their tenth call upon the northern shad fishermen, who, having brought +their nets from their homes to try and catch the earliest run of shad, +were camping in the woods beyond the town. + +“I am afraid,” replied our medical associate with base dishonesty, for +he was fully as fond of the _dolce far niente_ as myself, “that he +intends to remain here for the rest of his natural life.” + +“What, going to stay here for ever!” came from the pretty mouth, which +belonged to a pretty head, that just then appeared above the companion +way, “I do like to go fishing, and get away from people.” + +“Yes,” came faintly from another in the bowels of the cabin, “I am +always fond of a change.” + +“We havn’t caught a fish since day before yesterday,” continued Seth in +a most injured tone of voice. “I should like to catch something beside +cat-fish once more.” + +This is the sort of thing that the yachtsman has to bear from his +mutinous crew, and there is but one way of dealing with it. I went +forward without a word, called my men, and we were underway so soon, +that the breath was nearly taken from the party, and I heard low +grumblings about provisions, which ought to have been laid in, and +curiosities, which were to have been bought, and which never could be +got again, for an hour afterwards, as we were rapidly running up the +river. + +The weather had become hot, the thermometer marking eighty-nine in the +shade, and mosquitoes made their appearance in the evenings; for those +we were prepared, as the yacht was especially fitted with mosquito +screens. But the heat was too much for us, and it was unanimously +determined that we must take a bath. We had brought our bathing dresses +more by good luck than good management, for we had no expectation of +quite so summery a time in the midst of winter. We had been assured +that snakes never enter the waters of a sulphur spring, and that there +was a sulphur spring at Welaka on our way. So we stopped where we +thought it must be according to the chart, and in that instance, as in +all others, the chart was right. In fact from the beginning of our trip +to the end we found ourselves, by the aid of the charts, masters of the +situation, and generally much better informed than the natives. + +We anchored the yacht at the bend of the river just below Welaka, and +taking the small boats rowed into the spring, which was only a hundred +yards away. What a glorious sight it was, no puling little affair, such +as is called a spring at the North, but a basin two hundred feet across, +the water boiling up in the centre in a jet as large round as a +hogshead, and rising a foot above the surface, clear as crystal, and +gleaming like gems, the irridescent waves spreading away from the +central source in lines of glistening transparency, the sunlight +reflected from every ripple, as from a thousand prisms. Such a perfect +bathing spot we had never seen before, it was a bath-room fit for Diana +and her nymphs. We had put on our bathing clothes before leaving the +yacht, and it took us but a few moments to fasten our boats and plunge +overboard. + +Snakes are one of the drawbacks of this warm tropical State. On some of +the keys on the Gulf side, they are so numerous that no man is safe in +landing. The most deadly is the rattlesnake, but the most disagreeable +is the mocassin, which, although not so fatal, sometimes attacks a man +in the water without provocation. The latter’s bite produces paralysis +more frequently than death, but as his attacks cannot be guarded +against, he is really a more unpleasant enemy. The traveller’s safety in +bathing consists in seeking one of these wonderful sulphur springs, into +which snakes do not enter, although fish abound in them, looking like +moving motes in liquid amber. The temperature of these springs is not +cold, being the same as that of the rivers, but there is something +exceedingly exhilarating in bathing in them. The feeling of the water is +different from that of any other bath. There is a peculiar sense of +cleanliness, and a lightness of spirits, which may account for the fancy +of Ponce de Leon, that he had at last found the source of eternal youth. +Many of these springs are brought within the destructive dominion of +man, and are open to every passing tourist, but the one where we were +was sacred to him, who has his own conveyance, and was not to be defiled +or polluted by the common wayfarer. + +We had a delightful bath. There is a common delusion that the water of +the sulphur springs is so thin and light, that it will not support the +best swimmer. We soon ascertained that this was a totally unfounded +fancy, so far as the Welaka spring was concerned. We not only swam to +and fro without difficulty, but enjoyed an additional pleasure in +getting directly over the boiling spout itself, and being buoyed up by +it, where the water was ten feet deep. All of us were sorry, when +evening and hunger compelled us to return to the yacht. + +The stories concerning the dangerous nature of the snakes of Florida are +probably exaggerated, as we saw no more of them, than we would have seen +in the same amount of country life at the North. The negro children +bathe off the docks of Pilatka and Jacksonville as a common thing, and +later in the year, when the peril from snakes is greater. There are +spots, where, as I have said, they are to be dreaded, and we heard well +authenticated stories of men being snake bitten, but on the other hand +old hunters, who were in the woods most of their time, told us they were +never troubled by their attacks, and the camping out parties, which we +encountered all over, seemed not disturbed by them. Still, while on the +subject, I will give the prescription which was kindly furnished us by +Dr. Kenworthy of Jacksonville, and which will doubtless prove a better +cure than the common one of getting drunk on whiskey; mix two +tablespoonfuls of the carbonate of ammonia with enough spirits of +camphor to make a paste. Apply this on a rag to the bite, changing the +rag as often as it gets discolored. Our medical associate gave his +approval to the remedy, and if those two authorities could not cure a +snake bite, no one can. + +As our little yacht shot out from the St. John’s River, nearly two +hundred miles above the place where we had entered it, and came into +full view of that beautiful sheet of water, Lake George, thousands of +wild ducks rose three gunshots off, and flew away. The sight rejoiced +our eyes, for we had passed several days on the river without seeing any +large birds except the strange water-turkeys, or snake-birds. +Unfortunately we had no battery with us, and had to trust to finding a +point of land that the ducks would approach. This was no easy thing to +do, and we sailed half the length of the north shore, before reaching a +promising spot, a narrow point running out between two bays, and at the +outer end of which the birds were crowded together in flocks of +thousands. There was nothing to be done till the next morning, and +seeing a farm house on the neck of land, Mr. Seth Green went ashore to +get what information he could from the owner. This gentleman was at the +moment working in his garden, and although the thermometer stood at +eighty in the shade, he wore the encumbrance of a pair of long India +rubber boots. As these seemed rather out of accord with the torrid +temperature, he was delicately asked his reasons for wearing them; +“well,” he replied philosophically, “they cannot strike over those.” +This sounded ominously, for although, as I have said, we had heard a +good deal about snakes, we had seen nothing of them yet. Our doubts were +removed when the gentleman pointed out an immense dead rattlesnake +hanging on the limb of a bush, and added, “I killed him yesterday.” We +returned promptly to the yacht, contented to make our explorations by +water thereafter, till we should get over the effect of so sudden an +introduction to a new acquaintance. + +Next day we devoted to the ducks, but we were not properly rigged for +them, and soon learned that without a battery we could not expect to +kill many in the wide waters of Lake George, they were mostly +broad-bills, but did not seem to be as healthy as our Northern ducks. +One of my men, who was an old gunner, said that their feathers appeared +to be burnt, as though they had been scorched by the sun. They are +continually chased by all the visitors to Florida, silly shooters, who +fire at them from every passing steamboat, or who pursue them in the +small steam yachts, which are becoming a feature of Southern travel. The +day following, we sailed across the lake to the south-west corner, +intending to ascend the Juniper Creek, which empties into it there. Mr. +Green and myself were all of the party who cared to make the +exploration; we took one of the small boats, and struck into the outlet, +which we had found without difficulty and commenced the ascent. It was a +strange, desolate river, quite unlike our Northern streams, slow and +sluggish most of the way, half grown up with grasses, weeds, and cabbage +plants, lined on either side by a rank, tall mass of reeds, that were +yellow with age, and approaching decay, overhung here and there by some +Southern plants or bushes, and once in a while winding between groves of +palmettos. There was a sombre, savage, and deadly appearance in the +water itself. We proceeded quietly for a time, but Mr. Green, who is +more alive to the contents of a stream than to its air of gloom or +brightness, broke the silence. + +“Now,” he said, as he began setting up his rod, “I will show you my +favorite rig for catching big-mouthed bass. Look at that trolling spoon, +it is something of my own invention, although the tackle shops are +getting them lately.” + +He had a special arrangement of feathers and tin, not be described on +paper, but long experience has made me skeptical about new all-killing +inventions, and possibly my countenance betrayed my thoughts, for he +went on, as he saw me getting out a cast of bass flies. + +“I know” he observed, throwing his lure overboard, “that other rigs will +take some, but you see now, I shall have one within a minute.” + +I had no choice, as I was seated in the bow of the boat, and could not +have used a trolling spoon if I had wished, as our lines would have +fouled. I had to put on flies and fish by casting. + +“That is all very well,” I replied, “at certain times, and in a stream +like this, but if we had a large, deep river, I would rather use a +number of flies on a long leader.” + +“There,” said Mr. Green at that moment as he struck a fish, “what did I +tell you. If you want to take black-bass, particularly this kind--” + +He never finished his observation, for at that moment a four-pound fish +seized my fly, and it took our joint skill and attention to keep from +fouling. He managed, however, to get his fish in quickly, as it was a +small one, and give me an opportunity to play mine with the light tackle +that I was using. We saved them both, but they were only the forerunners +of an unlimited number. The spoon did undoubtedly kill the most, but +there were all that we both wanted, ten times over, and we had to stop +fishing, to avoid destroying more than we could use. I had the +satisfaction of catching the largest, however, with the fly. + +We had brought a gun, as well as our fishing tackle. Suddenly from out +the bushes there rose with much noise and flurry a large bird. I had +hardly time to grab my gun, before he was out of range, and although I +fired, it was ineffectually. + +“Oh, I am sorry you missed him,” said Mr. Green sadly, for he always +takes a dejected view of other people’s failures, “that was a Limpkin, +and I should like to have got him.” + +“I thought it was a water turkey,” I replied, referring to the queer +creature that we had seen on ever stick and stump in the St. John’s. +“But whatever it was, it was out of range when I fired.” + +“I think he was a Limpkin,” persisted my companion, “don’t you, +Charley?” + +The stream was becoming rapidly narrower, and as that made the fishing +more difficult, and we had all the fish we wanted, we took in our lines. +Soon Charley had to cease rowing and resort to poling. We finally came +to where it was so narrow that there was scarcely room for the boat, and +the overhanging branches and bushes swept against our faces. We were +just about to give up any idea of further advance, when suddenly we shot +out from the small brook into a broad river. Instead of having ascended +to the head waters of the Juniper, we had hardly been in it at all, +having mistaken one of its mouths for the stream proper. The hour was +growing late, but this new river seemed so attractive, we were so sure +that it was the one we had been looking for, and that it must lead into +the lake not far from where we had left our yacht, that we determined to +descend it instead of retracing our course by the way we had come. Here +it was that I fired at and wounded a real Limpkin, as I have already +related. We went down with the current, having in the broad stream a +good chance to use the oars. The sun dropped behind the trees, which +were more numerous on the banks of this stream than they had been on +those of the other. On and on, and still we did not come to the outlet. +It began to look as though we had made a mistake, and this river was a +different one from what we had supposed. The prospect of spending the +night in the woods now forced itself upon us. My coat was thin, and +already the evening air felt chill; we could make a fire, for we were +too old stagers to be caught without matches, but the thought of snakes +was not pleasant, in spite of the assurances of their rarity, and the +excellence of our antidote. + +Charley had been rowing a long time and was getting tired, so I offered +to “spell” him. This I did till the sun had gone entirely and darkness +was closing in upon us fast. Still no signs of the lake, or of an end +to this apparently endless river. Strange noises rang through the +forest, cries like those of wild beasts, but such as we had never heard +before, often as we had passed the night in the woods. I recalled what I +had read of the puma, the dreaded Southern tiger, and realized the fact +that against him number four duck shot would be a feeble defence. The +noises grew louder and louder, the forests fairly reverberated with the +unearthly screams till, when one more than usually horrible burst upon +our ears, Mr. Green inquired with a composure, which seemed slightly +assumed: + +“What sort of an animal do you think it is that makes a noise like +that?” + +I had never heard anything so appalling in my life before, but was not +to be outdone by my associate in coolness, and replied in a hollow +mockery of jest: + +“That? Oh, that is a Limpkin. There can be no doubt of that.” + +To this reply Mr. Green made no direct response, though his face +intimated that jokes on some occasions were out of place. The unnatural +stillness of the country made these noises perhaps more ominous and +unearthly. There was not a breath of air to stir the trees, no ripple or +current to the stream which might have diverted our thoughts by its +musical babble, and deathlike silence hung over the land, except when +broken by the ringing screams. The night was getting darker and darker, +and at last we came reluctantly to the conclusion that we had better +stop, in order to prepare our camp and make sure that there were no +rattlesnakes while there was light enough to do so. + +“Let us go to the next turn,” said Seth, who had even a greater dislike +than the rest of us to spending the night in the woods. “If we do not +see any signs of an outlet there we may as well give it up.” + +“Agreed,” I replied, as I bent once more to the oars, “let us keep up +hope.” + +We proceeded, but with little expectation of any good results. What was +our surprise and joy then, on reaching the point, to behold the broad +waters of the lake spread out before us, and the Heartsease lying in +full view with her light up. The sight gave me such vigor that I rowed +the rest of the way, although Charley announced that he was rested and +wanted to take the oars. + +In spite of the beauty of the country, there is a sense of desolation +about the wilder parts of Florida. The great trees, covered with moss, +and many of them going to decay; the dull, sluggish rivers with slow +discolored current, the low lands never rising above a shell-mound of +twenty feet height, combine to produce a feeling of dreary solitude. +This was particularly noticeable on the journey to and from Florida, +through the endless swamps, marshes, and reedy islands, which border the +narrow inland passages, and was only occasionally broken by passing a +town, or one of the few country seats that are to be found on the +unhealthy shores. Nor do there seem to be many water fowl on the +Southern Atlantic Coast, until you pass to the south of St. Augustine +and reach the neighborhood of Indian River. In making the trip to and +from the St. John’s, we only saw, beside the ducks and English snipe the +bay-birds, of which I have spoken, and a number of the handsome and +imposing white herons. These stood in solemn grandeur on the shore of +some creek, and seemed too glorious to shoot. Occasionally, however, we +could not resist, and had to murder them for their loveliness. Then one +of us would hide himself among the reeds on the shore, while the other +would go to the extreme end of the line of stately creatures, and put +them up. They fly slowly along the edge of the water, and if the +sportsman is well hid, there is no difficulty in getting a shot at them. +They should never be killed, unless it is to set them up and preserve +them, as was done for us by the Doctor. + +In Lake George there were millions of mullets jumping continually out of +water, like dancing silver arrows, they would not take the fly, or +trolling spoon, and as we had all the fish we could use, we did not try +the net. We visited a splendid spring, called by a name which seems to +be given by common consent to most of the sulphur springs of Florida, +that of “silver.” It empties into the lake on the western side, about +half way down. A bank of snail shells, which must have been cast up by +the waves, marks the outlet. Many of them are in good + +[Illustration: WILD TURKEY TRAP] + +preservation, and quite pretty. Several sorts of fish were swimming +hither and thither in the spring, and the stream from it was filled with +a thin green moss, which the ladies converted into a becoming head +covering, and dubbed the “mermaid’s wig.” We saw some big turtles and +alligators and enjoyed a bath. + +It was not safe to take the yacht through the narrow and crooked river +above Lake George, if we were to limit ourselves in the remotest degree +to time, for none but free winds would move us either one way or the +other, so we had to leave our pleasant aquatic mansion and descend to +the humdrum of the little stern wheel steamers, which were continually +passing us, and throwing up fountains of water from their latter ends. +By the same means we explored the Ocklawaha, which falls into the St. +John’s further north. The vessels are adapted to winding round through +the circuitous bends of the streams, where the trees nearly meet +overhead. In order to see their way, the pilots have to build fires of +pine knots at night on the top of the pilot house, which gives a +peculiarly romantic and interesting appearance to the scene. On the way +we saw no end of alligators and forest birds, especially the famous +Limpkin, which laughed, yelled and jeered at us in the security of a +regulation which forbids the discharge of fire arms on board the boats. + +But we had to be getting back, if we were to complete our explorations +of the rest of Florida, so as soon as we could finish our steamboat +travel, we hurried down stream once more to Jacksonville. The run +outside to St. Augustine is not a long one, but this coast is more +dangerous than that further north. An easterly wind strikes it more +heavily, and the inlets are shoal. Especially is this the case in the +long run below Matanzas and Mosquito Inlets. In fact I cannot do better +than quote the words of a report on the inland navigation of that +section, kindly furnished me by Mr. J. E. Hilgard, the efficient +Superintendent of the United States Coast Survey, to whom I am under +many obligations for information and advice: + +“There is no inland passage from the St. John’s to St. Augustine. You +must cross St. John’s bar (with eight feet mean low water), but must +take a pilot, as the channel is constantly shifting and changing in +depth. On the whole, I would advise taking a smooth time at St. Mary’s +and going outside all the way to St. Augustine. There is excellent +anchorage off Old Fernandina (but a short distance from the bar); and +the whole run is but about fifty miles, and can be made in a few hours. + +“When off St. Augustine, a pilot will take you up to the town. There is +nine feet on the bar, but it constantly shifts. The famous ‘fresh water +springs’ in the ocean are situated eight miles S. by E half E. from the +‘entering buoy’ of this inlet. + +“Bound to the southward, Matanzas River carries you from St. Augustine +through a distance of nearly thirteen miles to Matanzas Inlet. The +channel is winding, but has deep water for a little over seven miles, +where there is a seven-feet bar. Below this, for nearly two miles, five +feet is the least water, in a crooked channel close under the eastern +bank. Thence are depths varying from nine to twenty feet until Matanzas +Inlet is reached. The route to the southward leads across this inlet +with seven feet at mean low water; and on entering the river again, on +the south side of the inlet, you will have but six feet. Matanzas River +heads in the midst of extensive marshes between five and six miles to +the southward of the inlet; and but two feet can be carried through. + +“Beyond this there is no navigation. Wishing to proceed still farther +southward, you must retrace your course to Matanzas Inlet, cross the bar +and skirt the Florida coast for about fifty miles to Mosquito Inlet. +Your pilot (for you must have obtained one at St. Augustine or you +cannot enter at all) will take you over the bar with about six feet at +mean low water--the mean rise and fall being two feet. Once in the inlet +you may go to the northward, through Halifax River to its head, twenty +miles above. While in the narrow passage, which extends from Mosquito +Inlet for over five miles to the northward, you will carry not less than +ten feet; but when the river expands you will find shoal water--the +depths varying from three to nine feet, except in occasional deep holes. +The channel is very narrow, and can only be followed by the stakes. The +small settlements of Port Orange and Daytona are situated on the western +bank of this river. Three feet at mean low water can be taken to its +head, but there is no lunar tide after you get above the influence of +the inlet--the rise and fall being governed solely by the winds. + +“Going southward from Mosquito Inlet you enter Hillsborough River; +which, through a winding course between fifteen and sixteen miles long, +brings you into Mosquito Lagoon, twelve miles to the southward of the +inlet. Two miles and a half up Hillsborough River is New Smyrna, a +pretty little settlement on the western bank among orange, fig and +banana trees. Nine feet may be taken to abreast of the village; not less +than five feet is found for five miles beyond New Smyrna; but above that +point no more than three feet can be carried through to Mosquito +Lagoon;--although there are deep holes with as much as three and a half +fathoms. The channel is narrow and very crooked. + +“Mosquito Lagoon is wide and shallow--its width ranging from one to two +and a half miles. It has a general course about S. E. by S., and is +between fifteen and sixteen miles long. A bar of three and a half feet +obstructs the entrance from Hillsborough River; but, that once crossed, +a good channel, with from five to ten feet takes you to within two miles +of its head. This terminates the inland navigation, unless the vessel be +able to pass through ‘Haul-over Canal.’ There is but a foot and a half +water in this canal. + +“Indian River may be entered from seaward by Indian River Inlet, which +cuts through the sandy strip of coast-line about one hundred miles to +the southward of Mosquito Inlet and sixty miles below Cape Canaveral. I +would not advise a small vessel to attempt to navigate this coast; as it +is very dangerous should the wind come to the eastward (which it often +does in this vicinity), and there is no shelter except the precarious +anchorage under Canaveral. The bar at Indian River inlet has seven feet +over it at low water, but shifts constantly in both depth and position, +and can only be crossed in the smoothest weather. Besides the bar there +is an ‘Inner Bulkhead’--so called, over which there is but four feet. It +is said by the natives, however, that by taking what is called the Blue +Hole Passage, five feet to five and a half may be taken safely into the +river.” + +The fishing at St. Augustine, which is a quaint old town, said to be the +oldest in America, and well worth a visit in itself, is better during +the winter months than any to be had north of it. Plenty of boatmen can +be hired who will pilot the stranger to the best spots. Around here the +foliage becomes still more tropical. The frost will occasionally +penetrate, and the most famous oranges are to be grown only still +further South, on the shell hammacks of the Indian and Banana Rivers, +where single trees bear as many as six thousand of these golden fruit +each. But we were actually tired of fishing, and looked on complacently +with the pitying superiority of accomplished success at the patient +anglers, trying their best to kill a few inoffensive finny creatures off +the bridge, across the St. Sebastian River, or bringing triumphantly +home in the native’s “dug out” the proceeds of a day’s hard work on the +bay. The Doctor was especially indifferent, and excited universal envy +when he told of the wondrous sport we had had during our two months of +recreation. While I do not for a moment intend to impugn his absolute +veracity, some of the adventures which he related had passed from my +memory or had grown since I heard them last. He would make no more +violent sporting effort than repeating these tales, and preferred to sit +on a chair upon the plaza, retailing them, with the encouragement of a +sour orange punch, or wander through the coquina built Fort Marion, +visit the old Cathedral, or roam the narrow streets. We laid in a supply +of native preserves, sketched the graceful date palm, and never ceased +wondering at the odd and extravagant beauty of the semi-equatorial +foliage and plants. There is interesting, although not very extensive +sailing in the harbor, and many varieties of bay snipe to be killed. A +yachting club, which will show every courtesy to brethren from the +North, has a boat house on the shore. + +The further one goes South the better the shooting and fishing become, +and I would advise any one, who feels as if it were impossible ever to +get enough of either, not to stop in the St. John’s, or short of St. +Augustine. There he can spend several weeks profitably, and should +thence go on South to Halifax River and New Smyrna, where he will think +nothing of catching a hundred sheepshead in a day, no tiny fellows +either, but weighing from six to ten pounds a piece, or half as many +channel bass of fifteen to twenty pounds each, together with as many +sharks thrown in as he has stomach or tackle for. By the way, I forgot +to mention that among our outfit was a couple of shark hooks and a line +of a hundred fathoms, as thick as the little finger, all of which did +good but rather brutal service. Back of New Smyrna, the woods are full +of venison and bear meat, turkeys, and other feathered game. The best +duck shooting is in the southern part of the lagoon or river, but the +bars and beaches everywhere are alive with bay snipe, herons, cranes, +pelicans, and a thousand smaller birds. + +But a truce to this everlasting repetition of sport, which was growing +monotonous even to Mr. Green’s insatiable sporting appetite, and turn to +something pleasanter. The royal lady of the house had resolved to give +us such a feast as we had not had before. The supplies laid in at St. +Augustine enabled her to carry out her idea, but the selection of the +day and date for the event was a mystery. I supposed it must have been +to celebrate my birthday, which, it is true, had come and gone six +months before; but as it had not yet been kept, needed commemoration as +badly as though it had never taken place at all. No matter what was the +moving inducement, the banquet was worthy of it. We men had been +smuggled out of the way while the preparations were being made, so that, +while we had a general idea of the drift of things, we had no +conception of the gorgeousness of the result. It was not a feast fit +for a king merely, but a sufficient banquet had all the gods been +invited. There were raw oysters, two kinds of fish, sheepshead boiled, +and channel bass baked, chicken soup, and turtle soup, from turtle +caught on the spot, roast wild turkey, and boiled mutton, scalloped +oysters, venison, and wild ducks, bay snipe, potato salad, peas, +tomatoes, beans, and baked sweet potatoes, while for dessert there was +such an array of goodies, that the room in my log book was in danger of +running short, and I could only record a few, such as fresh cake, +strawberries, spiced figs, and all the preserves and spiced fruits that +the table would hold, closing with cheese and coffee. The only wonder +was, that after such a dinner to which our appetites and our loyalty +both pressed us to do more than ample justice, any of the party +survived. If you have doubts of our state of minds and bodies, go on a +three months’ cruise and wind up with such a dinner and “you will know +how it is yourself.” + +Of all places on the eastern shore of Florida, the Indian and Banana +Rivers are the most delightful and interesting. Here, when you are once +inside the bar, which, as I have said, is a little perilous, there is +room and occupation for a winter. The salt water fishing is mainly near +the inlet, but in the tributary streams is an unlimited supply of the +fresh water varieties. The sailing is splendid, and the climate, except +for its warmth, delicious. By the time the reader peruses these pages, +it is probable that inland communication will have been opened with the +Indian River, either by the “Haul-over,” which in the year 1882 was only +twelve feet wide and one foot and a half deep, or from the St. John’s, +by the way of Lake Washington; and that there will be finished another +canal from Indian River to Lake Worth and Biscayne Bay, making a safe +and easy passage round the keys to the Gulf side. This was to have been +done when we were there, and if not yet finished, soon will be. + +Then if the sportsman is not yet satiated, or if he is suffering from +consumption, and wishes to regain his health, he can make the grandest +trip in the world, by either sending his yacht to Jacksonville, or to +Cedar Keys, or buying one there, and spending the entire winter in the +exploration of the southern part of Florida. As it is, the voyage from +the Indian River is not difficult or dangerous. Numerous keys or islands +make a shelter from the seas, and once on the Gulf side, the climate, +the country, the water, everything is delightful. Storms are rare, the +Gulf is generally smooth, harbors are numerous, and the shooting is +unsurpassed by any in the world. If the sportsman does not take his own +vessel, he can go by railroad directly to Cedar Keys, and thence take +what conveyance he prefers farther south. At Cedar Keys small sail +boats, suitable to those shallow waters, can be hired, as well as +guides, if they are needed. To enjoy a visit to Florida in its full +scope and meaning, and to make it an expedition never to be forgotten, +make up a pleasant party, hire a sailing vessel, and her master as +pilot, and coast along from Cedar Keys in water mostly not more than two +feet deep, between forests of primeval wildness, in company with +countless water-fowl and over unnumbered fish, taking toll from turkey, +bear, and alligator, as you go. Sail around the Gulf shore and Cape +Sable, and finally up the eastern shore of Florida, into the Indian +River. Remain there till your heart is glutted with sport, and your +palate with fruit, and thence return to the North by rail or boat. Such +a trip makes a date of delight in one’s life. + +On the Gulf side the most interesting spots are the rivers which flow +into the sea, the Caloosahatchee, Crystal and Hamosassa, all of them +full of fish and game. Alligators, the sport of killing which is indeed +more to be honored in the breach than in the observance, are so abundant +as to be almost troublesome. The only difficulty with Florida is that +the sport is excessive, and that any one except sporting gourmands will +get tired of it. Even Mr. Green, who, as I have said, is almost +insatiable, became surfeited, the Doctor and myself being long before +content. The voyager, whether by sea or land, must bring certain books +with him, such as will not so much help him pass the time, as assist him +in his researches. He will find a thousand things to amuse and occupy +his hours, but will need information which he can not obtain on the +ground. The vast and quaint variety of shells which he will pick up, the +new and curious birds and fish he will kill, but above all, the strange +mass of tropical flowers, plants, and trees, which he will meet at every +foot of the route, require to appreciate them not only all the books +which have been written specially on this portion of our country, but a +well selected assortment of popular botanical and conchological works, +and ichthyological also, if he is not up in that subject. + +There is no shooting and little fishing directly around Cedar Keys, +where the wayfarer doth very much abound, but some twenty miles south +Colonel Wingate keeps a sportsman’s hotel, and he can ensure the land +traveller a good time, without separation from his family for an +extended period. His place is at Gulf Hammock, and to reach it, the +sportsman leaves the cars at the station just short of Cedar Keys. From +his house parties are made up to explore the waters further south with +the aid of boats and guides. I mention his place because he is well +known to many of my Northern readers. + +I have spoken mostly of the coast shooting, because it was what we +mainly had in view in our trip, but it must not be imagined that it is +the only kind of sport to be had. We took no dogs, but meeting a party +of Northern sportsmen at Gainesville, we tried the quail. The sport was +magnificent, with a single drawback. There was no trouble in killing +seventy-five birds to three guns, and several times the bag exceeded a +hundred, once reaching a hundred and six; but the weather was so hot +that it did not seem like quail shooting, and the true exhilaration of +the sport, as we Northerners know it, was lost. Deer are plenty +everywhere, but to hunt them to any advantage, you must put yourself +under the guidance of the native hunters. We only tried it once, and +then could use but a small part of our venison on account of the heat of +the weather. Bears are occasionally shot; we did not see any, probably +because we were not looking for them, and if any one has the patience, +he can kill wild turkeys. Good water-fowl shooting is also to be had on +the uplands in any of the innumerable lakes which dot Florida from one +end to the other, if they are not too near civilization. A very capital +house was kept by a former employee of Delmonico, at a town called +Waldo, where inland sport of all kinds could be had in reasonable +amounts. It seems almost invidious to specify particular places, as so +far as I could judge, there was shooting and fishing everywhere off the +regular beaten track of tourists. + +“Doctor,” remarked Mr. Green with a quiet subdued intonation which long +practice enabled me to recognize as malice aforethought, “Do you know +what bird I prefer to eat?” + +“I should presume from your past actions,” replied the learned gentleman +thus addressed, “that of all the birds, which swim, fly, or have +feathers, you give a decided preference to broiled duck.” + +“Especially,” I interposed, in order to head off the coming attack if +possible, “provided that the duck is cooked over an open fire in the +cabin when the rest of the party are at breakfast.” + +“Broiled duck is good,” Mr. Green responded, uncrushed, “if +unreasonable people do not deprive it of its natural flavor by +complaining of the manner in which it is cooked. But there is a better +bird than even a wild duck.” + +“Yes,” said the doctor, “there’s the woodcock, but what is the use of +exciting our minds, and aggravating our palates by referring to +abstractions, which cannot be realized as there are no woodcock in +Florida?” + +“There is a good bird in Florida, the very one I refer to, and which +could be killed, if a person was allowed to stop on hour or two and not +be kept forever on the move like the wandering Jew,” persisted Mr. +Green, cocking back his chair on its hind legs, a favorite position of +his, although he had already reduced two of them to kindling wood by the +operation. + +“You don’t mean bay snipe!” exclaimed the doctor in a disgusted tone, +“we have had enough of them.” + +“He probably alludes to water-turkey,” I observed quietly, “he has +tasted every thing else.” + +“I don’t mean water-turkey either, although for all you can tell it may +be a good bird to eat. I mean turkey without the water.” With that he +brought the front legs of his chair to their natural position with a +thud that shook the deck. + +“Turkey,” shouted the doctor with enthusiasm, “just talk turkey to me, +tell me where and when and how. I would swim ashore, if there was a +chicken much more a turkey in sight, or the hut of a darkey, who might +have either to sell.” + +“Well then suppose we go ashore and kill one,” remarked Seth with quiet +complacency, as though such a feat were the simplest everyday occurrence +of life. + +That settled it. “Oh dear, I should so like a piece of turkey” came from +the cabin. “Yes, I am so tired of fish,” was the chorussed approval, and +although I felt assured that, strangers as we were to the country, and +without a guide accustomed to the work, there would be no chance of +success, I had to give in and come to anchor. + +Mr. Green got out his rifle, and the doctor his breech-loader, taking a +dozen cartridges loaded with buck-shot. Our head man Charley was to +accompany them, while I remained in charge of the yacht. None of us knew +by experience much of the habits of turkeys, and as it was still early +in the day it was determined to start at once, and return again on the +following morning if it should be deemed advisible. + +“Now,” said the doctor, “if we only had a turkey call, we would be sure +to succeed.” + +“Can you use the call?” I inquired. + +“Oh no,” he answered promptly, “but I dare say Mr. Green can.” + +Seth said nothing when I looked at him for a response, leaving me to +imply what I pleased as to his accomplishments. I had suddenly +remembered that I had one aboard among some old shooting traps which had +been thrown in together as a sort of refuse addition. Being perfectly +confident that neither of the turkey hunters could use the “strange +device,” it was with a malicious pleasure that I went below, and after a +short search found it. An odd-looking affair it was, which I had once +been able to use, but time had utterly obliterated the recollection of +the way to manage it. At one end was a piece of bone about four inches +long with a hole through it, and a larger mouthpiece of wood at the +other. Blowing through it had no effect whatever, as I had previously +found out, and the memory of the proper labial pucker had passed from my +mind and my lips. I handed it calmly to the doctor without a word. He +held it in his hand regarding it with puzzled uncertainty, evidently to +make up his mind, which end was to go in his mouth, till noticing the +knob on the smaller, he correctly concluded that that was the part to +blow through, and applied it to his lips. Then he blew, at first mildly, +producing no result other than a gentle hissing of air; he increased the +force, the hissing was louder, but that was all, no sound which by the +most vigorous imagination could be construed into the cluck of a gobbler +issued. He next tried to pucker up his lips like the trumpeter breathing +into his trumpet, but with worse effect if possible than before. +Dismayed at his futile efforts, he gazed critically into the end as +though some of the machinery must have been lost, but finding nothing to +encourage such a supposition, gave up the attempt and held it out to Mr. +Green, who had been watching the operation with interest. The latter +gentleman was not to be caught, and waving it indifferently aside said +with admirable assurance: + +“We won’t need that, turkeys are too plenty, all we shall have to do +will be to keep our eyes open to kill as many as we want.” + +In that happy state of confidence they departed. We were anchored some +little distance from the shore on account of the shallowness of the +water, but I thought I heard several shots and wondered what they had +found to fire at, as the probability of their killing a turkey was too +slight to be worth considering. Early in the afternoon they returned +with an air of curious self gratulation in their behavior, the manner of +persons who had done an act on which they plumed themselves, but which +would bear a good deal of concealment. This was noticeable even before +they had reached the yacht, and prepared me in a measure for what +followed--the production of a fine fat gobbler from the stem of the +boat. Charley handed it up to me with an air of deprecation quite in +contrast to the truculence with which Seth climbed on deck and +exclaimed: + +“There, what did I tell you, are you satisfied now? Where would the +supplies come from to keep us alive, except for me. You would have had +us down to hard tack and salt junk long ago, if it hadn’t been for the +fish and birds I have had to kill. Have you anything to say against +that?” + +I was examining the turkey critically. I had heard of turkey pens, and +suspected that this came from one of them, but did not see how to prove +the fact. Its head had been shot nearly off. + +“That is where the ball hit him, and I call it a pretty good shot at +twenty rods,” continued Mr. Green, referring to the wounded spot. + +“Was he as far off as that?” I inquired, as I handed him over to be +picked. I was not familiar enough with a trapped turkey to detect the +deceit if there was any, and Seth, seeing my inability, made the most of +it. + +“What is to be our reward for the hard work we have been doing? I tell +you it is no easy thing to stalk a turkey, and if any other of the party +had done as much, I wouldn’t grudge them the nicest sour orange punch +that could be made.” + +Turkeys are caught in parts of the country by a curious trap or pen, and +I had heard that such a pen was used in Florida. It is built of logs on +the four sides and over the top, a hole being left at one side just +large enough to allow the bird to enter in a stooping posture. Corn is +strewed on the ground leading to this hole, and scattered about so as to +attract attention, and the way the trap works is this: the turkey finds +the food and follows it, picking up grain after grain, keeping his head +bent down, and in that posture enters the pen without trouble. There he +remains without a suspicion of wrong till he has consumed all the corn. +After the food so kindly supplied is gone, he begins to think of moving +on, when to his surprise he discovers that man rarely does any factor +without expecting a return, no less in this case than the toothsome body +of the recipient. The turkey never stoops, even to save his life, he +looks upward and not downward, he will not bow his royal head to escape +by the road through which he entered. Becoming alarmed he springs up, +dashing himself against the logs, he thrusts his head between the +crevices and tries to fly through the roof by main force, but in vain, +the pen is too strong, and the only method of escape which is open he +will not condescend to take. + +The owner of such a pen does not visit it regularly, and the turkeys are +often shut up in it for days, frequently falling a prey to wild cats +that find them before their lawful proprietor comes to claim them. My +unholy suspicions were that the doctor, the Superintendent of the New +York Fishery Commission, and the captain of the yacht Heartsease had +accidentally found such a pen, and acted the part of the wild cat. For +although I could see nothing suspicious about the bird, it was strange +that persons who had stalked a wild turkey through a dense Southern +forest hardly seemed to be tired, and wished to sit up half the night to +smoke and talk. Still the bird proved to be delicious, and the entire +party were grateful for him whether honestly obtained or not, so little +does hunger weigh questions of morality. + +Two days after the turkey adventure, when we were sailing along before a +mild breeze, Mr. Green steering, the doctor smoking, and the rest of us +reading, Charley suddenly called out from forward where he was standing: + +“Look at that large bird flying over the woods to the west.” + +We all looked in the direction indicated, and saw an immense bird +moving grandly and steadily, with slowly beating wings and extended neck +and legs. + +“What an enormous creature,” exclaimed one of the ladies. + +“It must be a rock,” chimed in the other. + +“Here take the stick, while I get the glass,” saying which, Mr. Green +let go of the tiller, and plunged into the cabin to reappear with the +binocular, which he fixed on the wondrous bird. + +“What do you make out of him?” inquired the doctor, who had forgotten +his pipe in the excitement till it had gone out. + +“It is a crane,” replied Seth, “but the largest one ever I saw. +Charley,” he asked our captain, “did you ever see such a crane as that +before?” + +“No, I never did,” was the answer. “It must be something of the sort +however, from the way it flies and holds its legs.” + +“I wonder whether it can be the whooping crane?” I inquired, “I have +heard that they are occasionally seen on the coast, although supposed to +be more numerous in the interior.” + +“Oh can’t you shoot it, what feathers it must have for hats.” The origin +of this remark was obvious. + +“If you want feathers a yard long! Why it is nearly as large as an +ostrich.” + +“Well, don’t we use ostrich feathers? Oh do shoot it, I want some long +white feathers.” + +“It is a little too far off,” I replied. + +“How far?” was the persistent inquiry. + +“I should say about a mile.” + +“That is the way always,” was the disgusted response, “you pretend to be +great sportsmen, but you say every bird we meet is too far off. If I +knew how to shoot, I wouldn’t be making excuses all the time. If we ever +come to Florida again, I hope we will have somebody with us who can hit +his mark, and not pretend that every bird is too far off.” + +At this the fair speaker retired below just as the crane disappeared +over the distant trees. + +It was several days after this occurrence that we saw what we took to be +another whooping crane standing at the edge of the water, not far from +some bushes. He was quite white, and towered up against a back ground of +grass and sand-bar till his head seemed to come in line with the trees +beyond, and his body to be as tall as that of a man. The yacht was +slowly approaching him by the aid of a light breeze, and Mr. Green was +growing more excited the nearer we came. The crane stood motionless, not +alarmed at the bigger bird, which was gradually swooping down upon him, +and apparently quite tame. + +Mr. Green had redeemed his reputation with the rifle of late, my sarcasm +about the Limpkin, and some ironical allusions from the doctor had +improved his aim, so that we no longer smiled incredulously when he +brought out his rifle. In fact he was a splendid shot, as his +innumerable prizes taken at tournaments abundantly proved, but the +motion of the yacht had at first unsettled his aim. There was not more +than half a mile between us and the bird, + +[Illustration: GREEN TURTLE.] + +which seemed to loom up higher and higher as we approached. + +“Hadn’t we better make sure of him,” asked Seth anxiously, “we may never +have such another chance. You tell me these cranes are very scarce!” + +“Perhaps we had,” I answered, “what do you think we had better do?” + +“By all means,” interrupted the doctor, who was roused out of his usual +equanimity, “let us make every effort to kill him as a specimen. They +are exceedingly rare.” + +“If you lay to,” replied Seth, “and let Charley row me ashore, I will +get behind those bushes, and think I can crawl within range of him.” + +“If you are willing to take the trouble on the chances,” I answered. +“Do, Mr. Green,” begged the ladies both together, their hopes of such +feathers as had never yet graced bonnet quite carrying them into +enthusiasm. + +Seth did not consider the labor of crawling through the matted dense +undergrowth in the hot sun, nor the danger of snakes in the long grass, +all that he saw was the immense bird and all that he wanted was to kill +it. In a moment he and Charley were off in the boat, and pulling for the +shore. Heartsease was luffed up into the wind, and lay motionless on the +scarcely ruffled water, contrasting by its apparent indifference with +the eager excitement of the party on board. We watched the small boat +till it reached the bank, and was hastily concealed by Charley, while +Mr. Green disappeared immediately in the bushes. Then we could see +nothing further except the big bird, which had not been alarmed by the +preliminaries, and which there was now every probability would become +our prize. The ladies were in their hearts already priding themselves on +the loves of bonnets to which his gorgeous attire was to contribute, the +doctor had already dissected and stuffed him in imagination, and I was +wondering whether he was good to eat. We waited till our patience was +more than exhausted. Crawling through the tangled mass of a Southern +swamp is no easy matter, and we could do nothing but watch the imposing +bird standing there, unterrified, and as still as though he were a +graven image, instead of being a thing of beauty and vitality. + +Suddenly he gave a great leap into the air, and then fell upon the sand +in death throes which had almost ceased before the report of the +discharged rifle came booming over the water. In a moment the deceitful +calm of the previous moment passed away, we hauled aft our sheets, and +swinging round her head, got Heartsease under way. Charley shoved out +the dinkey which he had concealed in the bushes, and in another minute +Mr. Green pushed his way through the underbrush to the side of his +magnificent victim. When our boatman joined him, the two stood for some +time gazing at and handling the crane, while we waited impatiently for +their return. + +At last they threw the game, it seemed to us irreverently, into the +bottom of the dinkey, and pushed off. We awaited their approach with +eagerness, arising from the fact that none of us had ever seen the +American whooping crane, and were proud of being the participants in the +capture of one. The two fortunate sportsmen did not hurry themselves to +gratify our desires, but appeared exceedingly at their ease, and it was +not till they had nearly arrived that we discovered the cause of their +indifference by perceiving in the boat not a whooping crane at all, but +an ordinary white heron. The clearness of the atmosphere, the bright +rays of the sun, or the nature of the background had tended to mislead +us and had added immensely to the stature of the bird. The ladies +retired to the cabin hatless, so to speak, the doctor was for throwing +the deceiver overboard instead of skinning him, and to this day I am +uncertain as to the taste of the great American whooping crane. + +The Indian River is so shallow in places, that the direction on the +chart of Currituck Sound could be applied to it: “Only three feet of +water can be carried, and that with difficulty.” In other parts it is +deeper; it varies in width from one mile to three, and as a general rule +where it is narrow, it is deep, and where it is wide, it is shallow. +Although it approaches nearly to Mosquito Lagoon, it does not join the +latter unfortunately, and a canal has been cut called the Haul-over, of +which I have already spoken. In the Haul-over, which is only fourteen +feet wide, there is but one foot and a half of water, and for some +distance below not much more than two. There are many rivers emptying +into the Indian River on the west or shore side; these are generally +deep and full of fish, and well repay the explorer. The only inlets are +in the southern end, Jupiter Inlet at the lowest extremity, and Indian +River Inlet a short distance above. + +Banana River, which is rather a branch of Indian River than a distinct +stream, is in places broader and deeper; it connects with the main river +at its southern extremity, and by Banana Creek at the northerly end. The +creek of the name is both narrow and shallow, and can only be used by +small craft. There is most interesting yachting in the Halifax and +Hillsborough, north and south of New Smyrna, which is situated on the +Hillsborough, about three miles from Mosquito Inlet, as well as in +Mosquito Lagoon, which is reached through a narrow and tortuous channel +among innumerable islands from the Hillsborough. So also do the Indian +and Banana rivers furnish safe and delightful cruising grounds, with +plenty of harbors or shelter for even small open vessels, the only +danger being that of running on oyster shoals. + +A narrow strip of sand separates Indian River from the ocean, and the +yachtsman can occasionally, by climbing into the rigging, see the blue +waves of the Atlantic. On this bar the bay-birds often collect in large +flocks, and may be killed in numbers more than needed. They are of the +same kinds which have already been described, and are found in the +summer at the North. Bear are occasionally met with, and now and then a +wild-cat; deer are more plenty, but the sportsman will be fortunate if +he finds any of these unless he goes especially after them. + +A yacht-club has been established at New Smyrna, with headquarters in +Indian River, where the members expect to do a large part of their +yachting. An excellent choice was made at the first election of +officers, and its prospects for introducing the sport into the waters of +Florida are promising. The president is Mr. Herman Oelrichs, and the +vice president Mr. Girard Stuyvesant, both of New York. + +In extended yachting trips there is often trouble in getting fresh +water, a difficulty which is increased at the South, where the land is +low, and there are none of what at the North would be called springs; +the ice-cold jets of water bubbling from the ground. It is not generally +known that sand is so effectual a filter, that drinkable water can be +obtained by digging down into it almost anywhere. To take advantage of +this, and for many other purposes, it is advisable to carry a spade on +board. Water so obtained may be a little brackish, but by boiling it +will be made, if not quite palatable, at least healthy. Rain falling on +the deck is apt to take up portions of the paint, infinitesimally small, +perhaps, but sufficient to give an unpleasant and unhealthy taste. On +the western keys a bush with a peculiar rich leaf, easily +distinguishable by those who have once seen it, often grows where water +is to be found. + +It would be easy to go on recounting the attractions of Florida +indefinitely; there is always something more to say, a fresh point of +interest to speak of, additional beauties to describe, other and still +other reasons for visiting this strange and delightful country. There is +but one way in which even a slight appreciation of the charms of Florida +can be obtained; and that is, to go there as often and stay there as +long as possible. For health, for recreation, for sport, no place in the +world can be compared with it. A vast portion, that of the Everglades, +the “Grassy Water” of the native Seminoles, has never been explored, and +there are thousands of rivers, lakes, and ponds which have rarely been +disturbed by the presence of a white man, and which would amply reward +the adventurous spirit who would explore them. + +When we first arrived in Florida, the flowers, which its name promised +us, were not to be seen. Deceived by the temperature and a thermometer +that recorded rarely less than eighty degrees, we failed to recognize +the season of the year, or recall the truism that, as all nature must +have its spring, it must also have its winter. The climate and the +foliage were as summer-like as we had ever seen them. The grand orange +trees, with their brilliant shining green, flecked with spots of golden +yellow, were the most gorgeous sight that our eyes had ever beheld in +field or forest. The moss-covered forest evergreens, although turned +slightly brown, were still magnificent in their richness of foliage. +There were bare limbs here and there of deciduous trees, but their +nakedness was nearly covered by the unfading leaves of their neighbors. +The shrubs and undergrowth were as bright in hue, seemingly, to our +uneducated eyes as possible. But by the time we were leaving, even we +could notice a decided change. The green had put on a deeper verdancy, +the brown had disappeared, and suddenly there sprang into life a myriad +of flowers. The yellow jessamine covered the swamps and filled them with +a mass of perfume as well as an array of loveliness. Scarlet lobelias +thrust their bright heads boldly from the water-side, along with white +lilies and arrow-heads, and on the higher grounds hundreds of wild +flowers, many of which we could not name, charmed us with their beauty. +The magnificent magnolia was bursting into bud. As the orange trees were +being denuded of their ripe fruit, the tiny sweet smelling blossoms made +their appearance, till the branches bore at one and the same time, buds, +flowers, and green and ripe fruit. The inland lakes and ponds were +covered with pond lilies, which are called “bonnets” by the natives, and +made a delicious picture with the broad green leaves and the bright +yellow flowers. Language fails in describing the exquisite beauty of the +verdure of the country. We found Florida laden with fruit; we left it +covered with flowers. + + + + +CHAPTER III. + +CURRITUCK MARSHES. + + +Duck shooting has held its own better than any other kind of sport in +the States east of the Mississippi. Ruffed grouse have almost +disappeared, woodcock have grown scarcer and scarcer, English-snipe +visit us less abundantly, while the bay-birds have nearly ceased to be +in sections where they were once overwhelmingly abundant, but it is +possible still, on Lake Erie, along the coast, and at many inland places +to make a fair, if not, as often happens, an excellent bag, of ducks. +But the best place, one where the birds seem to exist in their original +abundance, and where magnificent shooting is still to be had, is on the +eastern shore of North-Carolina. Of this favored locality Currituck is +the most famous. So celebrated is this county that the entire marshes, +the duck-haunted lowlands, have been purchased, and to-day there is +absolutely no free shooting to be had. A stranger is as thoroughly +debarred as if he were in the most barren portion of our land. No one is +allowed to shoot from a battery unless he is a native, and to get a +chance to go out at all after the innumerable flocks of wild-fowl that +temptingly cover the water, the visitor must belong to one of the +numerous sporting clubs which have so wisely and assiduously secured all +the shooting grounds, and most of which are so particular that they +exclude invited guests. + +But if you are one of the favored shareholders you can have a glorious +time. Fifty ducks a day to each gun is no unusual average, and while a +hundred is a large bag, a hundred and fifty is nothing uncommon, and as +many as two hundred and fifty have been killed by a sportsman and his +gunner in a single day. Moreover the birds are of the best possible +kind; there are canvas-backs in the open water, red-heads in still +greater abundance, and broad-bills or blue-bills so plenty that they are +rarely shot at, while in the pond holes black-ducks, mallards, and +widgeons abound. These are all well-fed and fat, and such a thing as a +poor duck is unknown. The law wisely forbids shooting before sunrise or +after sunset, and the club members are wise enough to keep the law, +knowing as they do that one gun fired after sunset is more injurious +than a dozen during the day, so that the ducks do not seem to diminish +but rather to increase and multiply, and as fine a day’s sport has been +had by the members of the club during the past few years as at any time +in the history of the country. A result partly due to breech-loaders +perhaps, while from a battery it is nothing unusual to kill a hundred +brace of red-heads or canvas-backs, and some times twice as many. + +This favored spot is, as it ought to be, of no easy access. The +sportsmen must first go to Norfolk and thence take either the little +steamboat Cygnet, endeared to so many of us by the memory of pleasant +excursions in the past, or travel by a new railroad just finished which +passes twenty miles from the traveller’s destination, a place known from +the name of the enterprising widow lady who formerly owned it, as Van +Slyck’s Landing. By boat the entire day is spent in the journey, and by +rail it is not much shorter, but the boat arrives so late that it is not +always possible to make the trip across from the landing to the club +house the same night. Opposite Van Slyck’s are the two most famous and +successful sporting clubs in that section of the United States, the +Currituck and the Palmer’s Island clubs. They own or control immense +tracts of land, and below them to the southward the bay widens out so +that there is no chance to kill ducks to advantage. There are a few good +stands at Kitty Hawk Bay, thirty miles further south, and at the lower +end of Roanoke Island Raft ducks can be shot from batteries. Then again +along the eastern shore of Pamlico Sound, at Hatteras and Ocracoke +inlets and in the western part of Core Sound, to the south of Harker’s +Island, there is good duck, and in its season brant shooting, but these +places can only be reached by the fortunate sportsman who has his own +private conveyance. Therefore it may practically be said that the Palmer +Island marshes are the _ultima thule_ of duck shooting. + +As a general thing, there is attached to every sporting club some old +experienced gunner full of wild-fowl lore and quaint and curious +phrases, who is a mine of interesting information to him who will +explore the vein. Such a one belonged to the Palmer Island club, in the +person of William S. Foster, a resident of Long Island, who had followed +Shinnecock Bay for many years, knew the ways and habits of the birds as +well as if he were one of them, and was as fond of shooting as the most +inveterate sportsman. Honest to a farthing, faithful, anxious to give +the person he was with the best sport he could, he was ready to take any +amount of trouble, endure any labor for a good day among the ducks, the +members of the club looked on him, rather as a friend than a paid +employee. Many is the hour I have spent with him on the Currituck +marshes, many a day of splendid shooting have I had, many the big bag +have I made with his aid. One of his peculiarities was that he never was +in a hurry. No matter how thick the birds were, how easy it seemed to +choose a point, he would stand quietly in the bow of the boat with the +sea-glass in his hand scanning the movements of the flocks and +deliberately selecting the best place. I would often grow impatient and +fear he was losing valuable time, but the result rarely failed to +justify his judgment and vindicate his deliberation. + +The first and most important object, as he explained it under such +circumstances, was to so arrange the stools that the ducks would “come +right,” that is would approach without fear and would offer the +sportsman a fair shot. This is a matter of the greatest moment and is +not understood by men who consider themselves expert wild-fowlers. +First, there is the question of the wind to take note of, then the +position of the sun, next the cover, and last, but by no means least, +the nature of the species of ducks that are flying. It will not do to +string out the decoys dead to lee-ward of a point as is so often seen, +except perhaps when canvas-backs and red-heads are alone expected, +mallards, sprigtails, and especially the wary black-duck will never or +rarely approach a point. If a point, with the wind blowing directly off +from it has to be chosen, it is better to stretch the decoys around to +one side of it so that the wind “will catch the birds under the wing” as +he expressed it and swing them in farther than they expected. Points +projecting far out into the open water are the favorites of tyro +gunners, but they are especially unsuited for any of the marsh ducks, +the black-ducks, mallards, sprigtails, and even the widgeons, all of +which give a wide berth to such spots, especially after they have been +shot at a few times, and most of which prefer to alight close under the +lee of a bank, in the “slick” as it is called. + +There are two great divisions of ducks, the deep water, diving or raft +ducks, and the shoal water or marsh ducks, which reach down for their +food and can never feed in water more than two feet deep. The habits of +these two varieties are remarkably dissimilar. The open-water birds, +fearless of ambush, are less timid than their pond-loving brethren, who +dread an enemy in every tuft of grass or bunch of reeds, when +canvas-backs once make up their minds to come to the stools, they come +straight on regardless of deficiences in the gunner’s blind, and very +frequently pass completely over the stools. On the other hand, a +black-duck in approaching the stand is a model of caution, he is all +eyes and ears, the slightest movement by the sportsman, the least +evidence of danger will arouse his suspicions, and he will veer suddenly +off. Black-ducks and mallards rarely cross the stools to alight at the +head of them, but if they reach them at all, drop in at the lower end, +or more often stop short and alight at a distance just tantalizingly out +of shot, where they remain to lure off every fresh arrival unless they +are driven away. Their noses are especially keen, and care must be taken +to so arrange the stand that the wind will not carry the scent of the +gunner across the water to the lee-ward of the decoys, and the birds get +it before they reach them. If they come in contact with such a warning +they jump into the air as if they had been shot at, and flee with all +the speed that terror can lend to their usually vigorous wings. It is +desirable to set the stools under the lee of a bank of reeds or rushes, +for none of this class of ducks likes the open water, and the most +convenient plan is to place the stools to one side of the stand, +quartering as it were across the wind, so that even if the birds alight +before actually reaching them, they may be within gun-shot. + +The location of the stand is most important. I remember once when I was +shooting from what is known in the club as “Kidder’s Point,” that I was +particularly impressed with this fact. The day had been dull and rather +quiet, with but a few birds stirring all through the morning; a haze lay +upon the marshes, not dense enough to prevent the ducks flying if they +had been so minded, which they did not seem to be, the wind scarcely +stirred the reeds or rippled the surface of the bay, which was spread +out before me. I was making a poor bag and hardly expected to do better, +when about midday there came a change over the spirit of the earth and +air, the clouds began to condense, the wind commenced to blow, the air +became rapidly colder, a thin steak of gray faintly marked the sky in +the northwest, while in the south the clouds grew blacker and denser. +Then the rain fell in spits and flurries viciously. The atmosphere +intimated a decided change in the weather, which the ducks were the +first to recognize and regulate their proceedings by. Evidently a vast +mass of widgeons were bedded to the lee-ward of us. They commenced to +fly not in their individual capacity, but as the part of a great +movement, as if suddenly they had made up their minds all to go. In +whisps of threes, fours, tens, twenties, in large flocks, or solitary +and alone, they came heading towards me directly across the marsh and +visible for miles. Then it was that I learned that I was not in exactly +the right place, that the birds for some reason best known to themselves +did not care to cross that spot in their migration. Most of them, +especially the largest flocks, passed outside of me and just beyond the +range of my gun. I was in the wrong place, I knew it, but I had no time +to move, the ducks + +[Illustration: FLORIDA “CRACKER.”] + +were flying too fast and too many of them came within range as it was +for me to lose the time necessary for a change. The rain that was +falling, although not heavy, interfered, and would have wet our guns and +clothes which were pretty well protected so long as we remained still. +So we stayed where we were, and as it was the sport was splendid. The +entire mass of widgeons had determined to change their feeding grounds, +and that at once, there was no moment when some of them were not visible +in the air, they came from one quarter and flew in one direction. I had +learned to whistle for widgeon as well as a professional, and did my +best with the aid of William Foster to inveigle them within range. Very +often we were successful, and it was an afternoon of excitement. Not a +minute passed that we did not have the prospect of a shot, and although +the larger flocks mostly kept on their course outside of us, the smaller +whisps and the single ones came in freely. + +“Why is it that the birds seem to be all moving at once?” I asked of +William during the first moment of partial leisure that we had, “and why +are they all going in the same direction?” + +“It is a question of food with them,” he replied, “as is the case with +most other animals. Widgeon can only get their food by reaching down for +it, so they must keep where the water is not over their heads; that is +so that they can touch bottom with their bills by tipping up, as you +have often seen tame ducks do. Now in these shallow marshes a change of +wind means a change of depth of water, it is shallower to windward, the +water being piled up to lee-ward and the ducks, knowing this, fly +against the wind, all the shoal feeding birds do so. The canvas-backs, +red-heads, and broad-bills make little account of the wind.” + +“But,” I answered, “this wind cannot as yet have affected the depth of +water.” + +“No, but the birds know that it soon will, and they are getting ready +for to-morrow. There will probably be a greater change than we expect, +wild animals know much more about the weather than man can ever learn, +they have a sort of instinct that is given to them for their protection. +I have always observed that the ducks sought the windward side of the +marshes. If the wind is blowing from the south, I make it a rule to go +to the southward to choose a stand, if from the west I look through the +western marshes and so on. Of course I am not always right.” + +“No,” I interrupted him to remark, “but we have observed that the member +who goes out with you generally brings in the most birds, so the results +tend to demonstrate the theory.” + +“Well, I have studied these marshes as thoroughly as I could; there is +not a tree that I have not climbed, nor an island that I have not +explored.” + +“Can you see much from the trees when you do climb them?” I asked. + +“Yes. A little elevation will enable you to see over the entire marsh, +and many a pond hole have I found in that way that is not known to most +of the gunners, and not always to the natives.” + +“Keep still,” I remarked at this point of our conversation, “there comes +a magnificent flock of ducks, if they would only turn this way what a +shot they would give us.” + +We were silent except for whistling, which we did with the finest +touches and the utmost skill. The flock, spread out against the distant +sky in an angle-pointed line, was headed directly for our hiding place. +We had crouched down on their first appearance, and grasping our guns +and watched them, waiting with increasing impatience and anxiety. Nearer +and nearer they came, over the distant marsh undisturbed by any other +gunner, and unattracted by other decoys until they were directly in +front of us and not more than three hundred yards distant. It was a +moment of intense excitement, for if we could once get our four barrels +into those serried ranks, there was no telling how many we might not +kill. + +On they came still nearer, we whistled more softly and they answered +with undiminished confidence. Now they were over the meadow just beyond +our stools, a few minutes more of the same course and they would be in +our power. But alas, just as they struck the open water they deflected +their course a little, not much, but enough to carry them beyond fair +reach of our guns, so that when we fired we were only rewarded with +three birds that plunged from the flock headlong into the water. As they +were being retrieved by our four legged companion, William sagely +remarked: + +“I have observed that generally there is some misfortune connected with +what would make the finest shots, and that at such times something is +sure to go wrong; either the birds do not come in right, or a twig or +reed gets in front of you, the gun misses fire, or something else +happens, so that the best chances usually prove the worst.” + +“There is an awful deal in luck,” I replied, “after all is said, +Napoleon’s star was not an imaginary planet by any means. I never was a +lucky sportsman, and have had to earn my game by the sweat of my brow.” + +“Did you ever know a sportsman who would admit that he was lucky?” +inquired William, calmly. + +“I can’t say that I ever did; but if you will keep still and not fluster +me with unnecessary generalizations, I will kill that pair of widgeons +that are coming over the marsh, luck or no luck.” + +After uttering that boast, I had to make my words good, and though I +detected a twinkle in my companion’s eye, as if he would not mind should +I happen to miss just that once, I took care to aim straight, not the +sort of excessive care that invariably results in a miss, but the rapid +and confident deliberation that first holds the gun right and then pulls +it off when it is right, without waiting until it gets wrong. + +“Good,” said William, _sotto voce_, in his quiet way, as the two ducks, +doubled up by the full charge of shot came down splash into the mud, +close to our stand, “I have seen a good many misses when a man was most +sure of hitting; I hardly expected that you would kill them both so +neatly.” + +The sport kept up. It is useless to describe each individual shot that +we made. There is endless variety in every one that is fired, for no two +birds come to the decoys precisely alike. There are never the same +conditions of wind, sun, position, readiness, and what not, so that each +is more or less of a surprise. These the sportsman enjoys at the time, +they constitute the great charm of shooting; but they would tire in the +repetition in the cold blood of white paper and black ink. It is enough +that we had a magnificent day’s sport; “magnificent” is not +hyperbolical; we had sport that will be a memory through life, and until +the age-weakened arms can no longer wield the faithful fowling piece, +nor the time-dimmed eyes note the birds approach. Our store of game lay +in a pile uncounted; we knew there was a goodly number, and when at last +the tired sun had performed his allotted task and gone to bed, we were +not surprised to add up nearly a hundred of what is one of the finest of +all the ducks, the handsome little widgeon. Few of our gunners, even the +oldest of them, know that there was a time when the widgeon was valued +more highly than the canvas-back, when in fact in firing a sitting shot +the market gunner would “shew” the latter out of the way, in order that +he might have a better chance at the former. Had we been in exactly the +right spot, there is no doubt that I would then have reached the bag of +two hundred, which it has been the ambition of my life to attain. + +On another occasion I had the same misfortune, although from a different +cause. I was with Jesse that time, Jesse who, or Jesse what, I cannot +tell. So faithful and trustworthy a fellow must have another name, a +full name; but often as I have availed myself of his care in the marshes +of Currituck, I am ashamed to confess that I have forgotten it. Every +one calls him simply “Jesse,” out of kindly feeling no doubt, for a +better fellow never set out a stand of decoys; so as simply Jesse he +must go down to the immortality that this book will give him. He is +devoted to the pleasure of his employer, and never more delighted than +when the latter brings home a fine bag of birds; but he is not quite so +skillful as his older associate, William Foster. He had observed, when +out the day previous, that the birds had a favorite feeding place in a +little bay near what in club nomenclature is designated as “the +horse-shoe.” To this place we wended our way as soon as we could cross +the intervening three miles of distance. The bay was not large, and at +its mouth was contracted into two narrow points which were hardly a +hundred yards apart. I had never shot at this particular point, and +Jesse did not think of the effect of the sun when he made his selection. +One point was probably as favorable as the other, with that exception, +but the one he selected brought the birds directly between me and that +luminary when he shot his burning and blinding rays from mid-heaven. +The result was, that before the day was over, reeds and ducks and spots +swam before my eyes in prismatic hues. The heavens become alive with +them, mixed up with grasses and flowers, the gorgeous colors of +condensed sunlight. Scarlet ducks, golden ducks, fiery ducks floated +before my bewildered vision, interwoven with such flaming reeds and +rushes as were never seen by mortal eye before. To say that under the +circumstances I could not shoot with my accustomed skill, is +unnecessary; I could not help occasionally mistaking the flaming bird +for the natural one, and no doubt would have killed him, had he only +been real enough to kill. This was the second occasion when I might have +reached my stint of two hundred, if I had only been so fortunate as to +locate properly in the first place, or even had had the courage to +change when I found out that I was wrong. + +There are myriads of wild geese and swans in Currituck Sound and its +adjoining waters. The swans are hard to kill, and it rarely falls to the +fortune of any sportsman to bag more than two or three of these +beautiful birds in a season, but the geese are shot in immense numbers +on favorable days--“goosing days,” as they are called. Such days are +made by a southwesterly wind blowing hard enough to constitute a gale, +and the harder the better, which causes the water to rise and enables +the geese to reach the beaches where they go to sand. For this shooting +a “stand,” as it is called, of tamed wild geese are required. The +sportsman hides himself in a large, water-tight box, which has been sunk +in the sand at the spot which the birds frequent, and the “stand” of +living decoys are tethered in front by stout strings fastened to their +legs and pinned to the ground. The geese come to the stools in flocks, +and the slaughter at times is enormous, as many as two hundred being no +unusual bag, and that is often rounded out with forty or fifty ducks. It +is customary on such occasions to put a live swan or two with the geese +decoys, if the sportsman happens to be so fortunate as to possess them, +and I never shall forget seeing four swans come to a stand which was +located some distance from my own, but in full view from it. I have +always believed that birds could converse and had a language of their +own, and on this occasion my theory received confirmation strong as holy +writ. When I have sat listening hour after hour to the unceasing +conversational cacklings of geese, who appear to be the most talkative +of birds, I fancied that I could almost make out the words they uttered, +and which were certainly understood by the fowls themselves, as the +dullest observer would be convinced by their actions. Their expressions +of comfort, their mild observations about the weather may not have been +quite comprehensible, but their cries of alarm, their notes of warning, +no one could mistake. Ignorant hearers not versed in goose language, and +a very pretty tongue I have no doubt it is, may call it contemptuously +“gabble,” but so is the language of any foreigner “gabble” to those who +do not understand it. + +In the instance that I am about to mention with the swans, there could +be no difficulty in understanding every word. There were four of them, +the wise father, the inquisitive mother, and two pretty, innocent, +dove-colored cygnets. They were sailing along far up in the heavens, +away out of danger, when the attention of the young ones was attracted +to a nice, gentle old swan seated happily among a body of geese that +were evidently having a good time and abundant food. In all the +innocence of their uncorrupted hearts they uttered a shout of joy and +started to join him, the mother who was curious to understand the +meaning of so happy a combination, following eagerly behind them. In +vain the cautious father warned them to “go slow.” They would not stop +to listen or to heed. On they flew or swam after alighting on the water, +giving free expression to their feelings of pleasure. Louder and louder +grew the warning notes of the head of the house, who hung back and tried +to keep the others back, but his efforts were useless, the young were +guileless, and the foolish wife inquisitive. He was too devoted to leave +his family, although the danger into which they were running was +apparent to him. Soon his worst fears were realized. He was out of +gunshot, but his wife and children were within the fatal reach of the +deadly gun. Several loud reports followed one another, and all was over. +In an instant he was childless and wifeless. The two cygnets were killed +dead, but the mother was able to fly a hundred yards, and it was pitiful +to see him go to her, braving all danger, and to hear his cries of +lamentation. He could not save her, however, and when the boat +approached with a gunner to complete the deadly work, the poor old swan +had to leave her. Still he kept circling round for some time and filling +the air with his bitter lamentations. + +In wild fowl shooting it is essential to learn the various calls of the +different species of ducks and of the geese and swans. These it is +impossible to reproduce on paper, and about all that can be said is that +the raft ducks make various modifications of the word “pritt,” if it can +be called a word; that the widgeons whistle, the geese honk, and the +mallards and black-ducks quack. Jesse had a curious way of calling the +shoal-water ducks by uttering in rapid succession the word “Kek-kekkek, +kek-kek-kek-kek;” and he seemed to attract them as well as the patent +duck-call which I had purchased in the gun store for a dollar. For +black-ducks, however, I prefer the manufactured duck-call, and in going +out for them, I cannot too strongly impress upon the reader the +necessity for the utmost caution and the most careful hiding. When +shooting at some small pond hole in the middle of the marshes, it is +better to only use one or two decoys and to be covered entirely, except +for a single opening in front, just large enough to fire through, +overlooking the stools. A single tamed wild duck for this kind of sport +is worth all the wooden decoys in the world, and his quack is better +than Jesse’s “kek” or my “squawk.” Some gunners can set up the birds +they have killed so as to be almost as natural as the living bird, and +to deceive even the elect, but it is not an easy knack to acquire. +Usually such imitation stools look so fearfully and abnormally dead, +that they would drive any duck, with the fear of ghosts before his mind, +out of the country. It is only the most experienced gunner that can take +such liberties with the dead. + +At the North, where the winters are colder than they are at Currituck, +it is customary to shoot in the ice. No waters that ducks frequent are +ever entirely frozen over; there are always what are called “breathing +holes,” where the gunner can place his stools, and which the ducks +frequent for food. He dresses himself in white linen over his other +clothes, so as to be as near the color of the ice as possible, and he +uses a light skiff provided with iron runners underneath. This he shoves +rapidly over the ice without much labor, carrying his dozen or so of +stools aboard, and using an iron-pointed pole to propel himself with. He +has his oars stowed under the narrow deck, so that he can row across +open water, and is safe in case his skiff should break through the ice. +When he has reached the open hole that he has selected, he throws out +his stools and cuts a place in the ice at the edge of the hole, to hide +himself and his boat, piling the cakes that he takes out alongside of +him, to further assist in hiding him. The decoys he uses are black-ducks +and whistlers, which will stool to one another indiscriminately. He must +then lie down on his back in the skiff, and no matter how cold he may +be, he must not move or stir. Though his blood chills and the marrow of +his bones freezes, he must bear it, for there is no telling at what +instant the birds may dart down upon him from the heavens, as they have +a way of doing without giving the sportsman the least warning. Shooting +in the ice has sent many a healthy man to a consumptive’s grave. + +In closing this article, let me give a final bit of wisdom in the words +of William Foster. It is well known to every wild-fowler, but his way of +putting it covers in a few words the whole ground: “Remember, that as a +general rule, the shoal-water ducks go with the shoal-water ducks, and +the diving ducks go with the diving ducks, so they will pretty well +stool in the same way. Each prefers his own kind a little the best, I +think, but not enough to make a decided difference, provided the stools +are of the same class. Widgeon like widgeon, and canvas-backs will only +stool to canvas-backs or red-heads, but broad-bills will come to +canvas-back stools almost as well as they will come to broad-bill +stools. Black-ducks prefer black-duck stools, but sprigtails and +mallards will come to black-duck stools nearly as readily as they will +to their own. Don’t, however, use canvas-back stools for black-ducks, +nor, above all, black-duck stools for canvas-backs.” + + + + + PART II. + + GAME WATER BIRDS. + + + + +CHAPTER I. + +GAME AND ITS PROTECTION. + + +By the ancient law of 1 and 2 William IV., chap. 32, under the +designation of game, were included “hares, pheasants, partridges, +grouse, heath or moor game, black game, and bustards.” + +Hunting and hawking date back to the earliest days of knight-errantry, +when parties of cavaliers and ladies fair, mounted on their mettlesome +steeds caparisoned with all the skill of the cunning artificers of those +days, pursued certain birds of the air with the falcon, and followed the +royal stag through the well preserved and extensive forests with packs +of hounds. The term game, therefore, had an early significance and +positive application, but was confined to the creatures pursued in one +or the other of these two modes. + +The gun was first used for the shooting of feathered game in the early +part of the eighteenth century; it soon became the favorite implement of +the sportsman, and was brought into use, not only against the birds, +but the beasts, of game. The huntsman no longer depends upon his brave +dog and cloth-yard shaft, but upon his own powers of endurance and of +marksmanship. Instead of watching the savage falcon strike his prey far +up in the heavens, he follows his high-bred setters, till their +wonderful natural instinct betrays to him the presence of the game. + +Where he once rode after the yelping pack, sounding the merry notes of +his bugle horn, he now climbs and crawls laboriously, until he brings +the wary stag within range of the deadly rifle. No more brilliant +parties of lovely dames and gallant men, chatting merrily on the +incidents of the day, ride gaily decked steeds; no more the luxury of +the beautiful faces and pleasant companionship of the gentler sex is to +be enjoyed; the ladies of modern times--except in England, where they +occasionally follow foxes, which are rather vermin than game--preferring +the excitement of ball-room flirtations to outdoor sports and pleasures, +take no part in the pursuits of the chase. + +Together with the change in the mode of capturing game, comes a +necessity for a change in its former restricted meaning. Who would think +of not including among game birds, the gamest of them all--the +magnificent woodcock; nor the stylish English snipe, nor even possibly +the brave little quail--unless he can be scientifically proved to be a +partridge--which is at least doubtful! Migratory birds were not included +in the sacred list, and the quail in England, as the woodcock and snipe +of both England and America, are migratory, although the mere temporary +character of their residence does not, in our view, at all alter the +nature of their claims. The larger European woodcock is by no means so +delicious or highly flavored a bird as our yellow-breasted, round-eyed +beauty, and is much scarcer; while the foreign quail, on the other hand, +is smaller than ours, and in southern Europe is found in vast flocks; +but both are entitled to high rank among modern sportsmen. + +The term Game Birds, therefore, should be, and has been by general +consent, greatly extended in its application, and applied to all the +numerous species which, whether migratory or not, are killed not alone +for the market, but for sport; and which are followed on the stubble +fields, in brown November, with the strong-limbed and keen-nosed setter, +or shot from blind in scorching August; slain from battery in freezing +December, or chased in a boat, or misled by decoys. All wild birds that +furnish sport as well as profit are therefore game; and the gentle +dowitchers along our sea-coast, lured to the deceitful stools, are as +much entitled to the name as the stately ruffed grouse of our wild +woods, or the royal turkey of the far west. + +To constitute a legitimate object of true sport, the bird must be +habitually shot on the wing, and the greater the skill required in its +capture, the higher its rank. The turkey, therefore, although frequently +killed on the wing, is more a game bird by sufferance than by right, and +partly from his gastronomic as well as from his other qualities. Under +this classification, then, we must include, not merely the ruffed and +pinnated grouse, which, although the only species in our country coming +within the ancient definition, furnish far less sport than many other +varieties, but woodcock, snipe, quail, geese, ducks, bay birds, plover, +and rail; without regard to the fact that all, except the quail, are +migratory, and most were unknown to our British ancestry. It has been +even supposed that the quail, in parts of our country free from deep +rivers and impassable barriers, are also in a measure migratory; but +this has no other foundation than their habit of wandering from place to +place in search of food, and collecting late in the season, as they will +do where they are numerous and undisturbed in large packs. + +To the protection of this vast variety of game it is the sportsman’s +duty to address himself, in spite of the opposition of the market-man +and restaurateur, the mean-spirited poaching of the pot-hunter, and the +lukewarmness of the farmer. The latter can be enlisted in the cause; he +has indirectly the objects of the sportsman at heart; and with proper +enlightenment will assist, not merely to preserve his fields from +ruthless injury, but to save from destruction his friends the +song-birds. + +As the true sportsman turns his attention only to legitimate sport, +destroying those birds that are but little if at all useful to the +farmer; and as at the same time, out of gratitude for the kindness with +which the latter generally receives him, he is careful never to invade +the high grass or the ripening grain--so also, from his innate love of +nature, and of everything that makes nature more beautiful, he spares +and defends the warblers of the woods and the innocent worm-devourers +that stand guardian over the trees and crops. The smaller birds destroy +immense numbers of worms; cedar-birds have been known to eat hundreds of +caterpillars, and in this city have cleared the public squares in a +morning’s visit of the disgusting measuring-worms, that were hanging by +thousands pendent from the branches. And who has not heard the +“woodpecker tapping” all day long in pursuit of his prey? + +With the barbarous and senseless destruction of our small birds, the +ravages of the worms have augmented, until we hear from all the +densely-settled portions of the country loud complaints of their +attacks. Peach-trees perish; cherries are no longer the beautiful fruit +they once were; apples are disfigured, and plums have almost ceased to +exist. Worms appear upon every vegetable thing; the borers dig their way +beneath the bark of the trunk and cut long alleys through the wood; +weevils pierce the grain and eat out its pith; the leaf-eaters of +various sorts punch out the delicate membrane by individual effort; or +collecting in bodies, throw their nets, like a spider-web, over the +branches, and by combined attacks deliberately devour every leaf. While +these species are at work openly and in full sight, others are at the +roots digging and destroying and multiplying; until the tree that at +first gave evidence of hardiness and promise of long utility to man, +pauses in its growth, becomes delicate, fades, and finally dies. + +The destruction of these vermicular pests is a question of life or death +to the farmer. He may attempt it either with his own labor, by tarring +his trees, fastening obstructions on the trunks, or by killing +individuals; or he may have it done for him, free of expense, by +innumerable flocks of the denizens of the air. The increase of worms +must be stopped; the means of doing so is a question of serious public +concern, and none have yet been invented so effectual as the natural +course--the restoration of the equipoise of nature. It is true that the +robin, as we call him, now and then steals a cherry, and has been blamed +as though he were nothing more than a cherry-thief; but surely we can +spare him a little fruit for his dessert, when we remember that his meal +has been composed mainly of the deadly enemies of that very fruit! +Swallows are accused of breeding lice, which, if true, would not be a +serious charge, considering that their nests are generally in the +loftiest and least accessible corner they can find; but when we consider +how many millions of noxious flies and poisonous mosquitoes they +destroy, how they hover over the swamps and meadows for this especial +purpose, and how much annoyance their labors save to human kind, we owe +them gratitude instead of abuse. + +Every tribe of birds has its allotted part to play; and if destroyed, +not only will its pleasant songs and bright feathers, gleaming amid the +green leaves, be missed, but some species of bug or insect, some +disgusting caterpillar or injurious fly, will escape well merited +destruction, and increasingly visit upon man the punishment of his +cruelty and folly. + +The beautiful blue-birds, the numerous woodpeckers, the tiny wrens, the +graceful swallows and noisy martins, are sacred to the sportsman, and +constitute one great division of the creatures that he desires to +protect. It is true that enthusiastic foreigners, with cast-iron guns, +are seen peering into trees and lurking through the woods, proud of a +dirty bag half filled with robins, thrushes, and woodpeckers; but let no +ignorant reader confound such persons with sportsmen. Their satisfaction +in slaying one beautiful little warbler, as full of melody as it is bare +of meat, with a deadly charge of No. 4 shot; or in chasing from tree to +tree the agile red squirrel, who, with bushy tail erect, leaps from one +limb to another, emulating the very birds themselves with his agility, +is as unsportsmanlike as to kill a cheeping quail, that, struggling from +the thick weeds in September before the pointer’s nose, with feeble +wings, skirts the low brush; or to murder the brooding woodcock, that +flutters up before the dog in June, and, with holy maternal instinct, +endeavours to lead the pursuer from her infant brood. + +From such acts the veritable sportsman turns with horror; they are +cruelty--the slaughter of what is useless for food, or what, by its +death, will produce misery to others; and no persons in the community +have done more to repress this wantonness of destruction than the +Sportsmen’s Clubs. It was at their request that the killing of +song-birds was prohibited altogether; and they are the most earnest to +restrict the times of lawful sport to such periods as will not, by any +possibility, permit its being followed during the season of incubation. + +Not alone by obtaining the passage of appropriate laws and their +vigorous enforcement, have these clubs effected a great reform; but by +their personal example and social influence, often, too, at considerable +loss to themselves. For while the poacher, taking the chance of a legal +conviction as an accident of business, and but a slight reduction of his +unlawful profits, anticipates the appointed time, true sportsmen, +restrained by a feeling of honor and self-respect, although they know +that the birds are being killed daily in defiance of the statute, wait +till the lawful day arrives, and thus often, especially in woodcock +shooting, sacrifice their entire season’s sport for a principle. + +This honorable spirit, if encouraged and extended, is the best +protection for song-birds and game that can be had. The laws are only +necessary to deter those who are dead to honor and decency, and to fix +the proper times--which ought to be uniform throughout our entire +country. But to enforce them requires the assistance of public opinion. +Every encouragement should be given to sportsmen’s associations. The +absurd prejudice that has originated from confounding them with a very +different class of the community should be overcome, and their efforts +to have good laws passed, and to make them effectual, should be +sustained. The vulgar idea, that confounds laws for the protection of +the wild creatures of wood, meadow, lake, and stream, with the monstrous +game-laws of olden time--that made killing a hare more criminal than +killing a man--should be corrected. + +In this country, where every man is expected to be a sort of +volunteer-policeman, all should unite in enforcing the laws; and then, +in spite of the irrepressible obstinacy of the German enthusiast, and +the mean cunning of the sneaking poacher, our cities would soon be rid +of the disgusting worms that make their trees hideous, our farms +protected from the devastations of the curculio, the weevil, the borer, +and the army-worm; the country would once more be populated with its +native feathered game, and our fields would resound with the glad songs +of the little birds that there build their homes. + +So long as the ignorant of our _nouveaux riches_, imagining themselves +to be epicures, will pay for unseasonable game an extravagant price, so +long will unscrupulous market-men purchase, and loafing, disreputable, +tavern-haunting poachers shoot or otherwise kill their prey. It must be +made a disgrace, and if necessary punished as a crime, for any modern +Lucullus to insult his guests by presenting to them game out of season; +and eating-house keepers should not only be taught--by persistent +espionage, if necessary--that illegal profits will not equal legal +punishments; but their customers should also discourage, by withdrawing +their patronage, conduct that is so injurious to the public interests. +Woodcock would not be shot in spring, nor quail in summer, unless the +demand for them were sufficiently great to pay both the expense of +capture and the danger of exposure; and, with a diminution of +purchasers, will be an increased diminution of the number of birds +improperly killed. + +Birds and fish, except in their proper seasons, are always tasteless, +and often unhealthy food. A setting quail or a spawning trout is +absolutely unfit to eat, and to do without them is no sacrifice; but for +the sportsman to restrain his ardor as the close-time draws towards an +end, and when others less scrupulous are filling their bags daily, or +when in the wilder sections of country there is no one to complain or +object, requires the heroism of self-denial. Nevertheless, the effect of +example should not be forgotten, and the duty of the true sportsman is +clear and unmistakable: he must abide by the law; or, where there is no +law, must govern himself by analogous rules. + +In the wilderness, it is true, where birds are abundant to excess, he +may without blame supply his pot with cheeping grouse or wood-duck +flappers, if he can offer hunger as an excuse; but not even there, +unless driven by extremity, can he slay the parent of a brood that will +starve without parental care. In the settled regions, no matter how +great the provocation, the true sportsman will never forget the +chivalric motto, _noblesse oblige_. + +The close-times of the present statutes are not altogether correct; and +in so extensive a locality as the United States, where diverse interests +are to be considered, it is nearly impracticable to make the laws +perfect. For instance, where quail are abundant, as in the South, there +is no objection to killing them during the entire month of January; but, +as at that period they are often lean and tough, and have to contend, in +the Northern States, against dangers of the elements and rapacious +vermin, with not too favorable a chance for life--it is undesirable, +where they are in the least scarce, to continue the pursuit after +December. + +If it were possible to make a uniform law for the entire Union, and to +enforce it everywhere, English snipe and ducks should not be killed at +all during the spring. The latter at the time of their flight northward +are poor and fishy; but if they can be slain in New Jersey, it is hardly +worth while to protect them in New York. For every duck or snipe that +passes towards the hatching-grounds of British America in the early part +of the year, four or five return in the fall and winter. Could proper +protection, therefore, be enforced, the sport in the latter season would +be four times as great as in the former. + +As matters stand, however, the seasons for killing game birds should be: +For woodcock, from July fourth to December thirty-first; for ruffed and +pinnated grouse, from September first--and quail from November +first--to the same period, both days inclusive; for wood-duck from +August first till they migrate southward. It is desirable to fix upon +anniversaries or days that are easily remembered. Woodcock are often +young and weak in early summer, and the three days gained between the +first and the fourth of July are quite an advantage. Although the first +brood of quail may be fully grown in October, a vast number of the birds +are too small, and the brush is too dense and thick before the first of +the ensuing month; whereas it is simply monstrous to slay pinnated +grouse, put up by the panting, overheated pointer from the high grass of +the western prairie, in the month of August, ere they can half fly. But +the migratory birds of the coast--the waterfowl and snipe, the waders +and plovers--may continue to be shot when they can be found, till their +rapidly diminishing numbers shall compel a more sensible and considerate +treatment. + +The bay-snipe lead the advancing army of the game birds that have sought +the cool and secluded marshes of Hudson’s Bay and the Northern Ocean to +raise their young, and are hastening south from approaching cold and +darkness to more congenial climes. Next come the beautiful wood-duck, +and, almost simultaneously, the English snipe; then the swift but +diminutive teal; after him the broad-bill or the blue-bill of the west; +and then a host of other ducks, till the hardy canvas-backs and geese +bring up the rear. From July, when the yellow-legs and dowitchers +abound; throughout August, in which month the larger bay-birds are +continuously streaming by; during September, when the English snipe are +on the meadows and the wood-ducks in the lily-pad marshes of the +fresh-water lakes; in October, when the teal and blue-bills are abundant +in the great west; all through the fall and into winter, when the geese +and canvas-backs arrive, the bayman finds his sport in perfection. + +Many of the upland birds are disappearing; the quail is being killed +with merciless energy, and his loved haunts of dense brush are cleared +away from year to year; the woodcock can hardly rest in peace long +enough to rear her young, and finds many of her favorite secluded spots +drained by the enterprising farmer; the ruffed grouse disappears with +the receding forest, and the prairie chicken with the cultivation of the +open land. But although innumerable ducks, snipe, and plovers are killed +every season, and by unjustifiable measures are driven from certain +localities, their vast flights throughout the whole country--amounting +to myriads in the west--are apparently as innumerable as ever. + +From the first of August to the last of December they stretch athwart +the sky from the Atlantic to the Pacific; and although in localities +they may appear scarce, still constitute countless hosts. Were it +possible to stand on some peak of the Rocky Mountains, and take in at a +glance the vast stretch of heavens from ocean to ocean, with the moving +myriads of migratory flocks, the mind would be astonished; and it would +seem impossible ever to reduce their numbers. This is to a certain +degree true; for so long as the lagoons of the South shall remain +undisturbed, and the shores of the bays and rivers unoccupied to any +great extent, this abundance of the migratory birds will continue. + +But who can tell how long this will last? The methods of destruction are +being perfected, the number of destroyers is increasing, until now the +reverberation of the fowling piece accompanies the water-fowl from the +rocky shores of Maine to the sandy coasts of North Carolina with the +unceasing roar of threatened death. Twenty years ago, and “batteries,” +as they are called, the sunken floats which are the most fatal ambushes +of the gunner, were almost unknown south of Havre de Grace; now they are +so abundant throughout the waters of North Carolina that the migratory +bird is never out of ear-shot of them during his entire journey. + +It would be better for the permanence of wild-fowl shooting never to use +batteries where fair sport can be obtained from points or blinds. Ducks, +geese, and, above all, swans have great faith in the sharpness of their +eyes and the acuteness of their noses. Dangers that they can see they +are rather tempted to scorn. They learn to shun points where man may +conceal his murderous propensities, and are not to be inveigled by the +apparent security of the deceitful likenesses of themselves which are +innocently nestling near by. They seek the safety of the open water, +and feed in the narrow bays and marsh-encompassed ponds during moonlight +nights, if they belong to the tribes that are compelled to gain their +living by grubbing at the bottom, with heads down and tails up. And no +matter how they are harried in certain places, they feel safe in others +close at hand. But the battery, sunken to a level with the water and +hidden by the stand of decoys around it, placed on their favorite +feeding grounds and in the broad bosom of the open bays, is too much for +their courage or sagacity. To see a man, a merciless and murderous +mortal, arise in all his horrid aspect from the depths of the sea, from +the middle of a body of their fellows, is a terror that custom never +stales. After a few such experiences, they lose faith in themselves, +and, if possible, take flight to safer and more propitious realms. + +To those who are accustomed to it, there is no more delightful method of +shooting than from a battery, but a novice will find much trouble in +becoming accustomed to the confined position and the awkwardness of +motion. I remember, years ago, hearing Mr. Dominy, who then kept the +famous sporting hostelry at Fire Island, say that if he was to shoot on +a wager for his life, he would prefer to shoot from a battery rather +than in any other way. To one not used to the narrow box and constrained +position, lying on one’s back does not seem to be the most cheerful +manner of killing any species of game. There is everything in habit, and +certainly the exhilaration of watching the approach of the birds as +they come nearer and nearer, and grow larger and larger, from mere +specks on the horizon to the size of broad-bills, canvas-backs, or +perhaps brant or geese, is hardly to be surpassed by any kind of sport. +In most of the Southern waters the destructive nature of these machines +is so well recognized, that non-residents are not permitted to use them, +and the natives keep this method of wild-fowling to themselves. + +The shooter lies on his back in this modified coffin, and whenever a +flock approaches he rises to a sitting posture and fires. He cannot +leave his floating home, and is unable to retrieve his ducks without the +aid of an assistant. There have been many accidents arising from +carelessness or inexperience, not merely in the use of the machine +itself, but from the fault of the tender; and so many guns have blown +holes in the bottom of the box, that it is the habit of the gunners on +the south side of Long Island always to warn green hands, and instruct +them how to rest and hold their guns. In two instances within my own +knowledge, the sailing boat that accompanies the shooter, and serves as +his tender and protector, was unable to return to him. In one case it +was driven to leeward, and could not work back to windward, and in the +other it went aground on a falling tide just before dark, when the +thermometer ranged but little above zero. In both cases the sportsmen +were saved, but in both the hand of death grazed them closely. + +Night shooting is a still more deleterious practice. Wild fowl must be +allowed to rest at night; indeed, the same might be said of most other +animals, including the human family. If they are not, they will +inevitably wend their way elsewhere. The discharge of one shot at night, +with its accompaniment of flame, and its noise reverberating more +horribly in the still and silent hours, will do more to frighten away +the marsh ducks than any amount of daylight shooting. As the night +begins to fall, the fowl begin to seek the marshes. They rise from the +open water where they have been resting, perhaps without being able to +feed at all, and move towards the shore, coming on in a steady unbroken +flight, until they have all found nesting and feeding grounds in the +shoal water. Drive them from such places in the night, and there will be +no shooting during the day. + +The use of pivot-guns is another reprehensible practice that has been so +earnestly condemned, even among market-gunners, that it has been in a +great measure abandoned. Still, however, in some quiet bay of one of the +great lakes of the West, where there is no one to observe the iniquity, +or of a moonlight night on the Chesapeake, the poaching murderer, +sculling his boat down upon an unsuspicious flock crowded together and +feeding or asleep, will discharge a pound or two of coarse shot from his +diminutive cannon; and wounding hundreds, will kill scores of ducks at +the one fatal discharge. The noise, however, reverberating over land and +water, scatters the tidings of the guilty act far and wide; and often +brings upon the criminal detection and punishment. To avoid this the +pivot-shooter will sometimes, as soon as he has fired, throw his gun +overboard with a buoy attached to it, and if pursued, pretend he has +used nothing but his small fowling-piece. The practice of +pivot-shooting, however, has almost ceased, never having been +extensively adopted; and has nothing whatever sportsmanlike about it, +being a mixture of cruelty and theft. + +Another mode of pursuing ducks, which is at the same time attractive, +exciting, and injurious, is by the use of a sail-boat. Not only is there +the excitement of the pursuit, the rushing down wind with bellying sail +and hissing water--the crested waves parting at the prow and lengthening +out behind in two long lines of foam--but there is the free motion and +the pleasant breeze to stimulate the sportsman. This is really a +delightful sport, combining the excitement of shooting with the +exhilaration of sailing; but as it disturbs the flocks upon their +feeding-grounds, as it gives them no rest during the noontide hours, +when it appears that ducks--like all other sensible people--love to +indulge in a quiet nap, it eventually drives them away; and not only +makes them shy of the locality, but injures the sport of the +point-shooter, who depends upon their regular flights for his success. +It is not often very remunerative, but is uncommonly attractive, and is +only condemned with great reluctance on proof of its injurious results. + +But while sailing for ducks is wisely forbidden by the laws of New York +and of most of the older States, that prohibition should not be +stretched beyond the true meaning and intent of the statute. Coots, the +big black sea coot of the coast and his congeners, not the little mud +coot or blue peter of the fresh waters, may be ducks from a scientific +point of view, but they were never intended to be included in the +prohibition. These dusky gentlemen are wonderful divers, they swim under +water almost as readily and rapidly as they fly above it, and seek their +food at the bottom. They do not so much live on fish, in fact I have +never noticed fish in their stomachs, although some authorities say that +they feed on them, but they devour incredible numbers of small clams and +oysters. They are not content to take the full grown bivalve, two or +three of which would make a solid meal even for a voracious coot, but +they invariably select the tiny fellows just starting in life, and of +whom it takes a great many to furnish forth a breakfast or dinner. There +is little sport in shooting these tough fellows, and no sport except in +killing them from a sailboat when underway. + +In this chapter on the obligations that man owes to his feathered +friends, his naturalized assistants must not be forgotten. The imported +sparrow, though small in himself, has done a great work for our country, +and still more for our cities. We all know that gratitude is a fleeting +sentiment, and looks rather to things hoped for than to those which +have already been conferred, and it is somewhat the fashion to decry the +bustling busy immigrant from abroad; but those who remember the +condition of our streets and parks, hung full with disgusting measuring +worms pendent from every tree and branch, till to pass through them was +an annoyance, will not wholly forget our debt to the English sparrow. He +has been, wrongfully I think, accused of driving away our native birds, +but before we condemn him it will have to be shown, not only that he has +done so, but in addition that he has driven away birds more useful than +himself. + +It is but a few years since he was first brought among us, and already +have the caterpillars so thoroughly disappeared, that one is rarely seen +in our streets, and the trees are allowed to bear their foliage in +peace, instead of being reduced to bare boughs, as was their invariable +fate in old times. The sparrow has been accused, and has been compelled +to plead guilty of the crime of not eating the hairy as well as the +smooth-skinned caterpillar, but it ought to be urged in mitigation, +before he is condemned to condign punishment, that his adversaries do +not do so either, while they are guilty of the further crime of not even +eating the smooth-skinned kinds. + + + + +CHAPTER II. + +GUNNERY--MUZZLE-LOADERS AND BREECH-LOADERS. + + +To the young sportsman, armed with the finest of implements, and +trusting much to them for his success, it is a matter of mortification +and surprise how well a bad gun will shoot in good hands; nevertheless, +no true sportsman ever lived but, if he were able by any self-denial to +scrape the means together, would purchase a valuable and necessarily +expensive fowling-piece. Not only is a well made and handsomely finished +gun safer and lighter than a cheap affair manufactured for the wholesale +trade; not only does it ordinarily carry closer and recoil less; but it +needs fewer repairs, lasts infinitely longer, and is always a matter of +pride and delight to its owner. + +Many guns of inferior workmanship throw shot as strongly as those turned +out by the best makers--although this is not the fact in general--but +greater weight has to be given to insure tolerable safety, and the +locks, if not the barrels, are sure to give out in a few years; whereas +the high-priced article will be as perfect at the end of a dozen +years--which have accustomed its owner to its easy, rapid, and effective +management--as it was in the beginning, and will endure until failing +sight, wasting disease, or accumulating years, shall compel its +transfer into younger hands. + +Unless a man has continual practice, or is an excellent shot, it is a +serious undertaking to change his gun and accustom himself to another, +which, although apparently identical in weight and shape, will +inevitably differ in some slight point that will be sufficient to +destroy, for a time, accuracy in aim and prompt execution in cover. Some +persons require months to acquire the effective use of a new gun under +difficult circumstances; and in those dense thickets where so much of +our shooting is done, and where it is by instinct founded upon long +habit that the sportsman is enabled at all to kill his game, and where +he cannot indulge in the deliberate care that more open shooting +allows--this deficiency will be most painfully apparent. For such +persons to purchase a new piece, is equivalent to throwing away the +sport of an entire summer or fall, and when we consider that few of us +can expect to average more than forty summers or falls, the loss of +one-fortieth part of life’s enjoyment is no trivial deprivation. + +A very cheap gun is dangerous; but it is not expected that any person +reading these lines will trust his life with an instrument that common +sense tells him is manufactured to kill at both ends. A gun of moderate +price, that is, from forty to fifty dollars, is as safe as the most +expensive--the iron is not so tough, but more of it is used; but in a +short time the barrels will wear away; the locks, losing their original +quick spring and sharp click, will become dull and weak, till they will +scarcely discharge the cap; and the stock, warping with the weather, +will exhibit yawning fissures between itself and the iron lock-plates or +false breech. + +In lightness, however, is the great superiority of the highly wrought +implement; and in hard tramping through a dense swamp of a hot July day, +or deep wading in a soft snipe-meadow, or in a wearisome trudge over +hill and dale after November quail, a pound will make itself felt in the +additional weight of the fowling-piece, and not only so, but a light gun +can be handled more readily. In open shooting, especially for the wild +fowl of our bays and coasts, mere weight is a positive advantage; but in +the tangled thickets, where birds flash out of sight like gleams of +party-colored light, and the instantaneous use of the piece can alone +secure success, a light gun is an absolute necessity. + +Moreover, on certain occasions, when the barrels are exposed to an +extraordinary strain, when the piece built for light charges and upland +shooting is used temporarily upon the larger game of the coasts or +woods, and the two and a half drachms of powder and ounce of fine shot +are replaced by a dozen buck-shot, or an ounce and a half of No. 3 +driven by five drachms of powder--then it is pleasant to feel that the +iron is of the utmost possible tenacity and the workmanship in every way +faultless. + +A learned dissertation on the science of gunnery is neither appropriate +to the occasion nor possible to the author, and would probably prove as +little entertaining as instructive to the reader. The majority of +purchasers cannot form an exact opinion relative to the merits of a gun +prepared with the utmost skill and ingenuity to deceive them, and must +rely mainly on the word of the seller or reputation of the maker. There +is something, to be sure, in the smooth working of the locks, and still +more in the perfect fitting of the stock; but after all, even to the +experienced sportsman, there is little difference in appearance between +the Shamdamn and the purest laminated steel. + +American importers have a peculiarly moral and respectable habit of +vending German guns stamped with the names of English makers, and pacify +their consciences with the idea that the manufactures of Germany are not +inferior to those of England; but they would give more satisfaction to +the public and more ease to their consciences by proving this in open +contest, and establishing the reputation of the German makers, than by +appropriating the names and reputations that good work has made famous. +So far is this deception carried, that some houses even order from the +Belgian manufacturers a certain number, nominally, of each of the +leading gun-makers. It may be that there is little real difference, +although on the continental guns you sometimes pay for useless ornament, +money that should have been expended where it would tell, on locks and +barrels; but the mode of proceeding is certainly not creditable. + +In a highly finished article the locks usually work with a smooth +oiliness that can be distinguished with a little practice, and are +fitted with great accuracy into the stock, so that projections of wood +will be left standing not thicker than a piece of blotting-paper. The +barrels will be without flaw or indentation, and if looked through with +the breech removed, will exhibit a perfect ring of light flowing up +evenly, as they are raised or lowered. The mountings will be faultless, +and the cuts in all the screw-heads will point in the same direction; +the screws will work easily and yet perfectly, and the triggers and +trigger-plate, which are invariably neglected in a poor gun, will be +admirably finished and fitted. Examine all these particulars, but +especially the last, and you can form some judgment whether the piece +comes from a good maker or a spurious imitator. + +The greatest attention, however, in the selection of a gun should be +paid to the form of the stock and the pull of the triggers; if the +former is unsuited to the shape of the purchaser, or the latter are +stiff or dissimilar, the consequence will be utter failure that no +amount of practice will remedy. If the purchaser’s arms and neck are +long, the stock may be long and crooked; but if the contrary is the +case, the stock must be short and straight. + +If possible, the person intending to use a gun should select it for +himself; and if it does not “come up right” the first time he brings it +to his eye, he should refuse it positively. He must not allow himself +to be persuaded to try it again and again; for after one or two trials +he will instinctively adapt his eye to its construction, and will +imagine the gun suits him--an impression that the rapid flight of the +first quail he endeavors to cover will dissipate. The triggers should +give back at a weight of four or five pounds; the hammers of a +muzzle-loader at ten or twelve, and of a breech-loader at twelve or +fourteen. For the former, the best cone is what is called the inverted, +where the bore is larger at the top and receives the entire flame from +the cap. + +The shape of the breech for the muzzle-loader formerly gave rise to much +learned disquisition and many plausible theories; but, in all +probability, had no influence on the shooting, which is due mainly to +the form and quality of the barrels. Joe Manton founded his fame on the +idea that the lines of force, if reflected from a hollow cup, like rays +of light from a reflector, would be directed parallel to one another and +lengthwise of the barrel; but later experiments have tended to destroy +this theory. The simple fact appears to be, that powder exerts just so +much force, and, as it cannot escape sideways, it must go out at the end +of the barrel; and that the shape of the breech, except so far as it may +affect the rapidity of ignition, has no influence whatever. + +These questions, however, are being effectually disposed of by the march +of events and the general diffusion of breech-loaders; to the latter, as +they are not universally known or appreciated in our country--to which, +by its nature and its game, they are peculiarly adapted--the writer’s +remarks will be mainly confined. Feeling entirely convinced, even from a +short experience, of their superiority in most particulars, and their +equality in all, he regards the consequence as inevitable that they will +utterly supersede the old-fashioned fowling-piece; the few defects that +were originally alleged to exist in them having been either removed or +remedied, and the supply of ammunition for them in this country having +become sufficient. They have won their way slowly into public favor +against the interested opposition of gun-makers on one hand, and the +ignorance and superstitious dread of change of gun-users on the other. + +They are a French invention of forty years’ standing, and proved their +superiority long ago; but prejudice was too strong for them, as it has +been for many another good thing. Their merits, nevertheless, slowly +conquered opposition, convinced the intelligent, and confounded the +obstinate; till at last in England--the very hot-bed of prejudice and +the favorite abiding-place of antiquated ideas--there are now sold fifty +breech-loaders to one muzzle-loader. As they are not universally used +with us, the description of them will have to be somewhat minute, and +would be better understood if the reader would take the trouble to +examine one for himself. + +The best and most generally adopted of the various kinds is the +_Lefaucheux_, or some slight modification of it; and to that the +attention will be principally directed. In this gun the breech, which +in the muzzle-loader screws into the barrel, is omitted, and the +barrels are open at both ends; they are fastened to the stock by a pin +and joint a few inches beyond the guard. When free, the muzzle hangs +down, and the breech end presents itself several inches above the stock, +so that the cartridge can be readily inserted; when the barrels are +pressed back into their place for firing, they are caught by a bolt that +can be opened or closed by a lever lying along the under part of the +stock, between the guard and the joint. The false breech is flat, solid, +and heavy, and completes the barrels, taking the place and performing +the duty of the breech in the muzzle-loader. The hammers have a flat +surface on the striking end, and the locks are back-actioned, to avoid +interfering with the other mechanism. + +The pin cartridge is made of paper, shaped like a short section of the +barrel, with a brass capsule on one end and open at the other; it is two +or three inches long, and has a pad of thick paper beneath the capsule. +In this pad a hole is punched on the inside and the percussion-cap is +inserted, with a brass pin resting in it and projecting above the +capsule on the outside. The percussion-cap is entirely within the +cartridge-case, and the brass pin passes through a hole drilled in one +side of the capsule, just large enough to admit it and exclude moisture +entirely. A blow on the projecting end of the pin drives the other end +into the cap, and discharges the latter. The cartridge-case is prepared +already capped, and is sold in England for from thirty to fifty +shillings the thousand; it may be recapped by an instrument made for the +purpose with a peculiar cap, and may be used, on an average, three +times. + +The cartridge must be loaded as the gun would be, only by the use of a +short ramrod or a special loading implement; the powder is poured in, a +wad placed above it, and the shot and another wad follow. The cartridge +may then be trimmed down and the end bent over, so as to retain the load +securely, if it is to be carried for a considerable distance; but where +the shooting is from a boat or stand, the case should be left untrimmed +and of full length. A chamber is cut away in the lower part of the +barrel, which corresponds exactly with the cartridge-case, so that the +latter fits perfectly in it; but, if there is an interval between the +end of the cartridge and the shoulder in the barrel, no injury to the +charge or the shooting appears to result. A small notch is cut in the +upper edge of the barrel to contain the brass pin, and allow it to +project so as to receive the blow from the hammer. + +When the bolt is withdrawn and the barrels are allowed to fall so as to +bring the open breech fairly into view, the loaded cartridge is +inserted, the barrels are sprung back to their place with a sharp snap +that sends them home at once, and are ready to be discharged. To allow +the cartridge to be inserted, the hammers must be drawn to half or full +cock; and when the trigger is pulled, they fall upon the pin, which +penetrates the cap and fires the load. The entire mechanism is so simple +that it can hardly become deranged, and will last as long as the +barrels. The greatest care is necessary in making the chamber that +receives the cartridge of a proper shape, for if this is faulty the +cartridges are apt to stick after explosion. + +There is no decided improvement on the original Lefaucheux model, except +in the modification of the machinery, and a convenient method of +separating the barrels from the stock; and no other innovation of a like +character need be particularly described. The needle-gun, which is made +on a somewhat similar principle, is more curious than valuable, being +both dangerous and complicated, and possesses no advantages over the +other pattern. In it the cartridge has a percussion-cap so disposed at +its base that it is penetrated by a needle, which is projected by a +spring through a hole in the lower end of the cartridge; but the +composition of the cartridge, and the manner of its insertion, are +altogether different from the same in the Lefaucheux gun. + +According to the arrangement of some English guns, on a plan invented by +Jeffries, the lever, instead of closing forward, lies under the +trigger-guard, when the barrels are closed; and provision is made for +tightening the bolt, in case it wears loose by long usage. This +invention permits of the use of forward-action locks, and the easy +separation of the barrels from the stock, and has come into vogue in +England; it is undoubtedly convenient in both these particulars, and has +as yet developed no corresponding drawbacks. + +Personally, the writer has always preferred British to French or Belgian +guns, although chance has compelled him to own as many of the latter as +the former. The English gun is made for work; even when cheaply +manufactured, it will be found effective where efficiency is necessary; +and it is far more beautiful to the eye of a true sportsman, with its +plain blued lock-plates, and total deficiency of ornament, than the +Continental weapon, covered with engraving and ornamentation, but +defective in some of those minutiæ that lend nothing to its beauty, but +add much to its usefulness. This is particularly the case with +breech-loaders, which, if not manufactured carefully, are almost +useless, and which, although originally invented in France, are at this +day produced in more serviceable style--unless where the highest-priced +article is obtained--in England than in the country of their origin. +Great discredit was brought upon breech-loaders among us at their first +introduction, in consequence of the importation of inferior articles, +and they still labor under the disadvantages of that failure, although +rapidly overcoming all objections. + +There are a few implements that are necessary to the use of a +breech-loader, which are much simpler than they at first appear. To load +the cartridge is required either a short ramrod and a machine for +turning over the edges of the case upon the wad, to retain it in its +place, or an apparatus, also invented by Jeffries, that combines all the +requisites for loading, and by the aid of which a hundred cartridges +can be loaded in an hour. As the case can be used several times, and the +cap, which is of a peculiar size, has to be placed in its exact position +to receive the pin, a capper invented for the purpose is employed, by +which the cap is inserted, and the pin pressed into it without the least +difficulty; a pair of tweezers are used to withdraw the pin after a +discharge, in order to free the old cap and make room for the new, and a +large gimlet will be found useful for extracting any discharged caps +that may happen to stick. + +A cleaning-apparatus is also occasionally used, consisting of a brush at +one end of a string and a small weight at the other; the weight is +dropped through the open barrel and the brush drawn after it; but, as +the gun may be fired ten times as often as a muzzle-loader without +fouling, a plain rag and cleaning-rod will answer. Cartridge-cases, of +course, cannot be obtained like powder and shot at every country store, +and to obviate the danger of finding oneself, after extraordinary +good-luck with a gun, without the means of firing it, it is well to +carry a couple of brass cases, which can be used with a common French +cap, and reloaded indefinitely almost as quickly as a muzzle-loader. + +The sportsman, by the aid of these implements and a couple of scoops +with handles for powder and shot, recaps the cartridges which have been +discharged, loads them as he would a gun, only much more rapidly, and +lays them aside for future use. In the field, he carries them in a +leather case, or, which is the preferable plan, in a belt round the +waist, or in his pockets, being able to store in the pockets of his vest +alone at least twenty. The English sportsmen carry them loose in the +pockets of their shooting-coats; but a belt is convenient and +commodious, holding from thirty to fifty, and distributes the weight +pleasantly. Where the shooting is to be done from a boat or stand, of +course they will be kept in an ammunition-box, without having their +edges turned over, as there will be nothing to loosen the wads. + +The reader may naturally suppose that there is risk in carrying a number +of loaded cartridges about the person; but in this he is entirely +mistaken. In the first place, the difficulty of discharging a cartridge, +except in the gun, is surprising; no pressure will explode the cap, and +no ordinary blow, unless the cartridge is retained in a fixed position; +and if one falls, the weight of the shot compels it inevitably to fall +on the end: but in case these difficulties are overcome, the result is +merely the discharge of a large fire-cracker. + +The writer instituted a number of experiments, and having succeeded, +after many trials, in setting off the cartridge, found that the powder +burst the paper, but failed to drive the wad out of the case. This was +tried with cartridges in all positions, horizontal and perpendicular, +but produced invariably the same result, with unimportant modifications; +and it was further ascertained that the fire from one would not +communicate to another. So that, if a cartridge does explode +accidentally, it may scorch the clothes or even burn the person +slightly, but can inflict no serious injury. These remarks, however, do +not apply to the brass cartridge-cases, which must be handled more +carefully. The common paper-cases may therefore be carried with perfect +impunity, and transported, if carefully packed, without risk. + +A more curious idea--for the dread of danger from the loaded cartridge +is natural--prevailed at one time, that the barrels were weakened +because they were open behind, instead of being closed by the +breech-screw; as if a cylinder would be rendered more cohesive by +screwing another piece of metal into one end. In fact, if the +breech-screw has any effect whatever upon the strength of the gun, its +presence is probably an injury. The charge, it will be observed, presses +against the shot on one side and the false breech on the other, and +would not be retained any more securely by the addition of a +breech-screw, which tends to separate instead of closing the barrel. So, +also, it must be borne in mind there is no strain worth mentioning on +the hinge-bolt, and no danger of the barrels blowing away with the +charge; while the disposal of the metal at the false breech, and the +omission of the ramrod, tends to make the gun light at the muzzle--a +great advantage in snap-shooting. + +There is absolutely no escape of gas at the break-off; none can escape +unless the brass capsule, which closes the joint hermetically, can be +driven out, and this is a sheer impossibility. The gas cannot penetrate +the paper of the cartridge, and if it bursts the latter, still cannot +escape except through the brass; and although the least perceptible +amount may come out alongside of the pin, it is scarcely traceable, and +nothing like what is lost at the percussion-cap in the common gun. These +cartridges are wonderfully close, as the reader may conclude when he is +informed that a loaded breech-loader, left entirely under water for +fifteen minutes, was discharged as promptly as though it had never been +wet; while a muzzle-loader, that had not been half so long exposed, +would not go at all, and required an hour’s cleaning. In fact, the +breech-loader is entirely impervious to any ordinary wetting, will not +fail in the worst rain, and the average number of miss-fires, in well +made cartridges, is one in a thousand. + +In the handling of this gun there is one peculiarity: the pins rise from +the middle of the cartridge, and not at one side, like the ordinary +cones, thus bringing the hammers closer together. To the beginner this +may appear awkward, but is no real disadvantage. It would seem also +desirable to use more powder with a breech-loader, although this is not +necessary to so great an extent as it was formerly; but, on the other +hand, the weight at the breech appears either to diminish the recoil or +reduce its effects on the shooter; as the testimony of persons using +breech-loaders is unanimous that the recoil is less perceptible than +with muzzle-loaders, although the scales have refused to verify their +impression. + +One immense advantage of the breech-loader is its safety in loading, +especially in a confined position, as on a boat or in a battery. +Whereas, in the muzzle-loader, immediately after the discharge, while +the smoke is still pouring from the barrel, and while the fire may be +smouldering invisible below, the sportsman deliberately pours in a fresh +charge of powder, holding his hand and the entire flask over the muzzle, +endangering his life, and incurring injury far more frequently than most +persons suppose; with the breech-loader, the barrels are opened and fall +into such a position that no discharge can take place, and never point +towards the person of their owner. + +Several of the writer’s friends have been maimed for life by the +premature discharge of a load in the muzzle-loader from a spark +remaining in the barrel; the risk connected with it has always seemed +very great; and even with the patent flasks, which are hardly practical +inventions, more or less unavoidable. This danger is entirely obviated +by the breech-loader, which cannot go off until the barrels are restored +to position after the charges are inserted; cannot leave hidden sparks +to imperil the owner’s life or limb; never expose the hand over the +loaded barrel, that may have been left at half-cock, if the sportsman is +liable to thoughtlessness or over-excitement; and which can be loaded +without difficulty in the most confined position. So, not only do we +have rapidity, but entire safety in loading. + +[Illustration: GATES OF ST. AUGUSTINE, FLORIDA.] + +The objections, however, urged against breech-loaders have not been few, +and, if well founded, forbid the use of the gun; if, as has been said, +the target is not so good, nor the shot sent with as much force, the +requisites of a first-class sporting implement are wanting. These +charges, freely advanced, have been sustained in a measure by the +wretched performance of poor guns, but were early been brought to the +only true test--actual experience, under equal conditions; and by this +test have been so utterly annihilated that their discussion is only +necessary on account of popular ignorance of the experiments. When +breech-loaders first came prominently before the English public, their +supposed merits and demerits were discussed in the sporting papers in an +animated and violent manner; and in order to settle the questions at +issue, the editor of the London _Field_ determined to have an open +trial, where the breech-loaders and muzzle-loaders could be fairly +matched against one another. The contests took place in 1858 and 1859, +and being carefully conducted, settled the dispute for the time being, +and, even before the latest improvements, established more fully the +superiority of the breech-loader. The best guns and gun-makers of +England were represented; and in spite of occasional variation and +accidental luck--as in the pattern of the first muzzle-loader--the +prejudices against the modern arm were so entirely dissipated that the +old-fashioned guns are at present rarely sold. + +Since that trial considerable advance has been made in the minutiæ of +the manufacture; and now it is the general impression of those +acquainted with the arm, that the breech-loader, with a slight +additional increase of powder, shoots both stronger and closer than its +rival. In the pigeon-matches, with scarcely an exception, held both in +this country, of late years, as well as in Great Britain, where it is to +be supposed that the best implements the country could furnish would be +used, and where some of the shooting was done at thirty yards, the +favorite and most successful weapons have been breech-loaders. With all +allowance for the quality of the marksman, the quality of the gun that +wins a match at English “blue-rocks” must unquestionably be good; and +this, the universal experience of those matter-of-fact John Bulls, who +test everything by success, has entirely confirmed. + +A trial of guns was made in 1859, and the results were published in +tabular form in _The Shot-Gun and Sporting Rifle_, by Stonehenge, p. +304. The targets were made of double bag-cap paper, 90 lbs. to the ream, +circular, thirty inches in diameter, with a centre of twelve inches +square, and were nailed against a smooth surface of deal boards. The +centres were composed of forty thicknesses for forty yards, and twenty +for sixty yards, and weighed eighteen and nine ounces respectively, with +such slight variation as will always occur in brown paper. The powder +was Laurence’s No. 2, the shot No. 6, containing 290 pellets to the +ounce, and the charges were weighed in every instance. + + + TABLES OF THE FIELD TRIAL. + +--------------+----+-------+------+-------+------+> + | | | | | | + | |Length |Weight|Charge |Charge| + | | of | of | of | of | +Kind of Gun. |Bore|Barrel.| Gun. |Powder.|Shot. | +--------------+----+-------+------+-------+------+> + | | | lb. | | | + | | in. | oz. | drs. | oz. | +--------------+----+-------+------+-------+------+> +Muzzle-loader | 12 | 30 | 6.11 | 2-3/4 |1-1/4 | + | | | | | | + " | 12 | 30 | 7.6 | 2-3/4 |1-1/4 | + " | 12 | 29-1/2| 6.8 | 2-3/4 |1-1/4 | +Breech-loader | 12 | 30 | 7.8 | 3 |1-1/4 | + " | 12 | 30 | 7.2 | 3 |1-1/4 | + " | 12 | 30 | 7.0 | 3 |1-1/4 | +Muzzle-loader | 13 | 30 | 7.0 | 2-3/4 |1-1/4 | +Breech-loader | 13 | 29 | 6.10 | 3 |1-1/8 | +Muzzle-loader | 13 | 28 | 6.14 | 2-3/4 |1-1/8 | + | | | | | | + " | 12 | 29-1/2| 6.10 | 2-1/2 |1-3/16| +Breech-loader | 16 | 30 | 7.4 | 3 |1-1/4 | + " | 16 | 28 | 7.4 | 2-3/4 |1 | + " | 13 | 28-1/2| 7.4 | 3 |1-1/3 | + " | 12 | 31 | 7.8 | 3 |1-1/3 | + " | 12 | 30 | 7.4 | 3 |1-1/4 | + " | 13 | 28 | 5.4 | 3 |1 | + " | 14 | 29-1/2| 7.8 | 3 |1-1/3 | + | | | | | | +Averages | | | | | | +--------------+----+-------+------+-------+------+> + +--------------+---------------------+-----------+> + | | | + | | No. of | + | No. of Marks on | Sheets | +Kind of Gun. | Face of Targets. | pierced. | +--------------+---------------------+-----------+> + | | | | + |at 40 yds.|at 60 yds.| at 40 yds.| +--------------+-----+---------------+-----+-----+> +Muzzle-loader | 158 | 118| 68 | 60 | 28 | 33 | + | | | | | | | + " | 148 | 98| 52 | 65 | 28 | 22 | + " | 116 | 129| 46 | 40 | 25 | 28 | +Breech-loader | 144 | 90| 32 | 58 | 28 | 30 | + " | 103 | 93| 60 | 62 | 24 | 31 | + " | 132 | 93| 55 | 38 | 26 | 33 | +Muzzle-loader | 117 | 71| 47 | 61 | 29 | 37 | +Breech-loader | 65 | 135| 24 | 54 | 29 | 39 | +Muzzle-loader | 113 | 113| 24 | 46 | 23 | 34 | + | | | | | | | + " | 106 | 103| 35 | 31 | 22 | 32 | +Breech-loader | 95 | 105| 50 | 31 | 20 | 27 | + " | 73 | 99| 22 | 42 | 30 | 40 | + " | 97 | 95| 31 | 20 | 22 | 26 | + " | 100 | 77| 32 | 28 | 33 | 25 | + " | 88 | 91| 37 | 31 | 22 | 27 | + " | 90 | 87| 20 | 28 | 20 | 31 | + " | 60 | 48| 31 | 40 | 25 | 23 | + |-----+----+-----+----+-----+-----+> +Averages | 106 | 97| 33 | 43 | 26 | 30 | +--------------+-----+----+-----+----+-----+-----+> + +--------------+-----------+--------+--------+---------+ + | No. of |Total on| Tot’l | | + | Shots | face |thro’gh | | + | through | of 4 | 4 |Recoil in| +Kind of Gun. | 20 sheets.|targets.|targets.| pounds. | +--------------+-----------+--------+--------+---------+ + | | | | | + | at 60 yds.| | | | +--------------+-----+-----+--------+--------+----+----+ +Muzzle-loader | 5 | 2 | 399 | 68 | 68 | 62 | + | | | | | | | + " | 1 | 2 | 363 | 58 | 66 | 65 | + " | 1 | 1 | 331 | 55 | 68 | 64 | +Breech-loader | 0 | 2 | 324 | 60 |untested.| + " | 2 | 4 | 318 | 61 | " | + " | 2 | 3 | 318 | 64 | 70| 68 | +Muzzle-loader | 4 | 8 | 296 | 78 |untested.| +Breech-loader | 0 | 1 | 278 | 69 | 64| 62 | +Muzzle-loader | 0 | 1 | 296 | 58 | 68| 68 | + | | | | | | | + " | 0 | 0 | 275 | 54 | 59| 61 | +Breech-loader | 2 | 0 | 281 | 49 |untested.| + " | 0 | 1 | 236 | 71 | 64| 66 | + " | 0 | 0 | 243 | 48 | 65| 61 | + " | 0 | 0 | 237 | 58 | 72| 69 | + " | 2 | 1 | 247 | 52 | 76| 73 | + " | 1 | 0 | 225 | 52 | 64| 68 | + " | 0 | 0 | 179 | 48 | 74| 68 | + |-----+-----+--------+--------+----+----+ +Averages | 1 |1-1/2| 285 | 59 | 67| 66 | +--------------+-----+-----+--------+--------+----+----+ + +--------------+----+-------+------+-------+------+> + | | | | | | + | |Length |Weight|Charge |Charge| + | | of | of | of | of | +Kind of Gun. |Bore|Barrel.| Gun. |Powder.|Shot. | +--------------+----+-------+------+-------+------+> + | | | lb. | | | + | | in. | oz. | drs. | oz. | +--------------+----+-------+------+-------+------+> +Muzzle loader | 15 | 30 | 6.14 | 2-3/4 |1-1/3 | + " | 14 | 28-1/2| 6.11 | 2-1/4 |1-1/3 | + " | 14 | 27 | 5.14 | 2-1/2 |1 | + " | 16 | 31 | 6.12 | 2-1/2 |1 | + " | 14 | 29 | 6.0 | 2-1/4 |1-1/3 | +Breech-loader | 15 | 30 | 6.14 | 8 |1-1/4 | + " | 15 | 29 | 6.8 | 8 |1-1/4 | +Muzzle-loader | 14 | 29 | 6.4 | 2-3/4 |1-1/3 | +Breech-loader | 15 | 30 | 7.0 | 8 |1 | +Muzzle-loader | 14 | 30 | 7.0 | 2-3/4 |1 | + " | 15 | 30-1/2| 6.8 | 2-3/4 |1-1/3 | +Breech-loader | 15 | 28 | 6.4 | 2-3/4 |1-1/3 | + | | | | | | + Averages | | | | | | +--------------+----+-------+------+-------+------+> + +--------------+---------------------+-----------+> + | | | + | | No. of | + | No. of Marks on | Sheets | +Kind of Gun. | Face of Targets. | pierced. | +--------------+---------------------+-----------+> + | | | | + |at 40 yds.|at 60 yds.| at 40 yds.| +--------------+-----+---------------+-----+-----+> +Muzzle loader | 101 | 121| 48 | 55 | 38 | 22 | + " | 147 | 85| 42 | 48 | 24 | 19 | + " | 180 | 92| 30 | 60 | 25 | 27 | + " | 122 | 86| 36 | 57 | 27 | 28 | + " | 101 | 103| 30 | 55 | 21 | 25 | +Breech-loader | 105 | 106| 63 | 26 | 29 | 33 | + " | 129 | 57| 45 | 52 | 20 | 28 | +Muzzle-loader | 99 | 99| 34 | 42 | 32 | 27 | +Breech-loader | 77 | 100| 41 | 31 | 33 | 26 | +Muzzle-loader | 71 | 92| 52 | 27 | 20 | 29 | + " | 83 | 55| 44 | 24 | 28 | 29 | +Breech-loader | 83 | 101| 34 | 7 | 18 | 28 | + |-----+----+-----+----+-----+-----+> + Averages | 104 | 92| 42 | 40 | 26 | 27 | +--------------+-----+----+-----+----+-----+-----+> + +--------------+-----------+--------+--------+---------+ + | No. of |Total on| Tot’l | | + | Shots | face |thro’gh | | + | through | of 4 | 4 |Recoil in| +Kind of Gun. | 20 sheets.|targets.|targets.| pounds. | +--------------+-----------+--------+--------+---------+ + | | | | | + | at 60 yds.| | | | +--------------+-----+-----+--------+--------+----+----+ +Muzzle loader | 8 | 5 | 325 | 68 | 63 | 58 | + " | 0 | 0 | 322 | 48 | 53 | 54 | + " | 2 | 0 | 312 | 54 | 65 | 63 | + " | 2 | 0 | 301 | 57 | 64 | 62 | + " | 0 | 1 | 289 | 47 | 60 | 44 | +Breech-loader | 6 | 1 | 300 | 69 | 69 | 76 | + " | 0 | 3 | 283 | 51 | 64 | 60 | +Muzzle-loader | 0 | 8 | 274 | 67 | 68 | 74 | +Breech-loader | 5 | 0 | 249 | 64 | 71 | 78 | +Muzzle-loader | 0 | 0 | 242 | 49 | 69 | 64 | + " | 5 | 0 | 206 | 62 | 68 | 67 | +Breech-loader | 0 | 0 | 225 | 46 | 68 | 72 | + |-----+-----+--------+--------+----+----+ + Averages | 2 |1-1/2| 277 | 56 | 65 | 64 | +--------------+-----+-----+--------+--------+----+----+ + +The guns were classified according to their weight. The breech-loaders, +which used one quarter of a drachm more powder, showed about an equal +recoil; the recoil differed surprisingly, ranging from 44 to 76 lbs., +and was no indication of the power with which the shot was driven--a +greater number of sheets being pierced where the recoil was under the +average. The patterns produced by the muzzle-loaders varied from those +of the breech-loaders less than they did from one another, and far less +than that of one barrel differed from that of the other; in fact, the +right-hand barrel seems to have shot much the best, and some of the guns +that excelled at 40 yards fell far behindhand at 60 yards. + +In penetration, which is a more valuable quality in a gun than even +pattern, the breech-loaders took the lead; one pierced through 40 sheets +and another through 39 sheets, so that the vaunted superiority of the +old gun in this particular was found not to exist. It was further noted +that a great improvement in this particular had taken place in the +breech-loaders since the trial of the year previous, which improvement +has been going on steadily since. The trial also proved that, although +the breech-loaders required an extra amount of powder to give them +force, it caused in them no additional recoil, and was objectionable in +so far only as it entailed extra expense and weight of ammunition. The +muzzle-loader was left, to offset its numerous inferiorities, nothing +more than a claim to diminished weight of gun and ammunition, and a +trifling saving in expense; in force and pattern it was equalled; in +safety and handiness it was far surpassed by its competitor. + +These trials were continued afterwards, but none were or could be more +conclusive than the first which I have given, and there is no need of +troubling the reader with them. Indeed, it would almost seem unnecessary +to give time and space to the consideration of the superiorities of +breech-loaders over muzzle-loaders at this day, so universally are the +former accepted in the better informed localities, but in so extensive a +country as ours, there are parts which are late to learn and hard to be +convinced. To-day, while the muzzle-loader has nearly disappeared from +the Northern and Eastern States, it still holds its own in the South and +far West, and there are at present as many of them in service throughout +the length and breadth of our land, as there are of breech-loaders. + +One change that was early made in the cartridges was to do away with the +pin and substitute a central fire, and so much was this change admired, +that pin-fire guns have almost gone out of use. Nevertheless, I have +never been convinced that this was any improvement, and believe, that if +the pin-fire gun had come into general use before it was introduced, it +would not have been accepted. However, admitted facts cannot be ignored, +and to-day the pin-fire system has been almost as fully and far less +intelligently relegated to the past, as the muzzle-loader itself. I am +also no admirer of the snapaction, which has to a certain extent been +substituted for the lever, on the ground that, while the lever never +gets out of order, the spring of the snap often breaks. I may say, that +no guns could have been more severely tried than mine that were +manufactured by _Lefaucheux_, one of which was the second that was ever +permanently used in this country, and that they have never given out in +their working parts, while the oldest and most hardly used has never +given out at all, although shot in all weathers and under very trying +circumstances. + +Indeed I go farther and insist that there have been no important +improvements made in breech-loaders since the original _Lefaucheux_ +pattern until the introduction of the hammerless guns. These are still +imperfect, but they will probably be soon perfected, so that the last +serious danger from a breech-loader will be removed, that of premature +discharge in the field. Were it not for this discovery, it is my belief +that sportsmen would yet give up the central-fire, and return to the +pin-fire, there being no advantages in a central fire, while there are +several disadvantages. The principal of these consists in the fact that +no one can tell whether it is loaded or not, and a secondary danger lies +in the loading of the cartridges, which has already cost several lives. +As yet, however, the hammerless gun is not entirely safe. It is thrown +back to full cock in opening, and when closed with a hard snap it will +sometimes jar off. This happens very rarely, but often enough to make +the gun dangerous. + +It will foul about the working parts of the breech when it is used hard +without cleaning, so that the springs will not act, and a premature +discharge may follow, and it sometimes catches on the edge of the bent +in the tumbler without slipping into it. As soon as these defects are +absolutely remedied, the graceful and convenient hammerless gun will +take the place of all others. I know very well it is claimed that these, +and all other defects have been removed by the introduction of the +safety block, which interposes before the tumbler, and thus between the +strikers and the cap, and I do not intend to enter into an argument +which would lead to no practical result. There are men ever ready to +take certain risks in order to be ahead of their fellows. Let such +disregard the advice, which common sense suggests, and make experiments, +from which they cannot be dissuaded, and by which others may profit. I +would, however, say that I am sustained in my objections by so high an +authority, as “Stonehenge,” but am willing to admit that even as they +are, I think a hammerless gun is safer than a central fire, for they +avoid one of the greatest risks which the sportsman runs, that of the +trigger catching on a twig as he is going through the bushes. Those who +have used them sufficiently to get accustomed to them, say that they can +shoot better with them than with the old gun, a fact which they +attribute to the absence of the hammers. + + + + +CHAPTER III. + +BAY-SNIPE SHOOTING. + + +The various writers on the different kinds of sport in our country have +generally devoted their attention to upland shooting; to the quail, +woodcock, English snipe, ruffed grouse of the hills, dales, and meadows, +to the prairie-chicken of the far west, or to the larger game--the +ducks, geese, and swans of our coast; and the few suggestions to be +found in _Frank Forester’s Field Sports_, or _Lewis’s American +Sportsman_, are of little assistance in discussing the mode of capture +of their less fashionable and less marketable brethren called bay-snipe. +I shall inevitably make mistakes and omissions. The later works on +water-fowl shooting are limited to the consideration of ducks, geese, +and brant, as though bay snipe belonged to the upland. But I consider +them nearly as much of a water-bird as the black duck, for, like the +latter, they are shot mostly at pond holes in the marshes or from sedgy +points. + +The birds that are shot along our shores upon the sand-bars or broad +salt meadows, or even upon the adjoining fields of upland, are among +sportsmen termed bay-birds or bay-snipe; and although including several +distinct varieties, present a general similarity in manners and habits. +They are ordinarily killed by stratagem over decoys, and not by open +pursuit; different varieties frequent the same locality, so that many +species will be collected in the same bag; they are for the most part, +except the upland birds, tough and sedgy, and at times hardly fit for +the table; and they arrive and may be killed at certain periods in vast +numbers. + +Although despised by the upland sportsman, who regards the use of the +dog as essential to the pure exercise of his art; and by the pot-hunter, +because they do not generally bring high prices in market;--to the +genuine lover of nature and the gun they furnish splendid sport, +requiring, if not as high a degree of skill as may be needed to cut down +a quail in the dense coverts, at least as many fine qualities in the +sportsman, and as thorough a knowledge of their habits as any other +bird. In upland shooting the dog does the largest part of the work, and +invariably deserves the credit for a super-excellent bag; and truly +glorious is it to follow the dog that can make that bag, and wonderful +to watch his powers;--but in bay-snipe shooting there is no trusty dog +to look to, who can retrieve by his superiority his master’s +blunderings. The man relies upon himself, and himself alone; he it is +that must, with quick observant eye, catch the faint outline of the +distant flock, and with sharp ear distinguish the first audible call; +his experience must determine the nature of the birds, his powers of +imitation bring them within gun-shot, and his skill drop them +advantageously from the crowded flock. To excel in all this requires +long patience, much experience, and great qualities of mind and body; +and few are the sportsmen who ever deserve the compliment paid by old +Paulus Enos of Quogue, when he remarked, “Colonel P. is a werry +destructive man--a werry destructive man in a flock of birds.” + +It is true that quail-shooting is almost a certainty; and day after day +of fair weather, with well-trained animals and good marksmen, will +produce nearly the same average, so that an entire failure will be +almost impossible; whereas, with bay-snipe everything, in the first +instance, depends upon the flight; and if there are no birds, the result +must be a total blank; but when the season is propitious--and this can +be determined by the experienced sportsman with tolerable accuracy--the +sport is prodigious, and the number of shots enormous. + +Nor is it so easy to kill the gentle game that approaches the decoys +with such entire confidence, and often at so moderate a pace. The upland +sportsman, who can cover the quail through the thick scrub-oaks, or the +woodcock in the dense foliage of the shady swamp, and send his charge +after them with astonishing precision, and who will expect easy work +with the bay-snipe, will find himself wonderfully bothered by their +curious motions and irregular flight, till he has acquired the knack of +anticipating their intentions. He will learn that their speed is +irregular; that while at times they will hang almost motionless in the +air, at others they will dart past at the rate of a hundred miles an +hour; that although usually flying steadily, they will frequently flirt +and twist as unexpectedly as an English snipe; and that often they will +either suddenly drop from before his gun and alight, or, taking the +alarm, will whirl fifty feet into the air; and when one barrel has been +discharged into a flock, the rest will “skiver” so as to puzzle even the +best marksman. It is not enough to kill one bird with each barrel from a +flock, as in quail-shooting, but a number must be selected at the moment +they cross one another, so that several may be secured with each barrel; +to do this will require much practice and entail many total misses, and +is rarely thoroughly learned by the upland sportsman. It will not answer +to follow the example of an enthusiastic French gentleman, whom I once +left in the stand while I went to the house for dinner; and who, on my +return, in an excited way remarked: + +“Ah! I have vun beautifool shot, I make ze lovely shot; tree big birds +come along--vat you call him?” + +“Willet?” I suggested. + +“No, no; ze big brown birds.” + +“Sickle-bills!” + +“No, not ze seeckle-bills.” + +“Jacks?” + +“No, no; not ze jacks.” + +“Marlin!” + +“Yes, yes; tree big marlin come close by, right ovair ze stool; zay all +fly near ze other; I am sure to kill zem, it was such beautifool shot. I +take ze gun and miss zem all!” + +Moreover, the excitement of a rapid flight is intense; the birds arrive +much faster than the muzzle-loader can be charged, and a flock will +hover round the stand, returning again and again in the most bewildering +manner; as there are usually two sportsmen in each stand, and the stands +are often in sight of one another, a sense of rivalry is added to the +other difficulties of the position. + +As the birds approach, great judgment is required in selecting the +proper time to fire, both as regards the condition of the flock and +their position relative to the associate sportsman; they must be allowed +to come well within the reach of both, and yet be taken when they are +most together, and not allowed to pass so far as to endanger the success +of the second barrel. Each sportsman must invariably fire at his side of +the flock, and wait till it is well abreast of him, and never either +shoot over his neighbor’s corner of the stand or at his portion of the +birds. Nothing is so disagreeable as to have a gun discharged close to +one’s head, except perhaps to have it discharged at one’s head; the +noise and jar produce painful and dangerous effects, and unsettle a +person’s nerves for hours. No man who will fire by his associate without +presenting his gun well before him, can know the first principles of +gunnery--or who, if knowing them, wilfully disregards their effects, is +a fit companion. The concussion from the explosion is exceedingly +unpleasant, even if the gun is several feet off, and will produce a +slight deafness. + +Of the number of birds which can be bagged, it is hardly possible to +speak within bounds--more than a hundred having been killed at one +shot--but probably a hundred separate shots are occasionally fired by +each sportsman in the course of a day, and with the breech-loader even +more. There have been times when twenty-five pounds of shot have been +expended by one gun, but those days exist no longer, and it is rare to +use more than five pounds where the load does not exceed an ounce and a +quarter. + +The uncertainty of the flight is the principal drawback to bay-snipe +shooting, although experience can in a measure overcome the difficulty; +but to the citizen confined to certain days, a selection of time is an +impossibility. The height of the season extends from August 15th to the +25th for the bay-birds proper; and from August 28th to September 8th, +for golden plover; and if a north-easterly storm should occur at this +period, it will be followed by an immense flight. + +Dry seasons are never good, and so long as the weather remains warm the +birds will tarry in their northern latitudes; when the meadows are +parched for want of rain, they become too hard for the birds to +perforate, and the latter, being unable to feed, must migrate elsewhere; +but when they are soft with moisture, the older snipe that have left +their progeny at the far north, linger on the feeding-grounds and wait +for the latter to arrive. They seem to make it a point to send back +portions of their number from time to time to look after the young; and +on such occasions, both the messengers and the young stool admirably. +Thus flocks of old birds will frequently be seen wending their way +towards the north, while the main flight is directed southward; and +these flocks will invariably come to the decoys, although the main body +will take no notice of them. + +Of course when the meadows are too parched to furnish food, the birds +cannot return on their tracks, but must continue their flight to more +hospitable shores, and in this way one of the best chances for good +shooting is lost. There are probably, in addition, many ease-loving +gluttons among the troupe, who if they find the feeding-grounds well +supplied, stop for a time to enjoy the luxury after their long +abstinence in the inclement north; and in passing to and from their +favorite spots, are said by the native human species to have established +“a trade” to those places. These birds, of course, wherever they see a +flock apparently partaking of a plentiful repast, naturally pause to +obtain their share, and thus fall a prey to their appetites. + +Bay-snipe fly during the day and night high up in the heavens, or close +to the earth, in rain or shine, but especially during a cold +north-easterly storm, which, from its direction, is favorable to their +southerly migrations; and they have a vigor of wing that enables them to +traverse immense distances in a short time. In proceeding with the wind, +it is usually at a considerable distance from the earth; but when facing +an adverse current, they keep close to the surface, and consequently are +apt to be attracted by the stools. They do not move much during foggy +weather, for the simple reason that they cannot see their course, but do +not seem to be troubled by a rain. Although clear--that is to say, not +rainy--weather is preferable on many accounts, for their pursuit, good +sport is frequently had, especially on Long Island, during a rain. + +Their line of flight is peculiar. Except the plover, they do not follow +the entire coast, and are not found to the eastward of Massachusetts, +but appear to strike directly from their northern haunts to Cape Cod, +where, in the neighborhood of Barnstable, there was in former times +excellent shooting; thence they proceed to Point Judith, or even +somewhat to the westward of it, and then they cross Long Island Sound, +rarely much to the eastward of Quogue; from Long Island they make one +flight to Squan Beach, and so on along the bays and lagoons of the +southern coast to the Equator, or perhaps beyond it to the Antarctic +region. The plovers follow the coast more closely, and strike the +easternmost end of Long Island in their career. + +It is very remarkable, that these birds which generally pass northward +in May, and require only three months for incubation and growth of +young, live the other nine months apparently in comparative idleness at +the south. This peculiarity has led to the suggestion that they may +travel to the Antarctic ocean during their absence from the +north--which, although probable, is as yet, from our entire ignorance of +their habits, a mere suggestion. + +During the northward flight in May, there is often good sport, but the +time is more uncertain than in August; nor do the birds, which are old +and wary, stool quite so well as on their return. In the spring they +pursue the same course as in the autumnal flight; which, although it is +the most direct line, and follows the principal expanse of salt meadow, +necessitates considerable journeys far out at sea. But it is doubtless +the fact that these birds, in consequence of their stretch and power of +wing, could sustain an unbroken flight from north to south, and +accomplish the distance in a wonderfully short space of time. Unabated +speed of one hundred miles an hour is equivalent to twenty-four hundred +miles in a day, and portions of the flock may not pause between Labrador +and the swamps of Florida. + +When the wind is strong and continuous from the westward, it is supposed +that they pass far out to sea; and during these seasons there will be no +flight of birds either at Long Island or on the Jersey coast. At such +periods sportsmen often conclude that the entire race has been +destroyed, till the easterly winds and soaking rains of the following +year, bring them back more numerous than ever. As they must migrate, and +are not to be found anywhere on the land, it is clear that they must +have the power of completing their journey in one unbroken flight. + +The principal varieties are the sickle-bill, jack-curlew, the marlin and +ring-tailed marlin, the willet, the black-breast or bull-head, and +golden plovers, the yelper, yellow-legs, robin-snipe, dowitchers, +brant-bird, and krieker. The upland or grass-plover is pursued in a +different manner, and the smaller birds are not pursued for sport at +all. + +The sickle-bills, so named after the beautiful sweeping curve of the +bill, which has been known to measure eleven inches in length, are the +largest of them all. They are colored much like a marlin, have a +beautiful bright eye, a short reed-like call, and a steady, dignified +flight. In stretch of wings they exceed three feet, and nothing can be +more impressive than the approach of a large flock of these birds with +wings and bills extended and legs dropped in preparation for alighting +amid the stools. + +They are often shy in the first instance, but as soon as one of their +number is killed, they return again and again to the fatal +spot--apparently in blind confidence that he must have alighted instead +of fallen, or out of brotherly anxiety for his fate. I have on several +occasions attracted a large flock that was hesitating whether to +approach or not, and almost resolving to depart, by killing one of their +number that incautiously ventured within long range--for immediately on +seeing him fall, they approached, in spite of the report, with full +confidence. + +They are easily killed, by reason of their moderate speed and customary +steadiness, although they can dart rapidly when alarmed, and will often, +like all the bay-birds, carry off much shot. Their flesh is tough, very +dark, and scarcely fit for the table, except perhaps when they first +come on from feeding on the more dainty repasts famished by the uplands +of Labrador. + +The jack-curlew is a still more wary bird, and although he comes to the +stools, rarely pauses over them, and never returns after being once +fired at. He is seldom seen in large flocks, and flies rapidly and +steadily. His cry is longer than that of the sickle-bill, and, like it, +easy to imitate. From his wariness and rarity he is regarded as the +greatest prize of the sportsman, although his flesh is little better +than that of the sickle-bill. + +The marlin is quite common, very gentle, stools admirably, and goes in +large flocks. In color it is similar to the sickle-bill, but it is much +smaller and has a straight, if not slightly recurved, bill. It is +attracted by the same call, and is equally tough and sedgy as food. The +ring-tailed marlin differs from it entirely in color, resembling a +willet--except that its wings are darker, and its tail black with a +white ring--but it has the long, straight, marlin bill. It is a rare +bird, seldom collects in large flocks, and is often fat and tolerable +eating. It does not stool as well as its plainer brother, but from its +scarcity and higher gastronomic claims, it is more highly prized. + +The willet is greyish in general color, with a white belly and broad +bands of black and white across its wings. It has a loud, shrill shriek, +stools well, flies steadily, congregates in large flocks, and when fat +is quite eatable. It often associates with marlins and sickle-bills, +where its light colors make a beautiful contrast. + +The last four varieties are nearly similar in size and greatly exceed +the following, but are far less desirable in an epicurean point of view. + +The golden plover is one of the finest birds that flies; it associates +in flocks of a thousand, stools well, is extremely fat, is delicious on +the table, and has a peculiarly musical whistle. It frequents the +uplands, and feeds on grasshoppers. Its back is marked with a greenish +red that faintly resembles gold, and gives rise to its name. The young +are quite different in plumage. + +The black-breast or bull-head is a shy and rather solitary +bird--although it occasionally collects in large flocks--but it is quite +fat, and frequently killed in the salt marshes over the stools used for +the ordinary bay-birds. + +The yelper has a strong, rapid, and often irregular flight, and a loud +cry. It stools well, but escapes rapidly as soon as shot at, darting +from side to side in a confusing way, and returns less confidently than +the willet or marlin. It pursues its course generally high in the +clouds, whence it will drop like a stone when coming to the stools. On +Long Island it goes by the name of big yellow-legs; its call can be +heard at an immense distance, and is repeated continually as it flies. +Gastronomically considered, it is passable, and, when fat, really +excellent. + +The yellow-legs, or little yellow-legs, as it is termed on Long Island, +is similar in appearance to the yelper, but has a softer and more +flute-like note, and congregates in larger flocks. It stools admirably, +and is killed in immense numbers. Its flight is rapid and irregular, +especially when it is frightened; and, as food, it ranks with the +yelper. + +The brant-bird is a beautiful bird, and stools well; it rarely consorts +in large flocks, and is quite acceptable on the table. + +The robin-snipe is a graceful, beautiful, and delicious bird; its +favorite localities are the meadow-islands of the salt bays and lagoons; +its flight is steady, and it does not collect in such immense flocks as +the last named variety. Its whistle consists of two clear shrill notes, +by which it is readily attracted; and its predominant colors are grey on +the back and red on the breast. + +The dowitcher, which is considered ornithologically as the only true +snipe of them all, has the habits of the sandpiper and the distinctive +attributes of the _scolopax_; it is abundant, extremely gentle, and +excellent eating. It stools admirably, coming to any whistle whatever; +and although it can skiver when alarmed, it usually flies steadily. It +associates with the smaller birds. + +The krieker feeds on the meadows, remains till late in October, becomes +extremely fat, and is an epicurean delicacy; it utters a creaking cry, +but will not stool at all. It also flies with the smaller snipe. + +Having thus mentioned the peculiar distinctive qualities and +characteristics of each bird, of which a fuller description will be +given in another place, we will now pass to a consideration of the best +mode of their pursuit. This being by stratagem, the more thorough the +deception, the more favorable will be the result; and although they can +frequently be attracted by an accurate imitation of their call within +reach of their destroyer, crouched in the open field and unaided by +decoys, they will approach much better to the concealed sportsman and +well made stools. A stand is usually erected near some pond or bar where +the birds are in the habit of alighting--and this can be built in half +an hour of bushes or reeds--high enough to conceal the sportsman +comfortably seated in his arm-chair; and as the grass has become by the +latter part of August a dull yellowish green, he may even shelter +himself from the sun’s rays by a brown cotton umbrella, if he be +delicate or ease-loving. His clothes should assimilate to the color of +the landscape, and be as cool as possible--for the temperature is often +oppressively hot; and a waterproof should always be at hand in case of +rain, to cover, not so much the sportsman as his gun and ammunition, +which may be seriously injured by dampness and salt air combined. + +If it is impracticable to build a stand, and the locality is sandy, a +hole may be dug, with the excavated sand banked around it, and the +sportsman may deposit himself upon his Mackintosh at the bottom. +However, to one unaccustomed to the posture, it is difficult to rise and +shoot from such a position, and a comfortable seat is far preferable; +and besides, the mosquitoes are thicker near the earth; the breeze has +less effect and the sun more. + +The stools should be so placed that they can be readily seen from the +line of flight, not too high above the water, and the farthest not more +than thirty-five yards from the shooter. If too near a bank, they will +be confounded with the grass, and be invisible even to the keen eye of +the snipe. They should be scattered sufficiently to allow each one to be +distinct, and must be headed in different directions, so that some may +present their broadsides to every quarter of the heavens. They should +tail down wind, in a measure, from the stand, as the birds, no matter +what direction they come from, head up wind in order to alight, and will +make a circle to do so. In this way they reach the lower end of the +imitation flock first, and are led safely close to the sportsman, giving +him an admirable opportunity to make his selection from their ranks. + +As the tide varies according to the wind and moon, and will often cover +with several feet of water places usually dry, it is well to have two +sets of sticks--one set for deep water much longer than those for +ordinary use; otherwise, it will occasionally be found impossible to set +out the stools at all, or they will stand so high above the ground as to +resemble bean-poles more than birds. + +It is customary to have in the flock, which should not be less than +forty, imitations of the different species--some being brown to +represent marlin, others grey, with white breasts and a white and black +streak over the tail to stand for willet, and so on; but a more +important point is to have them large. Small stools cannot be seen far +enough to attract a yelper sailing amid the clouds, or a marlin sweeping +along the distant horizon; and although it is pretty and appropriate to +have them of suitable colors, size is more necessary. A sickle-bill is a +large bird, and I have seen one tethered among the stools towering above +them, so that the imitations looked puny by comparison, although larger +than they were usually made. The word stool is derived from the Danish +_stoel_, and signifies something set up on less than four legs, but of +the mode or reason of its adoption we have no record; it is in universal +use, to the exclusion of the more elegant and appropriate term, decoy, +which is confined to imitation of wild fowl. Stools are ordinarily made +of wood, and occasionally painted with great artistic care and skill; +and although a rough affair, coarsely daubed, seems often to answer +nearly as well, there are times when the birds, rendered wild by many +hair-breadth escapes, look sharply ere they draw near, and will not +approach unsightly blocks of wood, no matter how sweetly they seem to +whistle. + +As wooden stools take up much room and are troublesome to carry for any +distance, tin ones have been made that will pack together in a small +space. By heading these, different ways, they present a good view to the +snipe, except when the latter are high in air, from which position they +are invisible. To remedy this defect, it has been suggested that a strip +of tin of the width of the body may be soldered along the upper edge; +and thus, while they pack snugly, a section of the object is presented +in every direction. + +Wooden stools are decidedly the best, especially where it is desirable +that the birds should alight, and are in general use. They are made of +pine, and painted the distinctive colors of their prototypes; thus +sickle-bills, marlin, and jacks, are all brown with dark spots on the +back and wings; willet, as heretofore described; yellow-legs, dark +mottled grey on the back and wings, and white beneath; dowitchers brown +on the back and wings, and yellowish-white below; bull-head plover light +on the back, with dark breasts; robin-snipe light grey on the back and +side, and reddish beneath. But the snipe are not always discriminating, +and a few varieties will answer every purpose. + +Stools are easily made and moderate in cost, and every sportsman should +have not less than twenty-five of his own, so that in case those that he +finds at the country taverns for the public use are engaged, he may have +some to fall back upon--although twenty-five are not a full supply. They +may be carried in a bag or basket, with their feet and bills removed; +and the basket will be useful to hold lunch, ammunition, or game. + +Extempore representations can be made from the dead birds, although they +are not quite so good as the wooden ones, by cutting a forked stick with +one end much longer than the other, and thrusting the longer point into +the bird’s neck and the shorter one into its body. It may then be stood +up in the sand, and will make a decoy scarcely distinguishable by man +from the living prototype, but apparently more unnatural to the +birds--which are sometimes alarmed at its ghastly appearance--than the +ordinary stools. + +Very perfect stools are made of India-rubber, which, being compressible +and light, can be readily transported, and are a deceptive imitation; +their principal defects are their liability to injury from shot--which +is also the case with wooden ones--and the facility with which the hole +where their long leg is inserted becomes torn--an accident that entirely +destroys their usefulness. They can be packed in a small compass, and +are infinitely the best article where they are to be carried long +distances. Although of necessity undersized, their full plump shape +makes them visible at a considerable distance. + +To prevent the bills, which are the most delicate part, from being +injured, it is necessary to make them rather thicker than those of the +living bird; they are to be painted dark-brown, blue, or grey, according +to circumstances; and their loss, although it may not diminish the +attractiveness, destroys the beauty of the fictitious flock. More +important than perfection of decoys, is accuracy in whistling; this +should be a perfect imitation and answer to the call of the bird, and +will often allure him to the fowler without any decoys whatever. It is +impossible to describe the calls on paper, and long practice will alone +give a thorough knowledge of them; they are generally shrill and loud; +the shriller and louder the better--for man’s best efforts will rarely +equal the bird’s natural powers. The yelper has a clear, bold cry, and +the willet a fierce shriek that can be heard for miles; and if listened +to from a distance, it will be found that the bird’s call can be heard +twice the distance of the man’s answer. It is true that when the snipe +are near at hand and about alighting, a lower whistle is better, for the +reason that it is more perfect, and because the cry changes to a note of +welcome when the flock receives its fellows. And often, when the birds +once head for the stools, if not distracted by neighboring stands, or +alarmed, they will come straight on without any whistling, although this +is by no means invariably the case. + +Many persons find insuperable difficulty in whistling the clear, shrill, +sharp calls; and for them artificial whistles have been manufactured +with a hole at the lower end, which, being opened or closed by the +finger, like the holes in a flute, regulates the sound. These artificial +whistles are not so good as a perfectly trained natural one; the sound +is not sufficiently reed-like, and they occupy and confine one hand when +it should be free to seek the gun. They are suspended from the +button-hole by a string, so that they can be dropped in an instant; but +are only used out of necessity. + +A curious one, to be held in the mouth, has been invented of a +wedge-shaped piece of tin in the form of an axe-head, with two holes +through the sides. The sound is regulated by the tongue, and is +altogether more correct than that of any other whistle; but more time +and patience are required to learn the use of this invention than of the +lips. It will be far better for the sportsman who intends to pursue this +sport, to practise with the organs that nature has given him, however +much time or perseverance may be necessary, and then there will be no +danger of leaving his whistle at home. + +As before remarked, the great drawback to the sport of shooting +bay-snipe is its uncertainty; if the flight has not come on, or a +westerly wind has driven the birds to sea, or a heavy north-easter +carries them with it high in air and prevents their stopping--there will +be no shooting; and the most experienced hand will often receive the +comforting assurance which is always bestowed upon the inexperienced, +that if he had only come two weeks sooner, or deferred his visit two +weeks longer, he would have been sure of fine sport. There are +nevertheless certain general rules that furnish a tolerable criterion; +and laying aside the spring shooting, which occurs in May, and is +extremely uncertain, the main flight of small birds--such as dowitchers +and yellow-legs--commences about the tenth of July, and of large birds +about the fifteenth of August. Each lasts about two weeks. + +The flight of large birds usually terminates with a short flight of +yellow-legs, and is followed by the plover, which are succeeded by the +kriekers. An easterly storm generally brings the birds, either by +bearing them from their northern homes, or by forcing them in from the +sea, where the main body is supposed to fly; and if such a storm occur +at either of these periods, and be succeeded by a south-westerly wind, +it will surely be followed by an abundance of the appropriate birds. + +During an easterly blow they will be seen passing by Point Judith in an +almost unbroken line; and after it, they abound throughout the whole +length of the coast, as though they had been carried to all parts of it +at once. But if no such storm occur, the catching the flight is a mere +chance; and where the summer has been dry, the snipe will be scarce. If +the meadows have been kept moist by continual showers, there will be a +moderate supply of game the summer through; but if there has been a +drought, the surface becomes too hard for the snails and insects to +inhabit, or for the birds to penetrate; a scarcity of food results, and +there will be no flight whatever. + +Scattering birds, wandering away from their fellows and exhausted with +hunger, delighted at beholding their friends apparently feeding, will be +killed perhaps in numbers sufficient to make now and then a decent bag; +but what is known as the “flight”--when the great army moves its vast +cohorts, division after division, regiment after regiment, company after +company--will not take place. How they reach the south no one can +accurately tell; they either fly inland or out at sea high in the air, +or late at night; but their returning myriads in the spring following, +prove that in some way they did reach their southern winter homes. + +Notwithstanding the greatest experience, and despite the most favorable +signs, the oldest gunner will find that more or less uncertainty exists +in obtaining sport, and that his unlucky expeditions generally outnumber +his lucky ones. Often a flight will commence unexpectedly and without +any apparent reason; and a change of weather, after a long continuance +of wind from one quarter, will be followed by good shooting for some +days, although such weather is not intrinsically favorable. The follower +of bay-birds must therefore make up his mind to disappointment, and on +such occasions live on his hopes for the future, or his recollections of +the past. + +For this sport a heavy gun, such as is commonly employed for ducks, is +not at all necessary; inasmuch as many of the birds are small and the +flocks frequently scattered, it is rarely desirable to use two ounces of +shot and five drachms of powder; and to fire such a charge at a solitary +dowitcher, as is often done, is simply ridiculous. A light field-gun, +with an ounce and a quarter of shot and three drachms and a half of +powder, (or, as I prefer, an ounce of shot and three drachms of powder,) +is amply sufficient--will confer more pleasure and require more skill in +the use, will cut down a reasonable number from a flock, and will kill a +single bird handsomely. + +The gun should be kept at half-cock, and may be laid upon a bench beside +the sportsman; there is always time to cock it, even if a flock is not +seen till it is over the stools; and a gun at full cock in a stand, is a +danger that no reasonable man will encounter. In field-shooting, I do +not approve of carrying the gun at half-cock, believing, for certain +reasons unnecessary here to repeat, that it is less dangerous at +full-cock; but in a stand or in a house, or in fact anywhere but in the +field where it is always in the sportsman’s hand, it should be never +otherwise than at half-cock. It is common to pass in front of guns lying +on the bench in the stand, and they often fall off, and are usually +reached for by the sportsman while his eye is on the advancing flock, +and does not note whether his hand grasps the barrel or the triggers; +and there is an excitement, when the flight is rapid, sufficiently +perilous of itself in connexion with fire-arms, without uselessly +increasing it. Every precaution should therefore be taken; and if by +accident the gun which cannot go off at half-cock shall be discharged in +cocking or uncocking it, it will point forward, away from the stand, and +in such a direction that injury to human life cannot follow. + +Next in importance to care in preventing the gun’s injuring a +fellow-creature, is care in preventing its being injured. The least +dampness, whether from fog or rain, and even the salt air alone, will +rust the delicate steel and iron, and, penetrating farther and farther, +make indentations that will spoil its beauty and injure its +effectiveness permanently. To prevent this, oil frequently applied is +the only remedy; a rag well oiled, and a bottle to replenish from, +should be among the ordinary equipments, and invariably taken to the +shooting-ground; the first symptom of rust or even discoloration should +be removed, and every portion of the iron-work kept well lubricated. At +night a waterproof covering should be used, and the charge invariably +left undrawn, as the dirt prevents oxydization for a time; and during a +rain the utmost care should be taken to protect, if not the entire gun, +at least the locks and trigger-plate. Kerosene oil is excellent to +remove rust, but is too thin to form a coating, and not so good a +protection as sweet or whale oil. Varnish is highly recommended, but I +have never known any one to try it; and in case no oil can be obtained, +the gunners on Long Island are in the habit of shooting a small snipe, +which is often extremely fat, and using its skin as an oiled rag. + +Of course with a breech-loader the charge is withdrawn, and the cleaning +apparatus may be forced through every evening, although this is +unnecessary, as the dirt is rather a protection; and after the cleaning, +whether of the muzzle-loader or breech-loader, the barrels should be +well oiled both inside and out. If, however, the gun is to be left for a +long time unused and exposed to salt air, a piece of greasy rag wound +upon a stick may be thrust into the barrels to the bottom, and oil +should be liberally applied to the exposed parts. Moreover, the locks, +however well they may fit, will be injured after a while, and should be +removed and examined occasionally. The size of shot used should be +changed according to the season and character of the flight; in July, +when the yellow-legs and dowitchers are the principal victims, No. 8 is +abundantly large; but in August, when curlews, marlin, and willets are +flying, all of which are able to endure severe punishment, No. 6 is +preferable. Eley’s cartridges are often useful with grass-plover, +although they ball so frequently that the majority of sportsmen have +lost faith in them. + +Favorable seasons for snipe, when heavy or repeated rains have saturated +the meadows, and filled every hollow with stagnant pools of dirty water, +are also favorable for mosquitoes. Persons who suffer from the bites of +this pestiferous insect--and the difference between individuals upon +this subject is remarkable--should prepare themselves with mosquito-nets +and ill-scented oils, as they would for a visit to the wild woods; while +those who are much affected by the sun should bring unguents with which +to temper its intensity and assuage the pain that its burning rays +inflict. + +Shoes are the proper things for the feet, as boots become heated and +uncomfortable; and a brown linen jacket with white flannel pantaloons, +thick enough to resist the attacks of a mosquito, and with the necessary +underclothes for an exceptionally cold day, constitute the most +practical rig. + +If the sportsman use a muzzle-loader--which he should not do if he can +afford to buy a breech-loader--he must have a loading-stick which he can +extemporize from his cleaning-rod by substituting a ramrod head for the +jag. This he does by simply having a piece of brass of the proper size +and shape to screw into the place of the latter. He should also have two +guns, or he loses the chance at the returning flock, which is the most +exciting, as it is often the most successful shot. + +The powder should be coarse; the large grain of the ducking-powder being +alone fitted to withstand the deleterious effects of the moisture that +is an invariable concomitant of the salt atmosphere of the ocean. + +One great difficulty that the writer has encountered in preparing this +work, is a proper selection of names--the natural history of our country +is popularly so little understood; to copy English names and apply them +to creatures bearing a faint resemblance in general coloring, though +neither in habits nor scientific distinctions, was so natural to the +first immigrants, and the introduction of a proper appellation is so +nearly impossible, that the confusion in nomenclature of our birds, +beasts, and fishes is hardly surprising. This confusion existing in +every department of natural history--confounding fish of all varieties, +leaving birds nameless, or giving them too many names--culminates among +the bay-snipe. + +Although the bony-fish or mossbunkers of New York become the menhaden of +the Eastern States, and king-fish are transformed into barb in New +Jersey, and perch become pickerel in the west--there are rarely more +than two names, and every fish has some designation; but with bay-snipe, +after an infinite multiplication of names for certain species, others +are left entirely unnamed. Many that are frequently killed are without a +popular designation, and more still are called frost-birds, and +meadow-snipe, and beach-birds--names that might with justice be applied +to the entire class, and which are so utterly confused, that persons +from different sections of the country do not know what others are +talking about. To make matters worse, the scientific gentlemen have +stepped in, and after indulging in plenty of bad Latin, have added fresh +English appellations, more unmeaning and less appropriate if possible +than the common ones. + +From this mass of incongruities the writer has endeavored, while +preserving the best name, to select the one in general use, bearing in +mind that names are mere substitutes, and not descriptive adjectives. +The name frost-bird or frost-snipe--which belongs to entirely different +creatures--is applicable to every bird that appears after a frost, and +as nearly a hundred varieties are in this category, it is not +distinctive; the names meadow-snipe and beach-bird are ridiculous, but +the latter, being applied to an unimportant class, is allowed to stand. +The snipe that is herein called a krieker, or, as it may be spelled, +creaker, which utters a hoarse, creaking note, is called in various +places meadow-snipe--although most of the bay-birds haunt the meadows; +fat-bird, whereas others are equally fat; and short neck, in spite of +the fact that its neck is longer than some species; while ornithologists +call it pectoral sandpiper, probably because it has a breast. So also +with the brant-bird, which is called on the coast of New Jersey +horsefoot-snipe, because it feeds on the spawn of the horsefoot; +notwithstanding that the yellow-legs and several others do the same. +The name, however, is not satisfactory on account of its similarity to +the brant or brent-goose; and probably the scientific designation, +turnstone, if it were at all in common acceptation, would be better. It +is to be hoped these names will at some day be harmonized by universal, +consent, and these pages will at least make mutual comprehension open +the way for that desirable result. The sickle-bill, jack-curlew, marlin, +willet, golden-plover, yelper, dowitcher, and krieker, are excellent; +and the ring-tailed marlin, black-breast plover, yellow-legs, and +robin-snipe, are at least descriptive. Were these generally accepted, a +simple and tolerably accurate system of nomenclature would be obtained; +and it has been my effort, while placing the preferable name at the head +of the description of each variety, to collate all the other names that +in any section of our vast territory are applied to the same bird. In +this attempt I can only be partially successful; for the ingenuity of +the American people in coining new names, added to a profound ignorance +of ornithology, has produced a confusion that no one man can reduce to +order. + +Bay-snipe, except the plovers, kriekers, and a few others, are not +considered delicate eating, contracting along the salt marshes a sedgy +flavor; but on the shores of the western lakes, where the fresh water +appears to remove this peculiarity, the yellow-legs and yelpers--which +are often found in considerable numbers, and are called by the general +appellation of plovers--are almost equal in tender, + +[Illustration: FORT MARION. ST. AUGUSTINE, FLORIDA.] + +juicy delicacy to the English snipe. Whether the same change is +noticeable in the larger varieties, I cannot say of my own knowledge. + +The gunners have an ingenious way of stringing them in bunches of a half +dozen each, on the longest feathers taken from their wings, a pair of +these being tied together by the feather ends, and the quillpoints +thrust through the nostrils of the birds. It is desirable to put them up +in small bunches, as under the warm temperature of summer they will, +unless every precaution is exercised, soon become tainted. To prevent +this, the entrails should also be carefully removed without disturbing +the plumage; and a little salt, or, as many persons recommend, coffee, +rubbed inside, and they should be at all times carefully protected from +the sun. Their sedgy flavor grows stronger with every day they are kept; +and being extremely oily, the least taint renders them, together with +all the wild inhabitants of the coast, unfit for food. + +Bay-snipe are essentially migratory, rarely stopping on our shores to +build their nests and rear their young; during the spring months they +pass to or beyond the coast of Labrador, and attend to the duties of +maternity in the vast levels and swamps that surround Hudson’s Bay, and +constitute a large portion of the northern part of British North +America. In my ramblings through the Provinces, I was frequently +informed that they abounded during the latter part of summer on the +marshes near the Bay Chaleur in New Brunswick. This must evidently have +been during their return flight; but whether they were our bay-birds in +their vast variety, or whether they were merely the flocks of golden +plover that follow the winding of the coast and subsequently visit +Nantucket and Montauk Point, I had no opportunity to determine by +personal experience. + +With us they make their appearance in the neighborhood of Boston Bay, +and thence they are found, with various intermissions, caused by the +nature of the ground, all the way to the State of Texas. The innumerable +bays, sounds, and lagoons of our Southern States, inclosed by broad +meadows and including thousands of marshy islands, are their favorite +feeding-grounds, and are visited by them in unnumbered thousands. The +larger varieties may be seen there all through the fall quietly feeding, +and scarcely noticing the approach of man. In Texas they seem to +congregate in vast bodies, and probably move off to or beyond the +equator in the early winter months, although this has never been +positively ascertained. + +They are not killed as game south of Virginia, and rarely south of New +Jersey; in fact, it may be said that only on Cape Cod, Long Island, and +the shore line of New Jersey, are they scientifically pursued. At these +places the sport has greatly diminished of late years; a few years ago +Barnstable beach was a celebrated resort; and at Quogue, parties used no +stools, but stationed themselves along the narrow neck that connects the +beach with the main land, and fired till their guns were dirty or their +ammunition exhausted. Then it was no unusual thing to expend +twenty-five pounds of shot in a day, where now the sportsman that could +use up five would be fortunate. + +Of all the locations on this extent of meadow and beach, no place is so +famous, from its natural advantages and its ancient reputation, as +Quogue. Once on a time the best pond was permanently occupied by a +famous Governor, a still more famous General, and a notorious +Colonel--although the latter was not “in the bond;” but there are other +good stands, and for small birds--yellow-legs, dowitchers, and +robin-snipe--it has no equal. Although many flocks pass it high in air, +all those that follow the coast, low down to the earth, must cross the +meadows that are compressed to a narrow strip at this point, which is +the dividing-ground between the two great bays on the south side of Long +Island. + +Unfortunately, a watering-place for the summer resort of the exquisites +of New York has been established in the vicinity, and the consequent +advantages of comfortable beds and a good table are more than overborne +by the annoyance of such companionship. If there be a flight of birds, +every unfledged sportsman takes out his elegant fowling-piece, and, +daintily dressed, proceeds to the meadow, where he would be +comparatively harmless, and dangerous only to himself, were there room +for him and his fellows. But as the ground is limited, and the favorable +points few, he is sure to interfere; and, while killing nothing himself, +ruins the prospects of those who could do better. At Quogue, decoys +were first used about the year 1850, and the best day’s sport of late +was one hundred and thirty-eight birds. + +West of Quogue there are some snipe, and occasionally a good flight at +South Oyster Bay, and more rarely still at Rockaway; but the large birds +are not numerous north of New Jersey. Squan Beach, Barnegat, Egg Harbor, +and Brigantine Beach are famous for the large birds--the sickle-bills, +curlews, willets, and marlins--that visit them; the same number of shots +cannot be obtained as at Quogue, but the bag is larger. At the former +places there is also a flight, of greater or less extent, of dowitchers +and yellow-legs, but these are not so abundant as along the margin of +the Great South Bay of Long Island. On the other hand, a bag of one +hundred of the larger varieties is not unusual; while at Egg Harbor the +robin-snipe, which affect marshy islands are exceedingly numerous. + +Twenty years ago there was good bay-snipe shooting at what is termed +“Fire Island,” and even in the year 1883 there was a remarkable flight +late in the fall. But the cry of old George, which the gunners of “long +ago” welcomed in their youth, is never heard now; George and his +salutation have departed, and “Wake up, all them as is goin’ sniping” is +a thing of the past. + + + + +CHAPTER IV. + +THE JERSEY COAST. + +“_A Girl from New Jersey._” + + +Why is it that every one who visits New Jersey comes away with an +ecstatic impression of Jersey girls that he never can forget? Lovely +they are, it is true, but not more beautiful than other fair ones of +America; affable, gentle, graceful, sprightly--but these qualities are +common in our angel-favored country. Yet no one that has been blessed +with their company can forget them, but carries for ever in his heart +the image of one, if not two or three, Jersey girls. + +These reflections were suggested to the writer by the recollection of +his first trip, many years ago, to the Jersey coast. The summer had been +oppressively hot, and being detained in town during the fore part of +August, he was glad to avail himself of the first chance to escape from +the city and betake himself to the cool, invigorating breezes of the +seashore. Not knowing precisely what route to follow, he trusted himself +on board the train without any definite destination, and, upon inquiry, +was informed that a good place for bay-shooting was at Tommy Cook’s, +near the coast, and about four miles from one of the last stations on +the road, where, under the charge of the Quaker host, considerable +comfort could be had. + +To Cook’s, therefore, upon reaching the station, the writer told the +driver of what seemed to be a mongrel public coach, that he wanted to +go; but in thoughtlessness, never conceiving that there could be two +Cooks, he omitted the Tommy that should have preceded the direction. His +surprise was by no means moderate to find, upon reaching his +destination, the supposed Quaker host slightly inebriated, dancing a +solitary hornpipe to an admiring circle. Thinking perhaps that that was +the custom of Jersey Quakers--for the State is exceptional in certain +things--he took a glass of bad whiskey with the jovial landlord, made +proposals, much to every one’s surprise, to go shooting the day +following, and retired early. + +Next morning a short walk dissipated all idea of finding game, and +having made the discovery that he was still fifteen miles from the +proper shooting-ground on the beach, he returned to the house, and in +order to enjoy a few hours ere the wagon for his further transportation +would be ready, joined a bathing party. It was quite a sociable affair; +both sexes, dressed in their bathing clothes--the girls without +shoes--crowded down in the bottom of an open wagon. But surely it is not +fair to tell how one of the flannel-encased nymphs nearly fell from the +wagon, and was caught in the arms of the writer, who had jumped out for +the purpose; nor how the rest drove off to leave them; nor how he bore +his lovely burden--plastic grace and beauty personified--bravely in +pursuit; nor how his foot chanced to trip--accidentally, of course--and +they fell and rolled in the sand together. If he would tell, he could +not; words do not exist for the purpose. + +He had, however, all he could do to explain the accident and pacify the +nymph. If she had known how much of solidity there was in her +loveliness, and how little of romance in the deep yielding sand, she +might have more readily accepted the excuse of weariness. If the +grasshopper becomes a burden under certain circumstances, why may not a +naiad? + +The road to the beach lay through a village formerly known by the +euphonious and distinctive title of Crab Town--a village of a thousand +inhabitants. It was evening ere Crab Town was reached, and just beyond, +the driver came upon a bevy of female acquaintances. In a moment the +suggestion was made that they should ride; after a little demur they +accepted, and were crowded in. The stage was not large, but there would +have been room if they had been twice as numerous; they filled every +seat, and every lap besides. + +There are days in one’s lifetime that should be celebrated as +anniversaries; and if any gentleman has carried in his arms, albeit with +true tenderness, one charming Jersey girl in the morning, and has had +another equally charming sit on his lap in the evening, he may look upon +that day as never likely to repeat itself. + +There was a hum of pleasant voices--words like, “Oh! Deb, we should not +have got in;” “Why, Mary, we may as well ride--it’s all in our way.” +“But these gentlemen are strangers, and may think it wrong of us.” “Oh, +Lib, don’t talk that way; they know better.” We assured them that +nothing could be more perfectly proper. So situated, the ride appeared +very short, and the next mile, which was as far as our delightful +freight would go, was passed seemingly in about a minute and a half, +decidedly the fastest time on record. At the end of it, on a suggestion +from the driver, who lived in that section and knew the country, toll +was taken of their rosy lips as passage-money. Jersey is a glorious +place. + +Passing Charley’s, as he is generally called, the son of the old man, +who for years was famous as the first hunter in that land, we turned off +beyond, down the beach. The bay between the mainland and the sand-bar, +known everywhere as “The Beach,” was narrow, widening slowly as we +advanced, until, at the end of our seven miles’ journey, it was nearly +three miles across. There was little vegetation beside salt grass +and bay-berry bushes; but of the animal kingdom the only +representatives--the mosquitoes--were thicker than the mind of man can +conceive; they rose in crowds, pursuing us fiercely, covering the horses +in an unbroken mass, settling upon ourselves, flying into our eyes, +crawling upon our necks, stinging through our clothes, and filling the +air. Although small, the were hungry beyond belief, and, following +their prey relentlessly, compelled us to fight them off with bushes of +bay-berry for our lives. + +Mosquitoes are found plentifully at our summer watering-places, and +still more numerously in the wild woods, grow abundantly in Canada, and +are over-plentiful at Lake Superior; but nowhere are they so merciless, +fierce, and numerous, as, on occasions, at the New Jersey beach. They +are a beautiful little creature, delicate, graceful, and elegant, but +obtrusive in their attentions; although the ardent lover was anxious to +be bitten by the same mosquito that had bitten his lady-love, that their +blood might mingle in the same body. + +One good effect they had, however, was to compel the driver to urge on +his weary team, and leave him no time to gossip at Jakey’s Tavern, over +the beach party that was to be held there next day. A beach party is +another delightful institution of the Jerseyites, and consists of a +congregation of the youths of both sexes, especially the female, +collected from the main shore, and meeting on the beach for a frolic, a +dance, and a bath. As it rarely breaks up till daylight, the pleasantest +intimacies are sometimes formed, and soft words uttered that could not +be wrung from blushing beauty in broad day. + +The establishment of the “old man”--the sporting “old man,” not the +political one--since he has been gathered to his forefathers, is kept up +by his son-in-law, usually known by the abbreviation--Bill. It is not an +elegant place; sportsmen do not demand elegance, and willingly sleep, +if not in the same room, in chambers that lead into one another; but it +is situated within a hundred yards of the best shooting ground, and is +as well kept as any other tavern on the beach. Sportsmen do not mind +waiting their turn to use the solitary wash basin, drawing water from +the hogshead, or wiping on the same towel, but are thankful for good +food, and the luxury of a well filled ice-house. + +In addition to the general directions heretofore given, it may be well +in this connexion to describe more particularly the mode of killing +bay-snipe. A number of imitation birds, usually called stools, are cut +from wood, and painted to resemble the various species; they have a long +stick, or leg, inserted into the lower part of the body, and a +sufficient number to constitute a large flock are set up in shallow +water, or upon some bar where the birds are accustomed to feed. They are +made from thin wood, or even from tin, and are headed various ways so as +to show in all directions; the coarsest and least perfect imitations +will answer. + +The most remarkable trait of the shore birds, or bay-snipe, is their +gregarious nature and sociability. A flock flying high in air, +apparently intent upon some settled course, will, the moment they see +another flock feeding, turn and join it. Their natural history, or the +object which they evidently have in thus joining forces, does not seem +to be understood; but the baymen, by imitation-birds and calls, take +advantage of this instinct. Farther south, along the shores of Florida +and Texas, these snipe collect in crowds; and either this is the first +step towards that purpose, or they are merely attracted by the feeding +birds to a promising place for a plentiful repast. + +Although ordinarily they will come to the stools of themselves, if they +happen to be at a distance flying fast and high, the gunner must trust +to the shrillness of his whistle and the perfection of his call, to +attract their attention. If they turn towards the decoys and answer the +whistle--which they will do at an immense distance--they are almost sure +to come straight on, and their confidence once gained, rarely wavers. + +There is a common expression among the baymen, that birds have a trade, +or are trading up and down over a certain course, by which they mean +that they fly backward and forward at regular hours, and to and from +regular places. Snipe that are thus engaged trading are not only in the +finest condition, but come to the decoys, or stool, as it is termed, the +most readily. They are probably stopping on the meadows, and fly to +their feeding-grounds in the morning and back at night. The great +migratory bodies, which frequently stretch in broken lines almost across +the horizon, and which are pursuing their steady course to their +southern homes, rarely heed the whistle, or turn to the silly flock that +is eating while it should be travelling. + +The best days are those with a cloudy sky, and a south-westerly wind. On +such occasions the birds often come in myriads, delighting the +sportsman’s heart, testing his nerves, and filling his bag to +repletion. When the object is to kill the greatest number possible, they +are permitted to alight among the stools and collect together before the +gun is fired; then the first discharge is followed rapidly by the +second, which tears among their thinned ranks as they rise; and, if +there be a second gun, by the third and fourth barrel, till frequently +all are killed. The scientific and sportsmanlike mode is to fire before +they alight, selecting two or three together and firing at the foremost. + +It is a glorious thing to see a flock of marlin or willet, or perhaps +the chief of all, the sickle-bills, swerve from their course away up in +the heavens, and after a moment’s uncertainty reply to the sportsman’s +deceitful call and turn towards his false copies of themselves. As they +approach, the rich sienna brown of the marlin and curlew seems to color +the sky and reflect a ruddy hue upon surrounding objects; or the black +and white of the barred wings of the willet makes them resemble birds +hewn from veined marble. The sportsman’s heart leaps to his throat, as +crouching down with straining eye and nerve, grasping his faithful gun, +he awaits with eager anxiety the proper moment; then, rising ere they +are aware of the danger, he selects the spot where their crowding bodies +and jostling wings shut out the clouds beyond, and pours in his first +most deadly barrel; and quickly bringing to bear the other as best he +may among the now frightened creatures as they dart about, he delivers +it before he has noticed how many fell to the first. Dropping back to +his position of concealment, he recommences whistling, and the poor +things, forgetting their fright and anxious to know why their friends +alighted amid a roar like thunder, return to the fatal spot, and again +give the fortunate sportsman a chance for his reloaded gun. + +It was for such glorious sport as this, with fair promise of +success--for the flight was on, as the saying is, when the snipe are +moving--that I prepared myself the next morning. Rising at earliest +daybreak, a friend, the gunner, and myself sallied out to the blind, and +having set out our stools, possessed our souls in patience for what +might follow. A blind is another ingenious invention of the devil--as +personified by a bayman, in pursuit of wild fowl--and is constructed by +planting bushes thickly in a circle round a bench. Seated upon this +bench and concealed from the suspicious eyes of the snipe by the dense +foliage of the bayberry bushes, the sportsman, in comparative comfort, +awaits his prey. In less civilized localities he hides himself among the +long sedge grass or scoops out a hole in the sand and lies at length +upon a waterproof blanket. + +The wind had hauled, in nautical language, to the south’ard and +west’ard, and the sun’s rays driving aside the hazy clouds, illuminated +the eastern sky with fiery glory. The land and water, dim with the heavy +night fog, stretched out in broad, undefined outline, and the heavens +seemed close down upon the earth. Through the hazy atmosphere and +sluggish darkness the rays of light penetrated slowly, bringing out +feature after feature of the landscape, lighting the tops of distant +hills, and revealing the fleecy coursers of the sky. + +Amid the fading darkness we soon heard the welcome cry of the bay-snipe +pursuing his course, guided by light that had not yet reached our +portion of the earth’s surface. Instantly we responded with a vigor and +rapidity on behalf of each, that must have impressed the travelling +birds with the belief that we constituted an immense flock. Again and +again, long before our straining eyes could catch the outline of their +forms, came the answering cry. Our eagerness increased with the +approaching sound, until from out the dim air rushed a glorious flock of +marbled willet, and swooping down to our stools dropped their long legs +to alight--we feeling as though little shining goddesses were descending +upon us. + +Without pausing to discuss their angelic character, but mercilessly +bringing our double-barrels to bear upon the crowded ranks, we poured in +a destructive broadside that hurled a dozen upon the bloodied sand. +Startled at the fearful report and its terrible consequences, they rose, +darting and crossing in their alarm, and fled at full speed; but hearing +again the familiar call, after flying a few hundred yards, they turned +and came once more straight for the decoys. Then my friend thought +highly of me and my breech-loading gun, for ere he had reloaded I had +discharged my two barrels three times, adding six birds to those +already upon the sand. Eighteen willet from the first flock, and ere the +sun was fairly up, gave us a good start; and after the birds were +gathered, the favorable send-off was duly celebrated in a few drops of +water with enough spirit to take the danger out. + +And now myriads of swallows made their appearance, skimming close along +the water, but in one steady course, as though they were going out for +the day, and would not be back till night-fall. They were followed by +scattering snipe that furnished neat but easy shooting till six o’clock, +when the regular flight began with a splendid flock of marlin that came +rapidly from the south’ard, and after hovering over the stools and +giving us one chance, returned for two more favors from the +breech-loader, and left sixteen of their number. + +Sportsmen of any experience know that nothing is easier than to select +from a flock a single bird with each barrel; but in bay-shooting, a man +who claims to excel, must kill several with the first barrel, and one, +at least, with the second. If, however, to the ordinary excitement be +added the natural emulation arising from the presence of several +sportsmen in the same stand, the foregoing desirable result is not +always attained. If, therefore, the reader shrewdly suspects we should +have killed more birds than we did, let him place himself in a similar +position, and record his success. + +Shore birds of the various species, beginning with the magnificent +sickle-bill, and including the wary jack-curlew, the noisy, larger +yellow-legs or yelper, and the smaller one, down to the pretty +simple-hearted dowitcher, went to make up our morning’s bag. The +scorching sun when it hung high over our heads stopped the flight, and, +aided by venomous mosquitoes, drove us to the shelter of the house, and +turned our thoughts towards dinner. + +The stands being convenient to the tavern, we had run in and snatched a +hasty breakfast, but now collected to clean guns, load cartridges, and +talk over results. The breech-loader being at that time something of a +novelty, attracted considerable attention, and was accused of that +defect popularly attributed to it, of not shooting strongly. As there +were several expensive guns present--among them one of William Moore--in +all of which the owners had great faith, the question was soon tested +and settled to the satisfaction of the most sceptical. + +That being concluded, black-breast, or bull-head plover, was the +occasion of a terrible contest over the entire plover family--some of +the sportsmen insisting there were three, others four or five well-known +kinds. They all agreed as to there being the grass-plover, the +bull-head, and the golden-plover; but some claimed in addition, the +frost bird and the red-backed plover. At last one burst forth: + +“There is Barnwell; he ought to know: what does he say?” + +As they turned inquiringly, feeling the momentous nature of the +occasion, and that now was the chance to establish my reputation for +ever, with an air of deep learning, I commenced: + +“In the first place, you are mistaken in including among plovers the +grass or grey-plover, as it is commonly called; it is not a plover at +all----” + +“Oh! that is nonsense,” they burst forth unanimously; “you don’t know +what you’re talking about.” + +Never was a growing reputation more suddenly nipped. Instantly reduced +to a state of meekness, and only too glad to save a shred of character, +I mildly suggested that Giraud’s work on the birds of Long Island was in +my valise, and probably contained the desired information. + +“Well,” said one, “let’s hear what he says.” + +So I procured the book and read as follows: + + “‘TRINGA BARTRAMIA--WILSON. + + BARTRAM’S SANDPIPER. + + Bartram’s Sandpiper, Tringa Bartramia, Wil. Amer. Orn. + _Totanus Bartramius_ Bonap. Syn. + + _Totanus Bartramius_ Bartram Tatler, Su. & Rich. Bartramian + Tatler, Nutt. Man. + + Bartramian Sandpiper. _Totanus Bartramius_ Aud. Orn. + Biog.’ + +“After giving the specific character, and a spirited account of the +well-known manner of shooting them from a wagon, which is not followed +with any other bird, as you well know, he proceeds as follows: + +“‘In Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New Jersey, and on the Shinnecock and +Hempstead Plains, Long Island, it is common, where it is known by the +name of “gray,” “grass,” “field,” or “upland” plover. It is very wary, +and difficult to be approached. On the ground it has an erect and +graceful gait. When alarmed it runs rapidly for a short distance before +taking wing, uttering a whistling note as it rises; its flight is rapid, +frequently going out of sight before alighting. It usually keeps on the +open, dry grounds--feeding on grasshoppers, insects, and seeds. In the +month of August it is generally in fine condition, and highly prized as +game. When feeding, for greater security, this species scatter about; +the instant the alarm is given, all move off. In the latter part of +August it migrates southward, and, it is said, performs the journey at +night. Stragglers frequently remain behind until late in September.’” + +“It is evident he knew the bird,” replied one of the objectors; “but as +he calls it by six or seven names--the English ones being both +sand-piper and tatler--he evidently did not know what it should be +called.” + +“That is the way with naturalists,” replied another; “they each give a +name to a species, but in this case all agree that it is not a plover. +What is the name plover derived from?” + +“It comes from the French word _Pluvier_, rain-bird, because it +generally flies during a rain. But naturalists found distinctions more +upon the shape of bill and claws than on the habits of any species. +According to them, plovers proper have no hind toe, or, at most, only a +knob in its place.” + +“Do you know what Frank Forester says on the subject?” + +Feeling my reputation rising a little, I resumed: “He confuses +frost-bird and grass-plover, quoting Audubon as his authority; but he +points out the distinctive peculiarity of the plover.” + +“If he thinks a grass-plover and a frost-bird are alike, he knows very +little of his subject. Why, the frost-bird stools admirably, while the +plover never stools at all.” + +“Not so fast! Frank Forester was a splendid writer, and upon matters +with which he was familiar he was thorough. He has conferred an immense +favor upon the American sporting world; but where he had not personal +experience--and no one can know everything--he had to rely upon others. +He has done as much to correct and elevate sportsmanship in this +country, to introduce a proper vocabulary, and to enforce obedience to +gentlemanly rules, as any man possibly could. As a body, we owe it to +him that we are sportsmen, and not pot-hunters. Probably in some places +the grass-plover is called a frost-bird.” + +“I have more faith in Giraud, and would like to hear what he can tell us +about the golden-plover, unless he says that is a sandpiper also.” + +“He begins with a description of the black-bellied plover, which is +known to us as bull-head, the _charadrius helveticus_, and then +describes the American golden-plover, or _charadrius pluvialis_, and +uses these words: ‘It is better known to our gunners by the name of +frost-bird, so called from being more plentiful during the early frosts +of autumn, at which season it is generally in fine condition, and +exceedingly well flavored.’ Then follow the ring-plover, or +ring-neck--_charadrius semipalmatus_, Wilson’s plover; the +piping-plover, or beach-bird--_charadrius melodius_; and the kildeer +plover--_charadrius vociferus_, these being all the varieties of +American plover.” + +Bill could stand it no longer; but rising as the book was closed, burst +forth at once: + +“Those writers are queer fellows; they put the oddest, hardest, longest +names to birds that ever I heard. Who would have thought of their +calling a two-penny beach-bird, a radish mellow-deuce! What I have to +say is--we baymen will never learn these new-fangled names.” + +“That is exactly the trouble,” I replied. “You baymen will, in different +sections of the country, call the same bird by various names, till no +one can tell what you are talking about; and the man of science has to +step in and dig up a third name, usually some Latin affair, which nobody +will accept. Thus it is that the older frost-birds, which, strange to +say, invariably arrive before the young, are known as golden-plover, and +their progeny as frost-birds.” + +“Speaking of the seasons,” replied Bill, evasively, “have you noticed +that they are changing every year? The springs are later than they used +to be. In old times the English snipe arrived from the south early in +March; now they hardly come till June; so, the ducks come later and stay +later. The springs are colder, and the autumns warmer, than when I was +young, and the bay-snipe appear in September instead of August, as it +once was.” + +“As to the English snipe you are undoubtedly correct, but this is due +probably to their increasing scarcity; and although we have no spring, +and the summer extends frequently into September, this appears to result +from the changes in climate effected by clearing the woods. As the +forests are cut down, the cold winds of spring, and the burning suns of +summer, produce a greater effect, and each in its turn lasts longer. +Altogether, however, our seasons seem to be moderating.” + +At this interesting point in our discussion, some one discovered by the +aid of a telescope that a flock of willet had settled on the sand-bank +among the stools. The announcement was followed by a general seizure of +weapons and rush for the blinds. My friend and myself hastened to the +little boat, used in floating quietly down upon ducks, and called a +“sneak box,” and embarking, glided silently towards our stand. The tide +had left bare a long bank of sand, upon which was collected a glorious +flock, or, more properly speaking, two flocks united, one of marlin and +the other of willet. + +All unconscious of approaching danger, the pretty creatures were busily +engaged, some in feeding, others in washing--dipping under and throwing +the water over their graceful bodies--others in running actively about, +or jumping up and taking short flights to dry their wings. A happy +murmur ran through the flock, and so innocent and beautiful were they +that we remained watching them in silent admiration, unwilling to +disturb the romance of the charming scene. The rich brown feathers of +the imposing marlin formed an exquisite contrast to the white and black +of the elegant willet, as the different species mixed unreservedly +together. + +They did not exhibit the slightest alarm when our boat, after we had +ceased rowing, was borne towards them by the wind, and allowed us to +approach till it grounded on the flat. Having feasted our eyes on the +magnificent spectacle, we at last gave the word to fire. At the report +they rose wildly, and receiving the second discharge, made the best of +their way to safer quarters. Both barrels of my friend’s gun missed +fire, and we gathered only seven birds, as the flock, although numbering +at least seventy birds, was widely scattered and offered a poor mark. + +No sooner were we again ensconced in our blind, than the exhilarating +sport of the morning was renewed--sport such as only those who have +tried it can appreciate--sport that makes the heart beat and the nerves +tingle--sport that overweighs humanity and compels the remorseless +slaughter of these beautiful birds. Flock after flock, seen at great +distance, and watched in their approach through changing hopes and +fears, or darting unexpectedly from over our heads and first noticed +when rushing with extended wings down to our stools, presented their +crowded ranks to our delighted gaze. From the very clouds, would come +the shrill whistle of the yelper, or from the horizon, the long shriek +of the willet, or nearer at hand would be heard the plaintive note of +the gentle dowitcher; they appeared from all quarters, sailing low along +the water or pitching directly down from out the sky. + +Towards evening the flight diminished, and when the horn announced that +supper was ready, the different parties met once more at the house to +compare notes and relate adventures. All had met with excellent success, +but our stand carried off the palm. + +“Bill,” commenced some unhappy person, after we had left the close, hot +dining-room, “why do you not enlarge your house?” + +“Bill is waiting for another wreck,” was the volunteer response; “the +whole coast is fed, clothed, and sheltered by the wrecks. The house is +built from the remnants of unfortunate ships, as you perceive by the +name-boards of the Arion, Pilgrim, Samuel Willets, J. Harthorn, and +Johanna, that form so conspicuous a part of the front under the porch. +When a vessel is driven ashore, and the crew and passengers who are not +quite dead are disposed of by the aid of a stone in the corner of a +handkerchief, which makes an unsuspicious bruise, the prize is fought +for by the natives, and not only the cargo, but the very ribs and planks +of the vessel appropriated.” + +“Now that’s not fair,” replied Bill, aroused; “no man, except my +father-in-law, has done more to save drowning men than I have. I tell +you it’s an awful sight to see the poor creatures clinging to the +rigging and bowsprit, to see them washed off before your eyes, sometimes +close to you, without your being able to help them, and their dead +bodies thrown up by the waves on the sand. You don’t feel like stealing +or murder at such times; and besides, I never knew a dead man come +ashore that had anything in his pockets.” + +A peal of laughter greeted this naïve remark, together with the ready +response: “Bill, you were too late; some Barnegat pirate had been before +you.” + +“No, the Barnegat pirates are kinder than the Government. We do our best +to save the poor fellows, but the Government puts men in charge of their +station-houses that know nothing about their business. My father-in-law +was the first man that threw a line with the cannon over a ship, and he +was presented with a medal by the Humane Society. He never was paid a +dollar for taking charge of the station, the life-boat, and the cannon. +Since he died I kept it for five years, and was paid two years; now men +are selected for their politics. One lives back on the main land two +miles from his station-house, another never fired a gun, and a third +never rowed a boat. The last got a crew of us together once to go out to +a ship in the life-boat and undertook to steer, but we told him not one +of us would go unless he stayed on shore. It is a dangerous thing to +have a green hand at the helm, or even at an oar, in times like that.” + +“How far can you reach a ship with the cannon?” we inquired. + +“The line, you know, is fastened to the ball with a short wire, so that +it won’t burn off, and is coiled up beside the gun, and of course it +keeps the ball back, and then people forget we always have to fire +against the wind, as vessels are never wrecked with the wind off shore; +so although the guns are expected to carry five hundred yards, they will +not carry more than one hundred and eighty. That is enough, though, if +they only have the right sort of men to manage them; but how is a +landsman to tell whether he must use the cannon or is safe in going off +in the boat? In one case, while the station-master was trying to drag +his cannon down to a ship, a party of us took a common boat and landed +her crew and passengers before he arrived. I don’t care about the pay, +for I kept it three years without; but I hate to see lives sacrificed +for politics. Would you like to see the medal they gave to the old man?” + +We responded in the affirmative; and he soon produced a silver medal, +with an inscription on one side recording the circumstances, and on the +other an embossed picture of a ship in distress, a cannon from which the +ball and rope attached had been discharged and were visible in mid air, +several men standing around the gun, and a life-boat climbing the seas. + +“But, Bill, tell us about the Barnegat pirates leading a lame horse with +a lantern tied to his neck over the sand hills in imitation of a ship’s +light, and thus inveigling vessels ashore.” + +“I can only say I have never heard of it. As quick as a vessel comes +ashore, the insurance agent is telegraphed for, and he takes charge of +everything. Why, we even buy the wrecks and pay well for them, too. Now +and then something is washed up like that coal in front of the house, +but it is not often.” + +“What do you mean by the stations?” + +“They are houses built by the Government and placed at regular distances +along the beach. The gun, and rope, and life-boat, and life-car, and all +other things that are needed in case of shipwreck, are kept in them. +Then there is a stove and coal ready to make a fire, for if a poor +wretch got ashore in mid-winter he would soon freeze if he couldn’t get +to a fire. And if the man who has charge of the station lives two miles +off across a bay that he can’t cross in a bad storm, what can the poor +half-drowned fellows do, if they are too much benumbed to break open the +door? I’d stave it in for them pretty quick if I was there, law or no +law.” + +“It is a shame that a matter like that should not be free from +politics.” + +“So it was once,” Bill went on fluently; for on this subject he felt +that his family had a right to be eloquent; “at one time some department +had it in charge that never would either appoint or remove a man on +political account; but that is all changed now, and the men are expected +to go out with every administration, and shipwrecked passengers die +while political favorites draw the two hundred dollars a year pay for +the station-master.” + +“Now, Bill, stop your talk about the public wrongs, and tell us +something more interesting. Have you ever heard one of Bill’s ghost +stories?” This inquiry was addressed to the public. + +Bill’s face lengthened; he sat silently nursing his leg and smoking his +brierwood pipe, while a shadow seemed to settle on his countenance. +“Come, Bill,” we responded, “let’s have the story.” + +Bill answered not, and the shadow deepened, and the smoke was puffed in +heavier masses from his lips. + +“Bill is afraid; he don’t like ghosts, and don’t dare to talk of them.” + +“I am not easily skeered,” he answered at last; “but if you had seen +what I have on this shore, you would not talk so easy about it ’Lige, do +you remember the time we saw that ship? There had been a heavy storm, +and when we got up next day early, there lay a vessel on the beach; she +must have been most everlastingly a harpin’ it.” + +“What is that?” was asked wonderingly, on the utterance of this peculiar +expression. + +“Why, she had come clear in over the bar, and must have been going some +to do that; for there she lay, bow on, with her bowsprit sticking way up +ashore, just below the station yonder. Her masts were standing, and we +clapped on our clothes and started for the beach. The wind was blowin’ +hard, and the sand and drizzle driving in our faces as we walked over, +and we kept our heads down most of the time. When we got to the +sand-hills we looked up, and the ship was gone. I thought that likely +enough, for she must have broken up and gone to pieces soon in that +surf, so we hurried along as fast as we could; and sure enough, when we +rounded the point, the little cove in which she lay was full of truck. +’Lige was there, and he saw it as plain as I did. The water was full of +drift-boxes, barrels, planks, and all sorts of things, pitching and +rolling about; and some of them had been carried up onto the sand and +were strewed about in all directions. + +“It was early, and the day was misty, but we could see plain enough, and +we saw all that stuff knocking about as plain as I see you now. There +was a big timber in my way--a stick--well, thirty feet long and two feet +or two and a half square, so that I had to raise my foot high to clear +it; I stepped one leg over, and drew the other along to feel it, but it +didn’t touch anything; then I stopped and looked down--there was no +timber there; I looked back towards the sea--the drift had disappeared, +the barrels and boxes and truck of one sort or another was gone. There +was nothing on shore nor in the water. Now you may laugh, but ’Lige +knows whether what I’ve told you is true.” + +“Bill, that is a pretty good story, but it is not the one I meant,” +persisted the individual who had commenced the attack. + +“Well, another time, Zeph and I were at work getting the copper bolts +out of an old wreck, when we happened to look up and saw two carriages +coming along, up the beach. I spoke to Zeph about it, but as they came +along slowly, we went on with our work, and when we looked up again +there was only one. That came on closer and closer till I could tell the +horses; they were two bays of squire Jones’ down at the inlet; they +drove right on towards us till they were so near that I did not like to +stare the people in the face, and looked down again to my work. There +were two men, and I saw them so plain that I should know ’em anywhere. +Well, I raised my head a second after, and they were gone; and there +never had been any wagon, for Zeph and I hunted all over the beach to +find the tracks in the sand.” + +“I guess that was another misty day, and you hadn’t had your +eye-opener,” was the appreciative response. + +“No, it was three o’clock in the day, and bright sunshine; but at that +time, as near as can be, Tommy Smith was drowned down at the inlet, and +the very next day at the very same hour, the ’Squire’s wagon did come up +the beach, with the same two men driving, and the body in a box in the +back part.” + +“Now, Bill,” continued the persistent individual, “this is all very +well, but it is not the story. Come, out with it; you know what I mean.” + +Bill fell silent, again looking off into the distance as though he saw +something that others could not see; he pulled away nervously on his +pipe, which had gone out, but answered not. + +“Bill’s afraid;” was the tantalizing suggestion. + +“There’s Sam,” said Bill suddenly; “he’s not afeard of man or devil; ask +him what he saw.” + +The person referred to was a large, broad-shouldered, pleasant-faced +man, with a clear blue eye that looked as though it would not quail +easily, and he responded at once: + +“I never saw anything; but one night when I was coming by the cove where +the Johanna was cast away, and where three hundred bodies were picked up +and buried, I heard a loud scream. It sounded like a woman’s voice, and +was repeated three or four times; but I couldn’t find anything, although +I spent an hour hunting among the sand-hills, and it was bright +moonlight. It may have been some sort of animal, but I don’t know +exactly what.” + +“Bill’s adventure happened in the same neighborhood, so let’s have it,” +continued the persistent man. + +“As Sam says,” commenced Bill, at last, “the Johanna went ashore one +awful north-easter in winter about six miles above here, near Old +Jackey’s tavern; she broke up before we could do anything for her, and +three hundred men, women, and children--for she was an emigrant +ship--were washed ashore during the following week; most of them had +been drifted by the set of the tide into the cove, and they were buried +there; so you see it ain’t a nice place of a dark night. + +“I was driving down the beach about a year after she was lost, with my +old jagger wagon, and a heavy load on of groceries and stores of one +kind or other. It was about one o’clock at night, mighty cold, but +bright moonlight; and I was coming along by the corner of the fence, you +know, just above Jackey’s, when the mare stopped short. Now, she was +just the best beast to drive you ever saw. I could drive her into the +bay or right over into the ocean, and she was never skeered at anything. +But this time, she come right back in the shafts and began to tremble +all over; I gave her a touch of the whip, and she was just as full of +spirit as a horse need be, but she only reared up and snorted and +trembled worse than ever. So I knew something must be wrong, and looked +ahead pretty sharp; and there, sure enough, right across the road, lay a +man. Jackey was a little too fond of rum at that time, and I made up my +mind he had got drunk and tumbled down on his way home; it was cold, and +I didn’t want to get out of the wagon where I was nicely tucked in, and +thought I would drive round out of the road and wake him up with my whip +as I passed. I tried to pull the mare off to one side to go by, but she +only reared and snorted and trembled, so that I was afraid she would +fall. She had a tender mouth, but although I pulled my best I could not +budge her; at last, getting mad, I laid the gad over her just as hard as +I could draw it. Instead of obeying the rein, however, she plunged +straight on, made a tremendous leap over the body, and dragged the +wagon after her. I pulled her in all I knew how, and no mistake; but it +was no use, and I felt the front wheels strike, lift, and go over him, +and then the hind wheels, but I couldn’t stop her. That was a heavy +load, and enough to crush any one, and as soon as I could fetch the mare +down--for she had started to run--I jumped out quick enough then, you +may bet your life. I tied her up to the fence, although she was still so +uneasy I daresen’t hardly leave her, and hurried back to see if I could +do anything for Jackey. Would you believe it, there was nothing there! I +tell you I felt the wagon go over him, and what’s more, I looked down as +I passed and saw his clothes and his hair straggling out over the snow, +for he had no hat on; though I noticed at the time that I didn’t see any +flesh, but supposed his face was turned from me. There was no rise in +the ground and not a cloud in the sky; the moon was nearly full, and +there wasn’t any man, and never had been any man there; but whatever +there was, the mare saw it as plain as I did.” + +“Now let’s turn in,” said a sleepy individual, who had first been +nodding over Bill’s statement of public wrongs, and had taken several +short naps in the course of his ghost story; “and as there was something +said yesterday about a smoke driving away mosquitoes, for heaven’s sake +let’s make a big one; the infernal pests kept me awake all last night.” + +This was excellent advice, and not only was an entire newspaper consumed +in our common sleeping apartment, but a quantity of powder was squibbed +off, till the place smelt like the antechamber of Tartarus. The +mosquitoes were expelled or silenced at the cost of a slight suffocation +to ourselves, but we gained several hours sleep till the smoke escaped +and allowed the villains to return to their prey. + +One sporting day resembles another in its essential features, although +not often so entirely as with the Englishman, who, having devoted his +life to woodcock shooting, and being called upon to relate his +experiences, replied that he had shot woodcock for forty years, but +never noticed anything worth recording. Our next day, however, was +enlivened by sport of an unexpected kind. We had heard there was some +dispute about the ownership of the stands; in fact, that the one +occupied by my friend and myself belonged to the Ortleys, a family +represented as decidedly uninviting; while both Bill and the Ortleys +claimed that, where another party was located. + +In the disputed stand were Bill, a New York gentleman, who, as events +proved, seemed to be something of an athlete, and a sedate, +unimpassionable Jersey lawyer of considerable eminence. Elijah was with +us, when two villanous, red-haired, freckle-skinned objects presented +themselves, and, after some preliminary remarks and a refusal on their +part of a friendly glass, which is a desperate sign in a Jerseyman, +mildly suggested that they would like a little remuneration for the use +of the stand. As their suggestion was moderate, reasonable, and just, +and they undoubtedly owned the land, we complied, and beheld them +proceed, to Elijah’s great delight, for the same purpose towards the +other stand. Elijah prophetically announced they would probably get more +than they demanded. + +The other stand was distant about a hundred yards, in full view, and we +perceived at once that a commotion was caused by the unexpected arrival. +The athletic man was shortly seen outside the blind, flinging his arms +wildly about in front of the two Ortley brothers, and, as we were +afterwards informed, offering to fight either or both of them. Matters +then seemed to progress more favorably, till suddenly Bill and the +younger Ortley emerged, locked in an unfriendly embrace, and commenced +dragging each other round the sand-bank, while the demonstrative +sportsman was seen dancing actively in front of the other Ortley, and +preventing his interference. + +Of course we dropped our guns and hastened across the shallow, +intervening water, having just time to perceive that Bill had thrown his +adversary and remained on top. The first words we heard were: “Take him +off! Oh, my God! take him off. Enough, enough, take him off,” from the +one on the ground, whose eye--the only vulnerable part to uninstructed +anger--Bill was busily endeavoring to gouge out, while the other shouted +frantically: “He is killing my brother; let me get to him; he is gouging +his eye out. He will kill him, he will kill him.” + +“Never mind,” answered the athletic man, swinging his arms ominously, +and dexterously interposing between the victim and his brother, +whenever the latter attempted to dodge past him. “Let him be killed, it +would serve him right; he came over here for a fight, and he shall have +enough of it if both of his eyes are gouged out.” + +Elijah arrived in time to prevent the latter catastrophe, and being of a +peaceable and humane disposition, pulled off his brother before anything +more serious than a little scratching had occurred. In fact, there is no +position in which ignorance renders a person more pitiably inefficient, +than in fighting; and, while a skilful man could have killed his +opponent during the time Bill had enjoyed, the latter had really +effected nothing worth mentioning. The ugly wretch was awfully +frightened, however; his face being ghostly pale, streaked with bloody +red, and he commenced whining at once: + +“I am nothing but a boy, only twenty-two last spring, and he’s a man +grown.” + +“You know boys have to be whipped to keep them in order,” was the +consolatory response; for we naturally took part with our landlord. + +“Gentlemen, just look at me.” + +“Don’t come so close, you’re covered with blood; keep back, keep back.” + +“But look at me; he’s bigger than I am, and I am only a boy.” + +“Then you shouldn’t strike a man.” + +“Oh! gentlemen, I didn’t strike him first, indeed I didn’t; he struck me +when I wasn’t thinking; indeed he did.” + +“Yes,” broke in his brother, who was just recovering from the spell +first put upon him by our athlete’s continual offers to accommodate him +in any way he wished. “Yes, it will be a dear blow for you; I saw you +strike him.” + +“No,” said the lawyer, advancing for the first time from behind the +blind where he had been an unmoved and impartial umpire of the fray, +“you should not say that; your brother certainly struck first; I saw him +distinctly.” His manner was solemn, and convincing, and conclusive, +taken in connexion with his perfect equanimity during the affair; but, +of course, he was met by contradiction and protestation from the two +brothers. This dispute would have been endless, but at that moment a +fine flock of willets was descried advancing towards the stools. + +“Down, down,” every one shouted, and, true to the bayman’s instinct, +friend and foe crowded down on the sand together, waiting breathlessly +the arrival of the birds. The latter came up handsomely, were received +with four barrels, and left several of their number as keepsakes or +peace-offerings; for, of course, anger was dissipated, and the defeated +enemy retired amid a few merry suggestions, and the excellent advice +that they had better not repeat their joke. + +Such squabbles--for it can be called nothing graver--lower one’s opinion +of human kind, and it makes one ashamed to think that two men may hug +and pull one another about, and roll on the sand for fifteen minutes, +with the best will in the world to do each other all the damage +possible, and only inflict, in the feebleness of uneducated humanity, a +few miserable scratches. Any of the lower animals would, in that time, +have left serious marks of its anger; but the pitiful results of these +human efforts were, that Bill’s beard was pulled and Ortley’s face +scratched. It makes one blush to think he is a man. + +As our party returned to the blind we had left, Elijah spoke, softly +ruminating aloud: + +“Well, it only costs thirty-five dollars anyhow, and it was worth that.” + +Our humane, peaceable friend, it seems, had been cast in a similar case, +and had to pay six cents damages and thirty-five dollars costs of court. +There is probably nothing that has so soothing and pacifying an +influence on the New Jersey mind as costs of court. The words alone act +like a charm upon a Jerseyman in the acme of frenzy, and are as +effective as a policeman in uniform. If a man commits assault and +battery, he is fined six cents damages and costs of court; if he is +guilty of trespass it is the same; if he kisses his neighbor’s wife +against her will, if he slanders a friend’s character, it is always six +cents damages and costs of court; and Jerseymen will probably expect in +the next world to get off with six cents damages and costs of court. + +The shooting was excellent during the whole day, and evening found us +collected in the bar-room, well satisfied and particularly jocose over +the amusing pugilistic encounter we had witnessed. It lent point to +many a good hit at Bill’s expense; even his wife, who is a fine, +resolute-looking woman, saying that if she had seen it sooner, she would +have taken a broomstick and flogged them both. The general impression +was, she could have made her words good. + +The pleasure of indulging in fun at the expense of a fellow-creature is +very great, and Bill’s adventure was certainly fair game. When our wit +was exhausted, and the craving for tobacco mollified by the steady use +of our pipes, our thoughts and voices turned to our never-wearying +passion, and one of the party commenced: + +“I have shot a number of the birds you call kriekers; they are a fat +bird, but do not seem to stool. I have never before shot them, except +occasionally on the meadows.” + +“They don’t stool,” said Bill, “and only utter a krieking kind of cry; +but in October they come here very thick, and we walk them up over the +meadows. Why, you can shoot a hundred a day.” + +“A most excellent bird they are, too--fat and delicate. They are the +latest of the bay-snipe in returning from the summer breeding-places; +and as they rise and fly from you, they afford extremely pretty +shooting. They are sometimes called short-neck, and are, in a +gastronomic point of view, the best bay-snipe that is put upon the +table.” + +“We call the bay-birds usually snipe,” said the first speaker; “but I +have been told they are not snipe at all. Refer to Giraud again and +give us the truth.” + +This fell, of course, to my share, and I commenced as follows: + +“I read you yesterday about the plovers, and immediately after them we +find an account of the turnstone, _strepsilas interpres_, which is +nothing else than our beautiful brant-bird or horse-foot snipe, as it is +called farther south, because it feeds on the spawn of the horse-foot. +This pretty but unfortunate bird belongs to no genus whatever, and has +been to the ornithologists a source of great tribulation. They have +sometimes considered it a sandpiper and sometimes not, so you may +probably call it what you please; and as brant-bird is a rhythmical +name, it will answer as well as _strepsilas interpres_; if you have not +a fluent tongue, perhaps somewhat better. Of the snipes, or +_scolopacidæ_, the only true representative is the dowitcher, _scolopax +noveboracensis_. + +“Hold on,” shouted Bill; “say that last word over again.” + +“_Noveboracensis._” + +“That is only the half of it; let’s have the whole.” + +“_Scolopax noveboracensis._” + +“Scoly packs never borrow a census; that is a good sized name for a +little dowitch, and beats the radish altogether. Go ahead, we’ll learn +something before we get through.” + +“Why, that is only Latin for New York snipe.” + +“Oh, pshaw!” responded Bill, in intense disgust, “I thought it meant a +whole bookful of things.” + +“The sandpipers, however, come under the family of snipes, and are +called _tringæ_. Among these are enumerated the robin-snipe and the +grass-plover, as I told you before, the black-breast, the krieker, or +short-neck, and several scarcer varieties. The yelpers and yellow-legs, +the tiny teeter, and the willet are tattlers, genus _totanus_, while the +marlin is the godwit _limosa_. The sickle-bills, jacks, and futes are +curlews, _genus numenius_.” + +“And now that you have got through,” grumbled Bill again, “can you +whistle a snipe any better or shoot him any easier? Do you know why he +stools well in a south-westerly wind, why one stools better than +another, or why any of them stool at all? Do you know why he flies after +a storm, or why some go in flocks and others don’t, or why there is +usually a flight on the fifteenth and twenty-fifth of August? When books +tell us these things, I shall think more of the writers.” + +“These matters are not easy to find out; even you gunners, who have been +on the bay all your lives, where your fathers lived before you, do not +know. But now tell us what other sport you have here.” + +“On the mainland there are a good many English snipe in spring, while in +the fall we catch bluefish and shoot ducks. The black ducks and teal +will soon be along; but ever since the inlet was closed, the +canvas-backs and red-heads have been scarce.” + +“What do you mean by the inlet’s closing?” + +“There used to be several inlets across the beach--one about ten miles +below--and then we had splendid oysters and ducks plenty. There came a +tremendous storm one winter that washed up the sand and closed the +inlet, and so it has remained ever since.” + +“Can’t they be dredged out?” + +“The people would pay a fortune to any man who did that, if he could +keep it open. In the fall, we go after ducks twenty miles when we want +any great shooting; but we kill a good many round here.” + +“How do you catch the blue-fish that you spoke of?” + +“They chase the bony-fish along the shore, and when they come close in, +you can stand on the beach, and throw the squid right among them. I took +sixteen hundred pounds in half a day.” + +“Phew!” was the universal chorus. + +“‘Lige was there, and he knows whether that is true. They averaged +fifteen pounds apiece. On those occasions, the only question is whether +you know how to land them, and can do it quick enough.” + +“Your hands must have been cut to pieces.” + +“Not at all; you’ll never cut your hands if you don’t let the line +slip.” + +“Did you run up ashore with them?” + +“No, I had no time for that; I landed them, hand over hand.” + +“Well, after that story it’s time we went to bed; so good-night.” + +During that night the mosquitoes, bad as they had been, were more +terrible than at any time previous. Favored by the late frequent rains, +they had become more numerous than had ever been known on the beach; and +being consequently compelled to subdivide to an unusual degree the +ordinarily small supply of food, they were savagely hungry. Sleep was +out of the question, and after trying all sorts of devices from +gunpowder to mosquito-nets, the party wandered out of doors, and, +scattering in search of a place of retreat, afforded an excellent +representation of unhappy ghosts on the banks of the Styx. The shore, +near the surf, and the bathing-houses had heretofore been tolerably +secure resorts, but, on this unprecedented night, a special meeting of +mosquitoes seemed to have been called in that neighborhood. + +Those that tried the ground, and covered themselves carefully from head +to foot, found that the enterprising long-legs disregarded the customary +habits of their race, and consented to crawl down their sleeves, up +their pants, or through the folds of the blanket. The sand-fleas also +were numerous and lively, bounding about in an unpleasantly active way; +and where there were neither mosquitoes nor sand-fleas, the nervous +sufferer imagined every grain of stray sand that sifted in through his +clothes to be some malignant, blood-sucking, insect. + +One great advantage, however, followed from this discomfort--that we +were up betimes next morning and ready for sport that soon proved equal +to any we had experienced. In fact, so steady and well sustained a +flight of large birds was extremely rare; before our arrival the +shooting had been good, and since excellent. There was a repetition to a +great extent of the day previous, in many particulars of flight, number, +and character of birds; in infinite modification of circumstance, there +was an incessant variety of bewildering sport. + +No two birds ever approach the sportsman’s stand in precisely the same +way, and there is one round of deliciously torturing uncertainty; the +flock we are most certain of may turn off, the one that has passed and +been given up, may return; the bird that has been carefully covered may +escape, another that seems a hopeless chance may fall: it is these +minute differences, and this continual variety, that lend the principal +charm to the sportsman’s life. + +At midday came again the congregation at the house, the discussion over +sporting topics, the joke or story, and the comparison of luck. Thus +passed the days, alike, yet different, affording undiminished pleasure, +excitement, and instruction, with sport admirably adapted to the hot +weather, when the cool, shady swamps are deserted by the woodcock. The +English snipe have not yet arrived upon the meadows, and the fall +shooting is still in prospective; the labor is easy, the body can be +kept cool by wading for dead birds, and to those who are, at the best, +not vigorous, bay-snipe shooting is a delightful resource. + +Never did mortals pass a pleasanter week than that week at the beach, +and it is impossible to chronicle all the good shots, to repeat all the +amusing stories or merry jokes, or to record all the valuable +instruction; and to obtain an inkling even, the reader had better make a +firm resolve that next August will not pass over his head without his +devoting at least one week to bay-snipe shooting. When at last the time +came to part, and the baggage was packed, and the guns reluctantly +bestowed in their cases, we bade our farewell with sincere regret, +praying that often thereafter might we have such sport, and meet such +companionship. + +It is a long journey to the beach, but it is a longer one back again; no +high hopes buoy up the traveller, regrets accompany him instead--no +anticipation of grand sport, but the gloomy certainty that it is over +for the year; and although the conveyance to the beach is irregular, +there is absolutely none away from it. It is true there are several +different routes to and from it, but all by private conveyance, and, +rendered by the mosquitoes nearly impracticable. + +Bill harnessed his ponies--for, wonderful to say, a few horses and +cattle manage to live on the beach and sustain existence in spite of the +mosquitoes--and we stowed ourselves and our luggage in his well worn +wagon. The road lay over the barren beach, deep and heavy with sand, +and hardly distinguishable after a heavy rain; the one-story shanty, +that had been our resting-place, soon faded from view, and we had +nothing in prospect but the dreary journey home. + +At the head of the beach we encountered a bathing-party, and were sorely +tempted to join the rollicking girls in a frolic among the breakers; +but, by exerting great self-denial, and shutting our eyes to their +attractions, much to my companion’s disgust, we kept on our course. We +dined at the tavern on the road, and having bade farewell to Bill, and +engaged another team, we reached Crab Town by dusk. + +How changed the village seemed to us! Where was the precious and +beautiful freight that had paid us such delicious toll? Our eyes peered +up and down the road, and into the windows of the scattered houses; our +ears listened sharply for the music of merry voices and ringing +laughter; our thoughts reverted to that crowded stage, which had so +lately borne us through the village. The road was vacant and desolate; +all sound was hushed and still; graceful forms, clad in yielding +drapery, were nowhere to be seen; the dull lights in the windows +revealed nothing to our earnest gaze. Our lovely companions were +invisible, although we pursued our search persistently till late at +night, when, weary and disconsolate, we crawled up to bed in a dismal +hostelry kept by Huntsinger. Going sporting into Jersey is delightful, +but returning is sad indeed. + +[Illustration: + + 1. Lower mandible. + + 2. Upper mandible. + + 3. Forehead. + + 4. Loral space. + + 5. Crown of the head. + + 6. Hind part of the head. + + 7. Scapulars--long feathers from shoulders over side of back. + + 8. Smaller wing coverts. + + 9. Bend of the wing. + + 10. Larger wing coverts. + + 11. Tertials, arising from the second bone of the wing at the + elbow-joint. + + 12. Secondaries, from the second bone of the wing. + + 13. Primaries, from the first bone of the wing. + + 14. Tibia, the thigh. + + 15. Tarsus, the shank. + + 16. Upper tail coverts. + + 17. Lower tail coverts. + + 18. Tail feathers. + +The length of a bird is measured from the extremity of the bill to the +end of the longest tail feather; the length of the wing is measured from +the bend to the tip of the longest quill.] + + + + +CHAPTER V. + +BAY-BIRDS. + + +Although a cursory account of the various bay-birds, their habits and +peculiarities, has been given in a previous chapter, it seems desirable +to add a more complete, exhaustive, and specific description. This is +attempted in the following pages, and although the ornithological +characteristics are taken from _Giraud’s Birds of Long Island_, which +seems to have been the resource of all our sporting writers, nothing +else is derived from him; but the facts are stated, either upon personal +knowledge, which is generally the case, or upon reliable information. + +As to the abundance or scarcity of any particular species, the +experience of sportsmen will differ according to the accident of flight, +or the locality of their favorite sporting-ground; and in relation to +their shyness or gentleness, much depends upon the time of year and the +condition of the weather. In consequence of the confusion of +nomenclature, it has been deemed advisable to give the scientific +description of the common species, each one being placed under its most +appropriate name, and to collect together as many designations as could +be found to have been applied to them respectively. Nevertheless, many +names will no doubt be omitted, and there will be other birds, and some +quite common varieties, that, among bay-men, have no names whatever. + +It is not intended to furnish a description of all the species of +shore-snipe that occasionally are killed, but to supply such information +as will enable the sportsman to distinguish the ordinary varieties; and +such facts as have not been fully stated, which are more especially +applicable to certain members of this great class, are grouped together +under separate heads. Nothing is expected to be added to the +ornithological learning of the world, and only such portions of that +science are given as may be considered desirable for the ready use of +the sportsman in the intelligent pursuit of his pleasures. + + +PLOVERS. + +_Genus Charadrius, Linn._ + +_Generic distinctions._--Bill short, strong, straight, about the length +of the head, which is rather large and prominent in front; eyes large; +body full; neck short and rather thick; wings long; tail rounded and of +moderate length; toes connected at the base; hind toe wanting, or +consisting of a small knob. + + +BLACK-BREAST. + +BULL-HEADED PLOVER. BEETLE-HEADED PLOVER. BLACK-BELLIED PLOVER. + +_Charadrius Helveticus, Wils._ + +This bird is killed along our bays indiscriminately with the other +snipe, although it does not stool as well as the marlin or yellow-legs. +It passes north early in May, when it is often called the black-bellied +plover, and regarded from its plumage as a distinct variety from the +fall bird; it is then quite shy. In August or September it returns, +being more plentiful in the latter month, and is often found in great +numbers especially at Montauk Point; and at that period the young, being +quite fat, are regarded as delicious eating. It is then greyer in +appearance and not so strongly colored as when in full plumage. Before +the main flight arrives, scattering individuals are heard uttering their +peculiar beautiful and shrill cry, and are seen shyly approaching the +stools, or darting round not far off, and yet afraid to draw close to +them. Its head is large and round, giving rise to the name of bull-head, +which is common on the coast of New Jersey, although in New York it is +generally known as black-breast. + +“_Specific Character._--Bill stout, along the gap one inch and +five-sixteenths; length of tarsi one inch and five-eighths. Adult male +with the bill black, strong, shorter than the head; cheeks, loral space, +throat, fore-neck, breast, with a large portion of the abdomen black; +hind part of the abdomen and flanks white; forehead, with a broad band +passing down the sides of the neck and breast, white; crown, occiput, +and hind-neck greyish white, spotted with dusky; upper parts +blackish-brown, the feathers broadly tipped with white; eye encircled +with white; tail and upper tail-coverts white, barred with black, the +former tipped with white; lower tail-coverts white, the outer feather +spotted with black; primaries and their coverts blackish-brown, the +latter margined with white; primary shafts about two-thirds from the +base, white, tips blackish-brown; part of the inner webs of the outer +primaries white; both webs of the inner primaries partially white; +secondaries white at the base, margined at the same; feet black; toes +connected by a membrane. Female smaller. Young with the upper plumage +greyish-brown, the feathers spotted with white; throat, fore-neck, and +upper part of the breast greyish-white, streaked with dusky; rest of the +lower parts white. Length of adult male eleven inches and three +quarters, wing seven and a half.”--_Giraud’s Birds of Long Island._ + + +AMERICAN GOLDEN PLOVER. + +_Frost Bird_, Greenback. + +_Charadrius Pluvialis, Wils._ + +This bird furnishes great sport at Montauk Point, when the fortunate +sportsman happens to arrive after a fierce north-easter early in +September and during one of those wonderful flights that occasionally +occur. They come readily to the decoys which are placed in the open +upland fields, and were once killed in great numbers on Hempstead plains +before cultivation ejected them. A large number of decoys should be +used, for they are not so easily seen as when set in the water. After +alighting, the golden plover runs with great activity in pursuit of the +insects, mostly grasshoppers, on which it feeds; and when killed it +constitutes a prime delicacy for the table, and brings a high price in +market. It passes to the northward in the latter part of April, and +returns in the early part of September. Its general color on the back is +greenish, and it has a distinct light stripe alongside of the eye. They +often congregate in immense numbers, and I have certainly seen a +thousand in a flock. + +“_Specific Character._--Bill rather slender; along the gap one inch and +an eighth; tarsi one and nine-sixteenths. Adult with the bill black, +much slighter than _C. helveticus_; forehead, and a band over the eye, +extending behind the eye, white; upper parts, including the crown, +brownish-black, the feathers marked with spots of golden yellow and dull +white; quills and coverts dark greyish-brown; secondaries paler--the +inner margined with yellowish-white; tail feathers greyish-brown, barred +with paler, the central with dull yellow; shafts of the wing quills +white towards the end, which, with their bases, are dark brown; lower +parts brownish-black, though in general we find them mottled with brown, +dull white, and black; lower tail-coverts white, the lateral marked with +black; feet bluish-grey. Late in autumn, the golden markings on the +upper parts are not so distinct, and the lower parts are greyish-blue. +Length, ten inches and a half, wing seven and one-eighth.”--_Giraud._ + + +BEACH-BIRD. + +Piping Plover. + +_Charadrius Hiaticula_, Wils. + +The beach-bird, as its name implies, prefers the beaches to the meadows, +and follows each retreating wave of ocean surf in pursuit of its prey, +escaping with amazing agility from the next swell. It is a pretty little +bird, not often associating in flocks, and on hazy days coming well to +the decoys, which should be placed near to the surf, while the sportsman +conceals himself by digging a hollow in the loose sand. Although these +birds are small, they are plump and well flavored, and when flying +rapidly on a level with the flashing breakers, amid the noise and +confusion of old ocean’s roar, are by no means easy to kill. They are +present with us more or less all summer, their diminutive size tending +to protect them from destruction. + +“_Specific Character._--Bill shorter than the head; at base orange +color, towards the end black; fore-neck and cheeks pure white, bordered +above with black; rest of the head very pale brown. Adult male with the +bill short, orange at the base, anterior to the nostrils black; forehead +white, with a band of black crossing directly above; upper part of the +head, hind neck, back, scapulars, and wing coverts, pale brown; rump +white, the central feathers tinged with brown; tail brown, white at +base, tipped with the same; lateral feathers pure white--the next with a +spot of blackish-brown near the end; upper tail coverts white; +primaries brown; a large portion of the inner webs white; a spot of the +same on the outer webs of the inner quills; secondaries white, with a +large spot of brown towards the ends; lower surface of the wings white, +a black band round the lower part of the neck, broadest on the sides +where it terminates; entire lower plumage white. Female similar, with +the band on the neck brown. Length seven inches, wing four and a +half.”--_Giraud_. + + +KILDEER. + +_Charadrius Vociferus_, Wils. + +A worthless bird, furnishing no sport, and poor eating. + +“_Specific Character._--A band on the forehead passing back to the eye; +a line over the eye, upper part of the neck all round, and a band on the +lower part of the fore-neck, white; above and below the latter, a broad +black band; rump and upper tail-coverts orange red. Adult with the bill +black; at the base a band of blackish-brown; on the forehead a band of +white passing back to the eye; directly above a band of black; rest of +the head brown, with a band of white behind the eye; throat white; a +broad band of the same color encircling the upper part of the neck; +middle of the neck encircled with black, much broader on the fore-neck; +below which, on the fore-neck, a band of white, followed by a band of +black on the lower neck, the feathers of which are tipped with white, of +which color are the breast, abdomen, under tail-coverts, and sides, the +latter faintly tinged with yellow; tail rather long, rounded; the outer +feathers white, barred with brownish-black, their tips white, with a +single spot of blackish-brown on the outer web; the rest pale +reddish-brown at the base, changing into brownish-black towards the +ends, which are white; some of the inner feathers tipped with +yellowish-brown; the middle feathers are plain brown, with a darker spot +towards the ends, which are slightly tipped with white; upper +tail-coverts and rump reddish-brown, the latter brighter; upper parts +brown, the feathers margined with reddish-brown; primaries dark brown, +with a large portion of the inner web white; a spot of the same color on +the outer webs towards the tips, excepting the first two; their coverts +blackish-brown tipped with white; secondaries white, with a large spot +of brown towards the ends; their tips, with those of the primaries, +white; secondary coverts brown, broadly tipped with white. Length ten +inches, wing seven inches.”--_Giraud._ + + +SANDERLING. + +_Charadrius Rubidus_, Wils. + +“_Specific Character._--Bill straight, black, along the gap one inch and +one-eighth; length of tarsi one inch; hind toe wanting. Adult with the +bill straight, about as long as the head. Spring plumage, upper parts, +with the throat, fore-neck, and upper part of the breast rufous, +intermixed with dusky and greyish white; deeper red on the back; lower +part of the breast, abdomen, and sides of the body pure white; tarsi and +feet black; claws small, compressed; primaries, outer webs, black; inner +webs light brown; shafts brown at the base, tips black, rest parts +white; secondaries light brown, broadly margined with white. Winter +dress, lower parts white; upper parts greyish-white, intermixed with +black or dusky, darkest on the back. Length seven inches and +three-quarters, wing four and seven-eighths.”--_Giraud._ + + +TURNSTONE. + +_Genus Strepsilas._ + +_Generic Distinctions._--Bill shorter than the head, strong, tapering, +compressed, and blunt; neck rather short; body full; wings long, of +moderate breadth, and pointed; tail round, rather short, and composed of +twelve feathers; tarsus equal to the middle toe, and rather stout; hind +toe small, fore-toes free, with a narrow margin. + + +BRANT-BIRD. + +Horse-foot Snipe, Turnstone, Beach-Robins. + +_Strepsilas Interpres._ + +This is a beautiful bird, and stools pretty well, but is rare and mostly +solitary; its young are at Egg Harbor sometimes termed beach-birds. The +brant-bird is considered good eating. It feeds on the eggs of the +king-crab or horse-foot, which it digs up by jumping in the air and +striking with both its feet at once into the sand, thus scratching a +hole about three inches deep and an inch and a half across. + +“_Specific Character._--Bill black; feet orange; the head and sides of +the neck streaked and patched with black and white; fore part of the +neck and upper portion of the sides of the breast, black; lower parts, +hind part of the back, and upper tail-coverts white; rump dusky; rest of +the upper parts reddish-brown, mottled with black; primaries dusky; a +band across the wings and the throat white. Young with the head and neck +all round, fore part of the back, and sides of the breast, dusky brown, +streaked and margined with greyish-white; wing-coverts and tertials +broadly margined with dull reddish-brown. It can at all times be +identified by its having the throat, lower parts, hind part of the back, +and the upper tail-coverts white, and the feathers on the rump dusky. +Adult with the bill black, throat white, sides of the head mottled with +black and white; crown streaked with black on white ground; on the hind +neck a patch of white; a patch of black on the sides of the neck, of +which color are the fore-neck and the sides of the breast; lower parts +white; tail blackish-brown, white at the base, of which color are the +lateral feathers, with a spot of black on the inner vanes near the +end--the rest margined with reddish-brown, and tipped with white; upper +tail-coverts white; hind part of the back white; the feathers on the +rump black; fore part of the back mottled with black and reddish-brown; +primaries dark brown, inner webs white; secondaries broadly edged with +white, forming a band on the wings; outer secondary coverts +reddish-brown, inner black; outer scapulars white, with dusky spots; +inner scapulars reddish brown. In winter the colors are duller. Length +nine inches, wing five and three quarters.”--_Giraud._ + + +SANDPIPER. + +_Genus Tringà._ + +_Generic Distinctions._--Bill straight, slender, and tapering, +compressed towards the end, and but little longer than the head; body +rather full; wings very long and pointed; tail rather short and nearly +even; tarsi moderate; hind toe very small, and sometimes wanting; fore +toes slender, of moderate length, and generally divided. + + +ROBIN-SNIPE. + +_Red-breasted Sandpiper_. + +_Tringà Cinèrea_, Wils. Winter. + +_Tringà Rufa_, Wils. Spring. + +This delicious and beautiful bird, although far from plentiful, +furnishes excellent sport, coming readily to stool, and flying regularly +and steadily. It mostly affects the marshy islands lying between the +salt water creeks, and derives its name from a fancied resemblance to +the robin, as he is termed among us. It is always gentle, occasionally +abundant, and generally fat and tender; by reason of its steady flight +it is not difficult to kill; and its food, mostly shell-fish, does not +contribute an unpleasant flavor to its flesh. It arrives from the north +about the middle of August, and often lingers for some time on the +meadows. As the season advances its plumage becomes paler, till it +acquires the name of white robin-snipe--although I have often seen them +late in August of the most beautiful and strongly marked coloring, the +breast being a rich brownish red and the back a fine grey. + +The robin-snipe is of about the size of the dowitcher, with a shorter +and more pointed bill, and is killed indiscriminately on the stools with +the other bay-birds. Its call consists of two notes, and is sharp and +clear; when well imitated, it will often attract the confiding snipe to +the gunner, exposed in full view, and without decoys. This bird is very +beautiful, and a great favorite. + +“_Specific Character._--Bill straight, longer than the head; tarsi one +inch and three-sixteenths long; rump and upper tail-coverts white, +barred with dark brown; region of the vent and the lower tail-coverts +white, with dusky markings. In spring the upper parts are ash-grey, +variegated with black and pale yellowish-red; lower parts, including the +throat and fore-neck, brownish-orange. In autumn the upper parts are +ash-grey, margined with dull white; rump and upper tail-coverts barred +with black and white; lower parts white; the sides of the body marked +with dusky; a dull white line over the eye. Adult in spring--bill black; +a broad band of reddish + +[Illustration: THE LIFE CAR.] + +brown commences at the base of the upper mandible, extends half-way to +the eye, where it changes to reddish-brown; upper part of head and the +hind neck dusky, the feathers margined with greyish white--a few touches +of pale reddish-brown on the latter; throat, fore-neck, breast, and +abdomen reddish-brown; vent white; lower tail coverts white, spotted +with dusky; upper plumage blackish-brown, upper tail-coverts barred with +black and white; tail pale brown, margined with white; primary coverts +black, tipped with white; secondary coverts greyish-brown, margined with +white. Young with the upper parts greyish-brown; the feathers with +central dusky streaks, a narrow line of cinnamon-color towards their +margins, which are dull white; the lower parts ash-grey. Length of +adult, ten inches; wing, six and three-quarters.”--_Giraud._ + + +UPLAND PLOVER. + +Grey, Grass, or Field Plover. + +Bartram’s Sandpiper. + +_Tringà Bartramia_, Wils. + +This bird, although scientifically not a plover, is, by its habits, +entitled to an appellation that common consent has bestowed upon it. It +is found upon the uplands, never frequenting the marshes except by +crossing them while migrating, and feeds, not on shell-fish or the +innumerable minute insects that live in sand and salt mud, but on the +grasshoppers and seeds of the open fields. It never takes the slightest +notice of the stools, is comparatively a solitary bird, and although +continually uttering its melodious cry, does not heed a responsive call. + +On the eastern extremity of Long Island, and along the coast of New +England, are vast rolling and hilly stretches of land, where there are +no trees and little vegetation, besides a short thin grass, and here the +plovers rest and feed. They migrate to the southward in August, and +appear about the same time scattered from Nantucket to New Jersey. In +spite of their shyness and the difficulty of killing them, they are +pursued relentlessly by man with every device that he finds will outwit +their cunning or deceive their vigilance. + +Rhode Island has long been one of their favorite resorts, but has been +overrun with gunners, who follow the vocation either for sport or +pleasure, and there, for many years, the grey plover were killed in +considerable quantities. Many are still found in the same locality, or +further east, as well as at Montauk Point; but at Hempstead Plains, +where they were once found quite numerous, they appear no longer; and +the eastern shore of New Jersey being unsuited to their habits, they +rarely sojourn or even pause upon it. They travel as well by night as by +day; and in the still summer nights their sweet trilling cry may be +heard at short intervals; while during the day they will often be seen +in small bodies, or singly, winging their way rapidly towards the south. + +They are wary, fly rapidly, and are difficult to shoot, and, were it not +for one peculiarity, would escape almost scatheless. Alighting only in +the open fields, where the thin grass reveals every enemy and exposes +every approaching object to their view; readily alarmed at the first +symptom of danger, and shunning the slightest familiarity with man, they +are impossible to reach except with laborious and painful creeping that +no sportsman cares to undertake. Not sufficiently gregarious or friendly +in their nature to desire the company of wooden decoys, they cannot be +lured within gunshot; and it is only through their confidence in their +fellow-beasts that their destruction can be accomplished. + +A horse, they know, has no evil design, does not live on plover, and may +be permitted to come and go as he pleases; a horse drawing a wagon is to +be pitied, not feared; and, most fortunately, the birds cannot conceive +that a man would be mean enough to hide in that wagon, and drive that +horse in an ingenious manner round and round them, every time narrowing +the circle till he gets within shot. Man, however, is ready for any +subterfuge to gain his plover; and, seated on the tail-board, or a place +behind prepared for the purpose, he steps to the ground the moment the +wagon stops, and as the bird immediately rises, fires--being often +compelled, in spite of his ingenuity, to take a long shot. + +Even in this mode no large number of birds is killed, and by creeping or +stalking few indeed are obtained. One inventive genius made an imitation +cow of slats and canvas painted to represent the living animal, and, +mounting it upon his shoulders, was often able to approach without +detection; when near enough, or if the bird became alarmed, he cast off +his false skin and used his fowling-piece. This was certainly an +original and successful mode of modifying an idea derived from the times +of ancient Troy. + +This bird is so delicious and so highly prized by the epicure, that no +pains are spared in its capture; it is by many superior judges regarded +as the richest and most delicately flavored of the birds of America; +while its timid and wary disposition renders it the most difficult to +kill. It is, therefore, justly esteemed the richest prize of the +sportsman and the gourmand, and holds as high a rank in the field as in +the market. + +It is not, properly speaking, a bay-bird; but as it is frequently shot +from the stand when passing near the decoys, these few remarks +concerning it are inserted. It is essentially an upland bird, although +from the nature of its migration it passes along the coast and +occasionally far out at sea. + +“_Specific Character._--Bill slender, rather longer than the head; tarsi +one inch and seven-eighths; neck rather long, slender; axillars +distinctly barred with black and greyish-white; upper parts dark brown, +margined with yellowish-brown; fore-neck and fore part of the breast +with arrow-shaped markings; rest of the lower parts yellowish-white. +Adult with the bill slender, yellowish-green, dusky at the tip; upper +part of the head dark brown, with a central yellowish-brown line, the +feathers margined with the same color; hind part and sides of the neck +yellowish-brown, streaked with dusky; fore part of the neck and breast +paler, with pointed streaks of dusky; sides of the body barred with the +same; rest of lower parts yellowish-white; lower wing-coverts white, +barred with brownish-black; upper plumage dark-brown, margined with +yellowish-brown, darker on the hind part of the back; primaries +dark-brown; coverts the same color; inner webs of the primaries barred +with white, more particularly on the first--the shaft of which is white; +the rest brown, all tipped with white; secondaries more broadly tipped +with the same; coverts and scapulars dark-brown, margined with +yellowish-brown, and tipped with white; tail barred with black and +yellowish-brown, tipped with white; middle feathers darker, +tipped with black. Length ten inches and a half, wing six and +five-eighths.”--_Giraud._ + + +RED-BACKED SANDPIPER. + +Winter Snipe.--Black-breast. + +_Tringà Alpina_, Wils. + +This bird absolutely has no common name. + +“_Specific Character._--Bill about one-third longer than the head, bent +towards the end; length of tarsi, one inch. Adult with the bill +black--one-third longer than the head, slightly bent towards the end, +and rather shorter than that of T. Subarquata; upper part of the head, +back, and scapular, chestnut-red, the centre of each feather black, +which color occupies a large portion of the scapulars; wing-coverts and +quills greyish-brown; the bases and tips of the secondaries and parts of +the outer webs of the middle primaries, white; forehead, sides of the +head, and hind neck, pale reddish-grey, streaked with dusky; fore neck +and upper part of breast greyish-white, streaked with dusky; on the +lower part of the breast a large black patch; abdomen white; lower tail +coverts white, marked with dusky; tail light-brownish grey, +streaked--the central feathers darker. + +“Winter dress, upper parts brownish-grey; throat, greyish-white; fore +part and sides of neck, sides of the head, and sides of the body, pale +brownish-grey, faintly streaked with darker; rest of the lower parts +white. Length, seven inches and a half; wing, four and an +eighth.”--_Giraud._ + + +LONG-LEGGED SANDPIPER. + +Peep, Blind Snipe, Frost Snipe, Stilt. + +_Tringà Himantopus._ + +This bird also is nameless: it is rare, although I have killed quite a +number of them, and I believe its numbers are increasing; it rarely +consorts in flocks of more than five or six, stools readily, and is +often mistaken for the yellow-legs. + +“_Specific Character._--Bill about one-third longer than the head, +slightly arched; length of tarsi, one inch and throe-eighths. Adult, +with the upper parts brownish-black, the feathers margined with reddish +white; the edges of the scapulars with semiform markings of the same; +rump and upper tail-coverts white, transversely barred with dusky; tail, +light grey, the feathers white at the base and along the middle; primary +quills and coverts brownish-black--inner tinged with grey; the shaft of +the outer primary, white; secondaries, brownish-grey, margined with +reddish-white, the inner dusky; a broad whitish line over the eye; loral +space dusky; auriculars, pale brownish-red; fore part and sides of neck, +greyish white, tinged with red, and longitudinally streaked with dusky; +the rest of the lower parts, pale reddish, transversely barred with +dusky; the middle of the breast and the abdomen without markings; legs +long and slender, of a yellowish-green color. In autumn, the plumage +duller, of a more greyish appearance, and the reddish markings wanting, +excepting on the sides of the head, and a few touches on the scapular. +Length, nine inches; wing, five.”--_Giraud._ + + +RING-NECK. + +American Ring Plover. + +_Tringà Hiaticula_, Wils. + +This is a small, but delicate, fat, and pretty bird; it does not stool +well, and accompanies the small snipe. + +“_Specific Character._--Bill shorter than the head; base, orange color, +towards the point, black; a broad band on the forehead white, margined +below with a narrow black band, above with a broad band of the same +color; rest part of the head wood-brown; lateral toes connected by a +membrane as far as the first joint; inner toes, about half that +distance. Adult male with the bill flesh color at base, anterior to the +nostrils black; a line of black commences at the base of the upper +mandible, passes back to the eye, curving downward on the sides of the +neck; a band on the fore part of the head pure white; fore part of +crown, black; occiput, wood-brown; chin, throat, and fore neck, passing +round on the hind neck, pure white; directly below, on the lower portion +of the neck, a broad band of black; upper plumage, wood-brown; +primaries, blackish-brown; shafts, white--blackish-brown at their tips; +secondaries slightly edged with white on the inner webs; outer webs, +nearest to the shafts, an elongated spot of white; wing-coverts +wood-brown; secondary coverts broadly tipped with white; breast, +abdomen, sides, and lower tail-coverts, pure white; tail brown, lighter +at the base; outer feathers white--the rest broadly tipped with white, +excepting the middle pair, which are slightly tipped with the same. +Female similar, with the upper part of the head and the band on the neck +brown. Length, seven inches and a quarter; wing five.”--_Giraud._ + + +KRIEKER. + +Meadow Snipe, Fat Bird, Short Neck, Jack Snipe, Pectoral Sandpiper. + +_Tringà Pectoralis_, Aud. + +This is an excellent bird, remaining in the meadows till October, and +becoming fat, rich, and fine flavored, but unfortunately it will not +come to the stools. Although frequently associating in flocks, it can +hardly be said to be truly gregarious, and is as often found with the +different varieties of small snipe as with its own number. It is quite a +difficult bird to kill when on the wing, its flight being rapid and +irregular, and its size small; but when it becomes fat and lazy, after a +long residence in well supplied feeding-grounds, not only is its flight +slower and itself easier to hit, but it is often shot sitting. Its +general color is grey, with white on the abdomen; and its size varies +greatly according to its age and condition, some being of more than +double the size of others. As a natural consequence, considerable +practice is required to distinguish it readily from the ox-eyes by which +it is often surrounded, when the meadow grass hides it, in a measure, +from view. It feeds and dwells altogether in the meadows, finding its +food in the stagnant water collected upon their surface, and is only +plentiful when these are wet. When alarmed, it rises rapidly, and makes +off in a zigzag way, that reminds the sportsman of the flight of English +snipe; and early in the season it is wild and shy. It occasionally +passes over the stools, but never pauses or seems to notice them; and +for this reason, in spite of its epicurean recommendations, it is +generally neglected. In the cool days of September and October, when the +mosquitoes have succumbed in a measure to the frost, its pursuit over +the open meadows is pleasant and exhilarating. It is often killed to the +number of eighty in a day, and is so fat that its body is absolutely +round. + +“_Specific Character._--Bill straight, base orange-green; length of +tarsi one inch and one-sixteenth; upper parts brownish-black, edged with +reddish-brown; throat white; fore part of neck and upper part of the +breast light brownish-grey, streaked with dusky; rest of lower parts, +including the lower tail-coverts, white. Adult with the bill straight; +top of the head dark-brown, intermixed with black; sides of the head, +neck, and a large portion of the breast, greyish-brown, streaked with +dusky; chin white; a streak of dark brown before the eye, continuing to +the nostril, directly above a faint line of white; back dark-brown; +feathers margined with white; primary quills dark-brown--shaft of the +first white; outer secondaries slightly edged with white; tail-feathers +brown, margined with brownish-white--two middle feathers darker, +longest, and more pointed; lower part of the breast, abdomen, and sides +of the body and under tail-coverts white; feet dull yellow; tibia bare, +about half the length. Female, the general plumage lighter. Length nine +inches and a half, wing five and a quarter.”--_Giraud._ + + +OX-EYE. + +_Tringà Semipalmata_, Wils. + +“_Specific Character._--Bill rather stout, broad towards the point; +along the gap about one inch; length of tarsi seven-eighths of an inch; +bill and legs black; toes half webbed. Adult with the bill slender, +about the length of the head--dark-green, nearly approaching to black; +head, sides, and hind-part; of neck ash-grey, streaked with dusky; upper +parts blackish-brown, the feathers edged with greyish-white; secondary +coverts tipped with white; primary coverts brownish-black, as are the +feathers on the rump; upper tail-coverts the same; wing-quills dusky, +their shafts white; tail-feathers ash-grey, the inner webs of the middle +pair much darker; over the eye a white line; lower parts white; legs +black. Length six inches and a half, wing four.”--_Giraud._ + +This and the following variety are generally confounded by bay-men; and +being too small to demand much consideration, and never shot unless +huddled together, so that a large number may be bagged, they are called +promiscuously by the odd name ox-eye. They are fat, and almost as good +eating when in prime order as the reed-bird. + + +OX-EYE. + +Wilson’s Sandpiper. + +_Tringà Pusilla_, Wils. + +“_Specific Character._--Bill along the gap three-quarters of an inch, +slender; tarsi three-quarters of an inch; legs yellowish-green. Adult +with the bill brownish-black; upper part of the breast grey-brown, mixed +with white; back and upper parts black; the whole plumage above broadly +edged with bright bay and yellow ochre; primaries black--greater coverts +the same, tipped with white; tail rounded, the four exterior feathers on +each side dull white--the rest dark-brown; tertials as long as the +primaries; head above dark-brown, with paler edges; over the eye a +streak of whitish; belly and vent white. Length five inches and a half, +wing three and a half. With many of our birds we observe that +individuals of the same species vary in length, extent, and sometimes +differ slightly in their bills, even with those which have arrived at +maturity.--On consulting ornithological works, we notice that there are +no two writers whose measurement is in all cases alike. With specimens +of the Wilson’s sandpiper, we find in their proportions greater +discrepancy than in many other species--and out of these differences we +are inclined to the opinion that two spurious species have been +created.”--_Giraud._ + + +TATLER. + +Genus Totanus. + +_Generic Distinctions._--Bill longer than the head, straight, hard and +slender; neck slender, and both it and body rather long; wings long and +pointed; tail short and rounded; legs long; hind-toe very small, and +the anterior ones connected at the base by webs, the inner being +slightly webbed. + + +WILLET. + +Semipalmated Tatler. + +_Totanus Semipalmatus_, Lath. + +_Scolopax Semipalmata_, Wils. + +This is a fine, large, and beautiful bird; the sharply distinct white +and black of its wings contrasting admirably with the reddish-brown +tints of the marlin and sickle-bills with which it often associates; it +stools well, flying steadily, and often returning after the first, and +even second visit; but even when fat, it is tough and ill-flavored. It +congregates in large flocks, and reaches the Middle States on its +southern journey in the latter part of August. Its cry is a fierce wild +shriek, which is rarely, if ever, accurately imitated; but it responds +to the call of the sickle-bill, and when once headed for the stools, +rarely alters its course. In exposed situations it is shy and difficult +of approach, like most of the shore-birds, which, although they come up +so unsuspiciously to the decoys, are wary of the gunner, and rarely +permit him to crawl within range of them. + +“_Specific Character._--Secondaries and basal part of the primaries +white; toes connected at base by broad membranes. Adult with the head +and neck brown, intermixed with greyish-white; breast and sides of the +body spotted, and waved with brown on white ground; abdomen white; +tail-coverts white, barred with brown; tail greyish-brown, barred with +darker brown--the outer two feathers lighter; rump brown; fore part of +the back and wing-coverts brown, largely spotted with dull white; +primaries blackish-brown, broadly banded with white; secondaries white. +Length fifteen inches and a half, wing eight.”--_Giraud._ + + +YELPER. + +Big Yellow-Legs--Greater Yellow-Shanks--Tell-tale Tatler. + +_Totanus Vociferus_, Wils. + +This is one of the most numerous of the bay-birds, and among the most +highly prized for its sport-conferring properties. It stools well, +although occasionally suspicious, and will often drop like a stone from +the clouds, where it is fond of flying, upon receiving a response to its +strong, clear, and easily imitated cry. It will also frequently come +within shot in the open, when the sportsman is unaided by his decoys. +Its flight is uneven, being often slow when approaching or pausing over +the stools, and then exceedingly rapid and irregular when alarmed; and +if there are no stools to make the Yelper hesitate, it has a bobbing +motion, as if searching for the origin of the call, that makes it +exceedingly difficult to kill. Moreover, it is vigorous, and will carry +off much shot, as in fact is the habit with all the shore-birds, and is +tough and sedgy on the table. + +It does not associate in large flocks, but roams about in parties of +three or four. + +“_Specific Character._--Bill along the ridge two and a quarter inches; +tarsi two and a half; legs yellow. Adult with the bill black, at the +base bluish; upper part of the head, loral space, checks, and neck, +streaked with brownish-black and white; throat white; a white line from +the bill to the eye; a white ring round the eye; breast and abdomen +white, spotted and barred with brownish-black; sides and tail-coverts +the same; lower surface of the primaries light grey--upper +brownish-black, the inner spotted white; wing-coverts and back brown, +spotted with white, and dusky; scapulars the same; tail brown, barred +with white. Winter plumage, the upper parts lighter--larger portion of +the breast and abdomen white; sides of the body barred with dusky. +Length, fourteen inches; wing, seven and a quarter.”--_Giraud._ + + +YELLOW-LEGS. + +Little Yellow-Legs--Yellow-Shanks Tatler. + +_Totanus Flavipes_, Lath. + +_Scolopax Flavipes_, Wilson. + +This bird in appearance is almost identical with the yelper, except that +it is much smaller, not being more than half as large. It has several +calls, consisting of one or more flute-like and shrill notes, which are +rather difficult to imitate. It is probably the most plentiful of all +the bay-snipe, making its summer visit in July, and continuing to arrive +till late in September. It collects in immense flocks, and stools +excellently, but its flight is irregular and rapid; and when frightened, +it darts about in a confusing way that often baffles the sportsman. When +wounded it will swim away, and, if possible, crawl into the grass to +hide. + +Although a pleasant bird to shoot, it is unattractive on the table, even +when in best condition, unless killed along the fresh water, where it +attains an agreeable and delicate flavor. Both it and the yelper are +found in considerable numbers on the marshy shores of the western lakes, +where it and the other smaller bay-birds are called, indiscriminately, +plover. + +Wonderful stories are told of the number of yellow-legs killed at one +shot, and as it is a small bird, these are probably not exaggerated. By +Wilson the yellow-legs, the yelper, and willet are classed among the +_Scolopacidæ_ or snipe, but the other ornithologists have erected a +separate genus for them. + +“_Specific Character._--Bill along the ridge one inch and three-eighths; +length of tarsi one inch and seven-eighths; legs yellow. Adult with the +bill black; throat white; upper part of the head, lores, cheeks, hind +part and side parts of the neck, deep brownish-grey, streaked with +greyish-white; eye encircled with white, a band of the same color from +the bill to the eye; fore neck, sides of the body, and upper part of the +breast, greyish-white, streaked with greyish-brown; lower part of the +breast and abdomen white; lower tail-coverts white, the outer feathers +barred with brown; scapulars and fore part of the back brown, the +feathers barred and spotted with black and white; primaries +blackish-brown, the shaft of the outer brownish-white, whiter towards +the tip, the rest dark-brown; secondaries margined with white; hind part +of the back brownish-grey; tail barred with greyish-brown, white at the +tip; legs, feet, and toes, yellow; claws black. Length, ten inches and +three-quarters; wing, six. Young with the legs greenish--and by those +who have not recognised it as the young of the year, I have heard the +propriety of its name questioned.”--_Giraud._ + + +GODWIT. + +Genus Limosa. + +_Generic Distinctions._--Bill very long, a little recurved from the +middle, rather slender, and with the lower mandible the shorter. Wings +long and very acute; tail short and even; legs long; toes four, and +rather slender, the hind one being small and the middle toe the longest; +anterior toes connected at the base by webs, the outer web being much +the larger. + + +MARLIN. + +Great Marbled Godwit. + +_Limosa Fedoa_, Linn. + +_Scolopax Fedoa_, Wils. + +This is the gentlest and most abundant of the large birds, approaching +the decoys with great confidence and returning again and again, till +frequently the entire flock is killed. In color it is a reddish-brown, +lighter on the abdomen, and its flight is steady and rather slow. +Although better eating than the willet, and very rich and juicy, its +flesh cannot be called delicate. The ring-tailed marlin or Hudsonian +Godwit, _Limosa Hudsonica, Lath._ is a finer but much scarcer bird, and +resembles somewhat in color the willet, but has the marlin bill, which +is longer than that of the last-named species. + +“_Specific Character._--Bill at base yellow, towards the end +blackish-brown; upper parts spotted and barred with yellowish-grey and +brownish-black; lower parts pale reddish-brown; tail darker, barred with +black. Adult male with the bill at the base yellowish-brown, towards the +end black; head and neck greyish-brown, tinged with pale reddish, +streaked with dusky--darker on the upper part of the head and hind neck; +throat whitish, lower parts pale reddish-brown; under tail-coverts +barred with brown; tail reddish-brown, barred with dusky; upper +tail-coverts the same; upper parts barred with brownish-black and pale +reddish-brown, spotted with dusky; inner primaries tipped with +yellowish-white; scapulars and wing-coverts barred with pale +reddish-brown and greyish-white; shaft of the first primary white, dusky +at the tip; inner shafts at the base white, rest part light brown, +excepting the tips, which are dusky. Length, sixteen inches; wing, nine +and a half. Female larger, exceeding the male from three to four +inches.”--_Giraud._ + + +RING-TAILED MARLIN. + +Hudsonian Godwit. + +_Limosa Hudsonica_, Lath. + +“_Specific Character._--Bill blackish-brown, at base of lower mandible +yellow; upper parts light brown, marked with dull brown, and a few small +white spots; neck all around brownish-grey; lower parts white, largely +marked with ferruginous; basal part of tail-feathers and a band crossing +the rump, white. Adult with the bill slender, blackish to wards the tip, +lighter at the base, particularly at the base of the lower mandible; a +line of brownish-white from the bill to the eye; lower eyelid white; +throat white, spotted with rust color; head and neck brownish-grey; +lower parts white, marked with large spots of ferruginous; under +tail-coverts barred with brownish-black, and ferruginous; tail +brownish-black, with a white band at the base; a band over the rump; +tips of primary coverts and bases of quills white; upper tail-coverts +brownish-black--their base white; upper parts greyish-brown, scapulars +marked with darker; feet bluish. Length, fifteen inches and a half; +wing, eight and a half. Young with the lower parts brownish-grey, the +ferruginous markings wanting.”--_Giraud._ + + +SNIPE. + +_Genus Scolopax_, Linn. + +_Generic Distinctions._--Bill long, at least twice the length of the +head; straight, tapering, and flattened towards the end; eyes rather +large, placed high in the head, and far back from the bill; neck of +moderate length, and rather thick; body full; wings rather long and +pointed; tail moderate and rounded; legs moderate; toes slender and +rather long, except the hind one; middle toe longest, and connected at +the base with the inner by a slight web, the outer one being free. + + +DOWITCHER. + +Dowitch--Brown Back--Quail-Snipe--Red-Breasted Snipe. + +_Scolopax Noveboracensis_, Wils. + +This is a beautiful, excellent, and plentiful bird; it abounds in the +marshes during the entire summer, congregates in vast flocks, and +although uttering a faint call itself, is attracted to the decoys by the +cry of the yellow-legs, or almost any sharp whistle. It is remarkably +gentle, individuals often alighting when their associates are slain, in +spite of the unusual uproar; and it can be more readily approached than +any of the bay-birds. Its flesh, moreover, is quite delicate, and when +fat somewhat similar to that of the English snipe, which it greatly +resembles in appearance. In general color it is brownish, with a light +abdomen, but occasionally the breast is as red as that of a robin in +full plumage. Its flight is steady, although when alarmed it “skivers,” +or darts about rapidly, and as it flies in close ranks, it suffers +proportionally. Although it is rather looked down upon by persons who +wish to make a show of large birds, I am always entirely satisfied with +a good bag of well-conditioned dowitchers. + +“_Specific Character._--Spring plumage, upper parts brownish-black, +variegated with light brownish-red; lower parts dull orange-red, abdomen +paler, spotted and barred with black; rump white; the tail feathers and +the upper and lower tail-coverts, alternately barred with white and +black. In autumn the upper parts are brownish-grey; the lower parts +greyish-white; the tail feathers and the upper and lower tail-coverts +the same as in spring. Adult with the bill towards the end black, +lighter at the base; top of the head, back of the neck, scapulars, +tertials, and fore part of the back, blackish-brown, variegated with +ferruginous; secondaries and wing-coverts clove-brown, the latter edged +with white, the former tipped with the same; hind part of back white; +the rump marked with roundish spots of blackish-brown; upper +tail-coverts dull white, barred with black; tail feathers crossed with +numerous black bands, their tips white; loral band dusky, the space +between which and the medial band on the fore part of the head, +greyish-white, tinged with ferruginous, and slightly touched with dusky; +sides of the head spotted with dark-brown; lower parts dull orange-red, +the abdomen lighter; the neck and fore part of breast spotted with +dusky; the sides of the body with numerous bars of the same color; legs +and feet dull yellowish-green. Young with the lower parts paler. Winter +dress, the upper parts brownish-grey; neck ash-grey, streaked with +dusky; lower parts greyish-white, with dusky bars on the sides of the +body. Length, ten inches and a half; wing, six.”--_Giraud._ + + +CURLEW. + +_Genus Numenius_, Briss. + +_Generic Distinctions._--Bill very long, slender, decurved or arched, +with the upper mandible the longer, and obtuse at the end; head rounded +and compressed above; neck long, body full, wings long, feet rather +long; toes connected at the base; _tibia_ bare a short space above the +knee; legs rather long; tail short and rounded. + + +JACK CURLEW. + +Short-billed Curlew. Hudsonian Curlew. + +_Numenius Hudsonicus_, Lath. + +This is a graceful and elegant bird, but so shy and so well able to +carry off shot, that it is regarded as the most difficult to kill of all +the bay-birds. It has a long, rolling cry, and although it approaches +the decoys, it rarely alights, or even pauses over them; but, detecting +the deception, it turns off or passes on in its course. For this reason, +the fortunate sportsman who kills a “Jack” is eminently satisfied, +although its flesh is not remarkably fine. + +“_Specific Character._--Length of bill, three inches and three-quarters; +tarsi, two inches; lower parts white. Adult with the upper part of the +head deep brown, with a central and two lateral lines of whitish; a +brown line from the bill to the eye, and another behind the eye; neck +all round, pale yellowish-grey, longitudinally streaked with brown, +excepting the upper part of the throat, which is greyish-white; upper +parts in general blackish-brown, marked with numerous spots of +brownish-white, there being several along the margins of each feather; +wings and rump somewhat lighter; upper tail-coverts and tail barred with +dark-brown and olivaceous grey; primaries and their coverts +blackish-brown, all with transverse yellowish-grey markings on the inner +web; the shaft of the first quill, white--of the rest, brown; breast and +abdomen greyish-white, the sides tinged with cream color, and barred +with greyish-brown; bill rather more than twice the length of the head, +of a brownish-black color--at the base of the lower mandible, flesh +colored. Length, eighteen inches; wing, nine and a half.”--_Giraud._ + + +SICKLE-BILL CURLEW. + +Long-billed Curlew. + +_Numenius Longirostris_, Wils. + +The finest, largest, most graceful, and elegant of all the bay-birds is +the magnificent sickle-bill; associating in large flocks, and with a +spread of wings of little less than three feet, when it approaches the +stand, the sportsman’s heart palpitates with excitement, and the sky +seems to have lost its natural blue and become of a rich brown tint. As +these splendid birds, shrieking their hoarse call, set their wings for +the stool, and crossing one another in their flight, pause in doubt; or, +after alighting individually, rise again, and hesitate whether to remain +or continue their course--the sportsman, cowering in his lair, and +anxious to take advantage of this glorious opportunity, becomes wildly +eager with excitement; and if, after having by a judicious selection +brought several to the ground, he recalls the departing flock which +again presents itself to his aim, his rapture knows no bounds, and with +his reloaded breech-loader, he repeats, perhaps more than once, the +exhilarating performance. + +This lordly bird, the largest of the bay-snipe, is often extremely +gentle, and may be lured by the imitation of its cry at an immense +distance, and brought back to the decoys several times, where one or +more of its companions may have fallen; but at other times it is wild +and shy. Individuals differ considerably in size, the largest I ever saw +having a bill eleven inches long, and some weighing nearly double as +much as others; but all are of a beautiful reddish-brown or burnt sienna +tint, with a yellowish shade on the abdomen. Their flight is steady, and +their flesh tough, dark, and oily. Their eye is extremely bright, and +their shape graceful. + +“_Specific Character._--Bill towards the end decurved; upper part of the +throat, and a band from the bill to the eye, light buff; general +plumage, pale reddish-brown; head and neck streaked with dusky; upper +parts marked with blackish-brown; tail barred with the same; abdomen, +plain reddish-brown; feet, bluish. Length, twenty-six inches; wing, +eleven. The bill of the specimen from which this description is taken +measures eight inches. The bills of individuals of this species vary, +but the length is at all times sufficient to determine the +species.”--_Giraud._ + + +FUTE. + +Doe-bird.--Esquimaux Curlew. + +_Numenius Borealis_, Lath. + +This is an upland bird, quite rare, but large, and rather delicate +eating. + +“_Specific Character._--Bill, along the gap, about two inches and a +quarter; tarsi, one inch and five-eighths; upper parts, dusky brown, +with pale yellowish-white, marked all over with pale reddish-brown. +Adult with a line of white from the bill to the eye; eyelids, white; +upper part of the head dusky, spotted in front with greyish-white, a +medial band of the same color; throat, white; neck and breast +yellowish-grey, with longitudinal marks of dusky on the former, pointed +spots of the same color on the latter; abdomen, dull yellowish-white; +flanks, barred with brown; lower tail coverts the same as the abdomen; +tail and upper tail coverts barred with pale reddish-brown and dusky, +tipped with yellowish-white; upper parts brownish, the feathers tipped +with pale reddish-brown, the scapulars margined and tipped with lighter; +primaries, dark-brown, margined internally with lighter--the first shaft +white, with the tip dusky--the rest brown. Length, fourteen inches and a +half; wing, eight.”--_Giraud._ + +[Illustration] + + + + +CHAPTER VI. + +MONTAUK POINT. + + +The eastern end of Long Island, that extremity which seems to stretch +out like the hand of welcome towards the nations of the old world, +beckoning their inhabitants to our hospitable shores, is divided into +two long points like the tines of a fork. The upper point shuts in Long +Island Sound, and protects our inland commerce from the violence of the +“Great Deep;” while the lower prong, which is kissed on the one side by +the blue waters of the Peconic Bay, and on the other is buffeted by the +billows of the great Atlantic, is known as Montauk Point. The heaving +ocean seems here to have solidified itself into a sandy soil, which +rises and swells and rolls, much after the manner of its mighty +prototype, except that a scanty garment of tawny grass clothes the +outlines of the billowy waste. “Cattle on a thousand hills” here roam in +a state of, at least, semi-independence, which they occasionally assert +by charging upon the intruding sportsman in a manner which may be +intended as playful, but which looks somewhat serious. For a dozen miles +or so only a few houses break the monotony of the dreary expanse, and it +is to one of these, distant some nine miles from the extreme point, +that I am about to carry the reader, for here alone can plover-shooting +be enjoyed in its fullest perfection. + +There are numerous kinds of plover that make their migratory passages +along our coasts; but the one to which I refer, while to the epicure it +ranks almost, if not absolutely, the first upon the list, and affords, +by the swiftness of its flight and the eccentricity of its habits, a +prize not unworthy of the highest efforts of the sportsman, has been the +victim of many a misnomer, but is correctly known by the appellation +American Golden Plover, _Charadrius pluvialis_ (P.). The Plover-family +is large and of high respectability; but, when “upon his native heath,” +no one of its clans is entitled to wear a loftier crest than that which +we now have under discussion. His near relative, the Bartramian +Sandpiper or Grey Plover, is perhaps more aristocratically delicate in +his figure, and is welcomed as heartily at the table of the epicure. But +he is less social in his habits, and rarely affords any but single +shots. He does not fraternize with wooden counterfeits, and his mellow +whistle, as he rises at an impracticable distance, rarely responds to +even the most seductive efforts of his pursuer. But our Golden friend, +notwithstanding his auriferous title, his superior beauty of plumage, +his swiftness and strength, and the savory reputation which he enjoys +among the knowing-ones, is possessed of gregarious habits, of a +singularly frank and unsuspicious nature, and is generally ready to stop +and have a chat with anything which bears the faintest resemblance to a +bird and a brother. It is well for his admirers that such is his nature; +and although the wide appreciation of his merits certainly causes great +destruction among his ranks, still the vast flocks which, sometimes for +days together, fly past, within sight of the stands, unshot at, seem to +warrant the hope that the hour of the final extinction of his race is +very far distant. + +Taking the Long Island railroad to Greenport in the early part of +September, and having encountered and overcome the ordinary delay and +difficulty of obtaining a sailboat to further prosecute our voyage, we +find ourselves at last gliding on the waves of the beautiful bay, past +Shelter and Gardiner’s islands, and approaching the long low line of the +Nepeague beach. With a favorable breeze we may expect to be landed on +the smooth sand in a little cove, about one mile from our destination, +in two hours from our time of departure; but if the wind is adverse and +the fates unpropitious, we may have to follow the path from the shore in +the dark, which will require our best instincts, aided by the guidance +of the distant booming of the surf, and the assistance of our especial +guardian angel. + +Once there, however, and we will be repaid for our sufferings; we may +find a table covered with “South-side” delicacies, and bearing in the +centre a huge dish of beautiful, odorous, melting plover, cooked to a +turn, and we will undoubtedly meet kindred spirits and generous +sportsmen who are on the same errand as ourselves. As we dispose of the +former, the latter will pour into our sympathetic ears wonderful +accounts of their sport, and rival one another in recounting the long +shots and the good shots they have made, the numbers of birds they have +killed, and the pounds of bass they have caught. + +Under the influences of a delicious supper and moderate “nightcap,” we +seek our couch with fond visions of the great flocks, and hopeful dreams +that we will do as well on the morrow. At earliest dawn we spring from +our bed, and rushing to the primitive little casement have only time to +rejoice in the promise of a fine day, ere we note the welcome cry of our +noble prey hurrying westward over the beach. + +To don our shooting costume, to grasp our gun and ammunition, to load +ourselves with the basket containing decoys and incidentals, and to +emerge into the cool air of the September morning, require but a few +minutes; we hasten across the sandy hillocks to our appointed spot, +marked by a hollow scooped out for the concealment of former visitants, +and by the quantity of feathers and cigar-stumps lying loosely around; +and with hands trembling with impatience, we distribute the stools in +what seems to us to be the most artistic and seductive manner,--for the +birds are now beginning to fly just within a tantalizing yet +impracticable range, and we long for action. + +How wild, how glorious is the hour and the scene! The heavy boom of the +ocean, which rolls almost at our feet, is relieved by the soft, mellow +notes of the sea-birds which float through the air in varied yet +harmonious cadence, and by the low of distant cattle, just shaking off +their slothful dreams. Hardly have we disposed our body to the requisite +flatness, when a chattering chorus of melody makes our heart leap with +eagerness, and our eyes strain with impatience to discern its source. +Aha, we have them now! that small, erratic cloud to the eastward, +bearing directly before the wind towards our covert, sends a thrill +through our being, which the whole “spacious firmament on high,” even on +the loveliest of nights, has, we honestly confess it, never succeeded in +imparting. On they come, nearer, nearer, nearer. We pucker up our lips +to greet their approach, but the saucy gale renders our rude efforts +futile, and we commit our trust to Providence and our painted +counterfeits. Now they are within easy range, but somewhat scattered; +with a violent effort at self-command, worthy of a higher cause, we +remain motionless, for there are evident indications of a social spirit +in that joyous group. They pause, they swerve, they wheel upon their +tracks, and with motionless wings and a sweet low-murmured greeting, +they approach the fatal stools. How rash the confidence! How foul the +treachery! But, we must also confess, how intense the excitement, as we +pull the right trigger at the critical moment, and then, as the deluded +victims scatter wildly, with an outburst of appeal against man’s +cruelty, give them the left barrel, and add three more to the list of +feathered martyrs. With lightning speed, their thinned ranks vanish +beyond the neighboring sand-hills, and reloading our gun, we hasten to +gather up the slain. + +Six with the right and three with the left barrel, are pretty well for a +beginning; but we had better have remained at our post, for while we are +chasing up one of the wounded birds, two more flocks pass within easy +range of our hiding-place. Hurriedly twisting the neck of the fugitive, +we resume our lonely watch, and before the breakfast-hour of eight, +which our umwontedly early exertions have made a somewhat serious epoch, +we have had two more double shots, and increased our score to +twenty-one. Beautiful, “beautiful exceedingly” is the burden of game +which we proudly carry back to our inn, leaving our stools as they +stand. + +A hearty breakfast makes us feel like a _new man_, and, after a fair +discussion of its merits, lighting our pipe, we again wend our way to +the scene of our triumph. The cry is still they come; flock after flock +presents its compliments, and leaves mementoes of its presence; but +towards noon the hot sun disposes the birds to listless inactivity, the +flight diminishes, and finally stops. Returning to the house with a bag +larger by only three birds than that of the morning, we kill the hours +before dinner by a few casts into the breakers, and land a ten-pound +bass. + +With sharpened appetite, we welcome the savory dinner, and are quite +contented to rest and let our prey rest till five o’clock, when fifteen +more birds reward our post-prandial exertions, and make up a total for +the day of sixty plover and one bass. We sink to sleep that night with +the proud consciousness that our first day’s plover-shooting has been a +great success; our heart prays silently for a continuance of our good +fortune, and we indulge in sweet thoughts of home, and the pleasure our +return laden with spoils will cause, when our friends greet us and them +at the social board. + +The next day is as delightful; the sweet, thrilling music again fills +the air at short intervals; again our trusty breech-loader sends its +charge into the thickest of the “brown,” or cuts down the straggler +looking for “former companions all vanished and gone.” Again we call the +swift-travelling flock from the very zenith, or whistle our lips into a +blister, endeavoring to attract the wary knowing ones that pause to +look, only to flee the faster; and the night finds us with a still +larger bag, but without a bass. So eager have we become, so fearful that +we should lose a shot, and judging by the accumulating clouds in the +east that on the morrow it may storm, that we stay out all day, except +the necessary moments for our meals, and give no thought to the monsters +of the deep. + +Nor were we mistaken; the morrow comes, the gathering storm has broken, +and no creature of mortal mould can face its fury--at least no bird, +with any pretensions to common sense or respectability, would imperil +his plumes by an unnecessary exposure to such an ordeal. So with forced +patience, we get through the live-long day as best we can; and on the +following day, hail a sky as cloudless as the most ardent sportsman +could desire. But alas! the flight has gone by, scared away perhaps by +the storm, or retreating before the advancing fall; and when we take our +seat at the breakfast-table, we are obliged to admit that only nine +birds have fallen to our gun. + +But the irrepressible and inextinguishable host rises triumphant in this +emergency. He boldly suggests that there _must be_ some sluggards, who +have tamed, spell-bound by the attractions of such a terrestrial, or, +rather ornithological, paradise; and accordingly, he _hitches up_ a +venerable specimen of the genus “_Equus_,” and we start for an excursion +“over the hills and far away.” Before we have advanced a couple of miles +we have bagged a half dozen solitary specimens of Bartram’s Sandpiper or +Grey Plover, so dear to the sportsman and the gourmand, but have seen no +trace of the object of our pursuit. When, suddenly, as we surmount one +of the swelling eminences which are the prevailing feature of this +district of country, we come upon a sight such as, perhaps, but few +sportsmen have ever beheld. A gentle hollow spreads before us, for +several acres, literally covered with the ranks of the much-desired, the +matchless Golden Plover. + +As they stand in serried legions, the white mark on their heads gives a +strange chequered weirdness to the phalanx: and we involuntarily pause, +spell-bound by the novelty of the spectacle. Our host himself, though an +old hand, owns that he has never before gazed on such a sight. There +they stand with heads erect, and bodies motionless, just out of gunshot. +Their number is computed by our companion to be not less than three +thousand, closely packed, and apparently awaiting our onset. What is to +be done? Delay may be fatal, but precipitancy would be equally so: and +our pulses stop beating under the stress of the emergency. Our horse +also stops, obedient to an involuntary pull of the reins. We accept the +omen, and cautiously descend from our vehicle; warily crawling to within +seventy yards, we halt as we see unmistakable evidences of uneasiness +and suspicion among the crowded ranks. They stoop, they run, they rise +with “a sounding roar,” to which the united report of our four barrels +savagely responds. Away, away with headlong speed, scatters and +dissolves that multitudinous host, and we hasten to secure our spoils. + +But, seventy yards make a long range for plover-shooting, and we are +somewhat chagrined to find that only six dead and seven wounded birds +remain as proofs of the accuracy of our aim, and the efficiency of our +weapons. Hurriedly we plant our stools, hoping for the return of at +least a considerable portion of the vanished forces; but they have +apparently had enough of our society, and, after two hours spent in +ambush, with only an occasional shot at single stragglers or small +flocks, we wend our way back to the house. + +On the morrow we kill a dozen birds over the stools, before breakfast, +among which are two specimens of the beautiful Esquimaux Curlew or Fute, +as he is commonly called, and which seems to be on terms of the closest +intimacy with our Golden friend. We find him to be a heavier bird, +equally inclined to obesity, and, as future experiments satisfy us, +nearly as perfect in delicate richness of flavor. + +At nine o’clock Dobbin is again harnessed, and we start for the scene of +yesterday’s exploit. But the sighing wind now sweeps over only a +deserted moor, and we direct our course in a direction to make an +inspection of Great Pond. Here, by good luck and management, we bag five +teal and a black duck, as well as three passing plover. A few large +flocks of the latter are seen, but they are wary and unapproachable; and +after several fruitless efforts, we abandon their pursuit and start for +dinner. + +Having rendered full justice to the merits of a bountiful repast, which, +if it is made prominent in this account, was still more prominent in our +hungry thoughts, we stroll to the ocean-side and make a dozen casts for +bass, but our luck seems to be on the turn and we decide to leave on the +morrow for Greenport. About an hour before sunset, a few birds are on +the wing, and we again seek the field of our first success. Here we make +our final effort, and are rewarded with five noble victims, killed +singly at long shots, and we restore our breech-loader to its case. We +have no reason to be dissatisfied with our four-days’ sport, and it is +with a certain reluctance, and a sincere resolve to renew our visit at +an early date, that we pack our valise in anticipation of a start on +the morrow. + +Our team is at the door; we bid adieu to some ladies of the household +(of whom while writing these lines we have thought much, though we have, +until now, said nothing), and, mounting by our host’s side, we trot +merrily over the hills, till we reach the deep sandy desert of the +Nepeague beach. “A long pull, and a strong pull” for an hour, brings us +to “terra firma” again, and rattling through the quaint old town of +Easthampton, after a charming drive, we reach Sag Harbor, where a most +absurdly diminutive steamer, of just _seven-horse_ power, awaits to +convey us to Greenport. We part from our host with sincere gratitude for +the genial kindness which he has shown to us during our visit, and step +on the narrow deck of the tiny craft. A voyage of thirteen miles, made +under a full head of steam in just two hours and a quarter, brings us +once more to the beautiful village of Greenport, where the cars are +awaiting us. + +We return with a bag full of game, and the following general conclusions +and precepts impressed upon our mind: In plover shooting use No. 6 shot +in the left barrel, for the birds are of wonderful strength and require +to be hit hard, or they will fly an immense distance even if “sick unto +death,” and if crippled, will sneak, and hide, and run, and cause much +loss of time that is precious indeed. Do not fire too soon; as the flock +will generally “double” if allowed sufficient time, and then is the +chance to “rake ’em down.” Be patient, keep cool, aim ahead of the +birds, and keep wide awake. + +On almost any day, from the 25th of August to the 10th of September, +there are sport and pleasure to be had among the wild sand-hills of +Montauk; and if there has been a north-easterly storm, with pitchforks +full of rain and caps full of wind, there will be such an abundance of +birds as only experience can conceive of or appreciate. That is an event +that most of us have yet to wait for. Reader, I wish I were sufficiently +unselfish to say honestly--may you enjoy it first. + +Since I first went to Montauk, when large and jolly parties of sportsmen +congregated every fall at Lester’s and Stratton’s, some changes have +taken place. The plover have diminished until the chance of sport is +uncertain, although occasional good days are had; and there is a +probability that the railroad will intrude on its “everlasting hills,” +and that fashionable watering places will replace the old-time sporting +hotels. Then bid farewell, a long farewell, to all the shooting. + + + + +CHAPTER VII. + +RAIL SHOOTING. + + +Success in this delightful sport depends as much upon the proper +accessories, together with experience in minor matters, as in the great +art of properly handling the gun. The best shot, badly equipped, will be +surpassed by an inferior marksman accustomed to the business, and +thoroughly fitted out for it. The shooting is done among high reeds, and +from small, light, and unstable skiffs, which are poled over muddy +shallows with an unsteady motion that puts an end to skill which is not +founded on long practice. The sport lasts only during the few hours of +high water, when the entire day’s bag must be made, and requires, after +the bird has been killed, a sharp eye to retrieve him amid the weeds and +floating grass. + +The number bagged, however, is sometimes prodigious; and although we +rarely now hear of hundreds killed “in a tide,” as was formerly not +unusual, the shots are still frequently rapid, and the result +satisfactory. The bird rises heavily, its long legs hanging down behind; +flying slowly, it presents an easy mark to any one upon _terra firma_, +and if not shot at, will alight after proceeding thirty or forty yards. + +It comes on from the north during the early part of September, and +disappears so instantaneously with the first heavy frost, that our +superstitious baymen imagine it retires into the mud. It can, however, +fly strongly, as I have occasionally had unpleasant evidence under +peculiar circumstances, and in wild, windy weather. During low water, +when it can run upon the muddy bottom among the thick stalks, which it +does rapidly, it can hardly be flushed by any but the strongest and +toughest dog, and is not frequently pursued; although many persons enjoy +the hard walking and exposure of this plan, preferring to tramp over the +quaking surface of our broad salt meadows, and flushing the rail from +amid some tuft of reeds, kill him with the aid of their loved +fellow-playmate, a high-strung setter or untiring water spaniel. + +As the tide rises, however, and covers the bottom with a few inches of +water, the rail, caught feeding among its favorite wild oats, or on the +grains of the high reeds, and alarmed at the advancing boat, is forced +to take wing and present an easy mark to its destroyer. But if missed, +although marked down to an inch, it rarely rises a second time, having +probably escaped by swimming--a thorough knowledge of which is among its +numerous accomplishments. The rail has a long, thin, and soft body, +which it appears to have the faculty of compressing; as it can glide +amid the thick stems of reeds and grass with wonderful rapidity; and if +wounded, it will dive and swim under water, leaving its bill only +projecting, so as to bid defiance to pursuit. + +The first necessity of equipment for this sport is a breech-loading gun, +which not only enables the sportsman to kill double the number of birds, +but will occasionally give him the benefit, by a rapid change in the +charge, of a favorable presentation of a chance flock of ducks. But as +many persons, out of a want of knowledge or of funds, still cling to the +old muzzle-loader, it may be well briefly to mention the articles that +tend to modify its inferiority. + +Of course, as the shooting occupies but a few hours, and in good days +the birds are perpetually on the wing, it is essential to load rapidly; +and to do this the sportsman places on a thwart before him a tin box +divided into compartments for powder, shot, caps, and wads, or, as I +prefer, two boxes, one filled with powder and the other with the other +materials. For many reasons there should be a lid over the powder--to +prevent its being ignited by a chance spark or blown away by a strong +wind--and the ordinary flask is frequently used in spite of the +consequent delay. A double scoop, made of tin or brass, and regulated to +the precise load, is placed among the powder and the shot, and a solid +loading stick lies near at hand. + +By these means the rapidity of loading is more than doubled; the powder +is dropped into both barrels at once by means of the double scoop, wads +are driven home by a single blow of the rod, both barrels are charged +with shot at once in the same manner, the caps are within easy reach, +and the gun is loaded in less than half the time consumed in the +ordinary process. The shot may be made into cartridges of paper with a +wad at the upper end, and thus a few additional of the precious seconds +saved. Both barrels are discharged before either is reloaded, and the +birds are retrieved immediately. + +The sportsman stands erect, without any support to modify the +unsteadiness consequent upon the irregular motion of the boat, and +requires practice, not merely to enable him to take aim, but even to +retain his footing. Where the water is low and the reeds strong, this +difficulty is augmented, as the boat entirely loses its way after every +push, and advances by jerks that utterly confound a novice. Experience, +however, being acquired in loading rapidly and in retaining his balance, +the sportsman’s labors are easy; but the punter requires many different +qualities, and upon his excellence mainly depends the final result. + +He must possess judgment to select the best ground, strength to urge on +the boat unflaggingly, and an inordinate development of the bump of +locality to mark the dead birds. The bird once killed and the sportsman +part ended, then the punter displays his ability; and if thoroughly +versed in his craft will push the boat through tall reeds, and matted +weeds, and fallen oat-stalks, and drifted grass, with wonderful accuracy +to the very spot, and peering down amid the roots, will distinguish the +brown feathers almost covered with water and hidden by the vegetable +growth. + +In order to retrieve quickly, a wide-meshed scapnet is a great +convenience; but to mark well, a man most be endowed by nature with that +peculiar gift. Among the vast mass of undistinguishable marine plants +that spring from the muddy bottom and rise a few inches or many feet +above the surface, it would seem impossible to determine, within an +approach to accuracy, where some bird, visible only for a moment and cut +down when just topping the reeds, has fallen; and when another bird +rises to meet the same fate, and perhaps a dozen are down before the +first is retrieved, successful marking becomes a miracle. With some +punters on the Delaware, where their names are famous, so wonderful is +the precision that every bird, if killed outright, will be recovered, +and even a poor marksman will make a respectable return; but when the +gentleman shoots badly and the man marks worse, rail-shooting is +unprofitable. + +For this sport, thus followed, it will be seen that a punter is +indispensable, and it is made the business of a large class of men along +the salt marshes where the rail most do congregate; and wherever a +punter cannot be obtained, as in the wilder portions of our country, +rail-shooting cannot be had. + +From the necessity for rapid firing, the immense advantage of a +breech-loader must be apparent; the tide rarely serves for over two or +three hours, and to kill more than a hundred birds in that time with a +muzzle-loader is a remarkable feat, as it requires almost the entire +time for the mere loading and firing of the gun; but the breech-loader +may be charged in an instant, and enables the sportsman to improve the +lucky chance of coming upon a goodly collection of birds, and make the +most of the scanty time permitted to him. + +None of those vexatious mistakes that occasionally happen to the best +sportsmen can befall him; the shot cannot get into the wrong barrel, nor +the cap be forgotten; the powder is not exposed to ashes from a careless +man’s cigar; and there being no hurry, there is more probability of +steady nerves and a true aim. + +The charge should be light--three-quarters of an ounce of shot and two +drachms of powder being abundant to kill the soft and gentle rail--and +pellets at least as fine as No. 9 are preferable to coarser sizes. Old +cartridges, that have been split and mended by gumming a piece of paper +over the crack, may be used in the breech-loader, provided the sportsman +desires to indulge in praiseworthy economy, or is deficient in a supply. + +The sport is extremely exciting: the boat is forced along with +considerable rustling and breaking of stems and stalks; the bright sun +streams down upon the yellow reeds and lights up the variegated foliage +of the distant shore; the waves of the bay or river, rising apparently +to a level with the eye, sparkle in the gentle breeze that bends the +sedge grass in successive waves; neighboring boats come and go, approach +and recede; the rapid reports are heard in all directions, like +fireworks on the Fourth of July; the sportsman stands erect, and eager +with delirious excitement, near the bow; the punter balances himself, +and wields his long pole dexterously on a small platform at the stern. + +Silently a bird, rising close to the boat, wings its way, with pendent +legs and feeble strokes, towards some one of its numerous hiding-places; +instantly the punter plants his pole firmly in the bottom, holding the +skiff stationary, the sportsman brings up his piece, and, with +deliberate aim, sends the charge straight after the doomed rail, which +pitches headlong out of sight. The punter has marked him by that single +wild rice-stalk with the broken top, and heads the boat at once towards +the place; but ere he has advanced a dozen feet, another bird starts and +offers to the expectant sportsman, who has his gun still “at a ready,” +another favorable chance, and, meeting the same fate, falls into that +low bunch of matted wild oats. The breech-loader opens, the charges are +extracted and others inserted, just in time to make sure of two rail +that rise simultaneously, still ere the first has been reached, and +which are both tumbled over and marked down--one, however, wing-tipped, +and never to be seen by mortal eye again. + +Thus have I experienced it on the Delaware, at Hackensack, and, in +former days, among the tributaries of Jamaica Bay, and at many other +places where more or less success has attended me. Although never having +enjoyed great luck, never having advanced beyond the first hundred, and +claiming to be no such marksman as several of my friends, I have had +wondrous sport. Of a good day, when the tide is favorable and the game +plenty, the excitement is continuous, and increased by a sense of +competition. + +Other sportsmen are on the same ground, stopping probably at the same +hotel and shooting in close proximity--occasionally too close, if they +are thoughtless or careless. Not only will a charge of mustard seed +sometimes rattle against the boat, but is apt, now and then, to pierce +the clothes and penetrate the skin, followed by an irritation of mind +and body; but when the tide has fallen, and the sport is over, a +comparison of the bag made by each sportsman is inevitable, and no +general assertions of round numbers will answer, but the birds must be +produced. It is vain to claim what cannot be exhibited, and more than +useless to talk of the immense quantities that were killed but not +retrieved; such excuses are answered by ridicule, and if the poor shot +would avoid being a butt, he must be modest and submissive. + +There is danger too, at times, although an upset in the weeds can result +in nothing worse than a wetting of oneself and one’s ammunition, and the +ruin of the day’s enjoyment; but I was once on the Delaware, opposite +Chester, when a fierce north-wester was blowing, which had driven much +of the water out of the bay and river. The tide, of course, was poor, +having difficulty to rise at all against the gale, which kept on +increasing every moment, and the birds were scarce and difficult to +flush. The work of poling was laborious; the boats stopped after every +push, and the heavy swell from the broad river, rolling in a long +distance among the reeds, added a new motion to their natural +unsteadiness. + +Of course the sport was not encouraging, and the accidents were +numerous; several sportsmen fell overboard, one upset his boat, and my +man came so near it--his pole slipping at the moment he was exerting his +utmost strength upon it--that his efforts to recover his balance +reminded me of dancing the hornpipe in a state of frenzy. He kicked up +more capers, and indulged in more contortions on the little platform, +scarcely a foot square, which he occupied, than I supposed possible +without dislocation of a limb; but he managed, however, to regain his +equilibrium, and neither fell overboard nor upset the skiff. + +These little incidents, and the shooting, such as it was, kept the +party, which was numerous, interested until the time came for recrossing +the river to our hotel. There was no stopping-place on our present side +of the river, which presented one apparently endless view of waving +reeds; and the alternative was simply to cross the open river, or pass +the night in our boats. The swell had increased into high waves capped +with snowy foam, and threatened destruction to our low-sided, short, and +narrow boats. Many were the consultations between the various punters, +and grave were the doubts expressed of a safe crossing; but as there was +no help for it, the trial had to be made. + +Selections were chosen of favorable starting-points, and most of the +party put out at about the same time--the sportsman lying on the bottom +at full length in the stern, and the oarsman timing his strokes to the +violence of the sea. The waves broke over us continually; it was +necessary to bail every few minutes, and several had to put back when +they met with some more than usually heavy wave, and take a fresh start, +after emptying the superfluous water. Of course we were drenched to the +skin, but found a species of consolation in knowing that no one had the +advantage of another. Had any of our boats upset, although we might have +clung to them and drifted back among the reeds, we could have effected a +landing nowhere, and would probably have terminated our career then and +there; had this happened to a certain little skiff that held two men and +very few rail, this account would probably never have been written. +However, fate ordained otherwise, and we reached our destination in +safety. + +The best locality for rail-shooting is along the marshy shores of the +Delaware River, above and below Philadelphia; many birds are also killed +on the Hackensack and the Connecticut; they are abundant on the James +River, and doubtless further south, but are not shot there; and they are +found scattered over the fresh as well as the salt marshes throughout +the entire country. I have killed them in the corn-fields of Illinois +while in pursuit of the prairie chicken, and have bagged several and +heard many among the wild rice of the drowned shores of Lake Erie. They +are a migratory bird, and pass to the southward in the early fall rather +in advance of the English snipe, and alight at any damp spots for a +temporary rest wherever the growth of plants promises nutriment. + +They are often flushed by the snipe-shooter, together with the larger +fresh-water rail, _rallus elegans_, and their curious cry resounds along +the reedy marshes where the wild-fowler pursues the early ducks. +Nevertheless, they are difficult to flush and kill where there is no +tide to drive them from their muddy retreats, and where the ground is +too heavy for a dog; and, comparatively speaking, on fresh water, unless +the wind shall have caused a temporary rise, they are safe from injury. + +Their voices reply with the guttural “krek-krek-krek” to the noise of +the boat, and tauntingly boast of their abundance and their security. +Moreover, in a new country, where larger game is still plentiful, the +excellences of the tender but diminutive rail are lost sight of by +comparison with his more profitable compeers; and except along the +Atlantic coast, he is known as a game-bird neither to the sportsman nor +the cook. + +From the fact that he is rarely seen in the spring, and does not at that +season give his enemies a chance to prevent his reaching his +nesting-places at the far north--but only visits us during a few short +weeks in the fall, and then is not much exposed, except in certain +localities--his race will be preserved in undiminished numbers for many +generations; the light skiffs will carry the eager city sportsman along +the shores of the Delaware, the Hackensack, and the cove on the +Connecticut, and the rapid reports will continue to reverberate over the +reedy marshes. + +There are two varieties, the short-billed or sora-rail, _rallus +Carolinus_; and the long-billed, or Virginia rail, _rallus Virginianus_, +which are easily distinguished by this peculiarity, and differ, also, +slightly in plumage. The sora-rail are by far the most numerous, +especially along the sea-coast, and are usually referred to as “the +rail,” but both are shot and eaten indiscriminately. Their habits, mode +of flight, and gastronomic qualities, appear to be identical, but I +think the Virginia rail are proportionally more numerous at the West, +having a slight preference, perhaps, for the fresh water. Their food +must be, however, essentially different; for while the sora, on account +of its short bill, must be confined to the seeds of its favorite reed, +zimosa, or the grains of the wild oats, the Virginia rail, with its +longer bill, also draws much of its nourishment from snails and aquatic +insects, and is considered by some less delicate in flavor than the +former variety. + +About the fifth of September, before the English snipe are numerous, +although their taunting “scaip” may be occasionally heard on their +broad, open feeding-grounds; ere the ducks have marshalled their legions +in retreat from the chilly blasts of the north, after the bay-birds, +with the exception of the “short-neck,” shall have mainly passed to the +southward, and before the quail are large enough to kill--the sportsman +arms himself with his breech-loader, and driving to Hackensack or taking +steamboat from Philadelphia, embarks in the slight skiff usually called +a “rail-boat,” and practises his hand--possibly out of exercise since +the woodcock days of early July--upon the tame and languid rail. + +His cartridges are prepared for the occasion; as he does not intend to +devote more than a day or two to the amusement, he takes with him a +light suit, appropriate to the boat and the weather, gaiter shoes, +flannel pants and shirt, and his waterproof, to meet a temporary shower, +and he lays in sufficient liquid for himself and his man, knowing that +salt air produces thirst, and country inns bad spirits. Thus armed and +equipped, if he is fortunate enough to have high tides, he is almost +sure to enjoy fine sport, and bring home a bag of game that will furnish +forth his table right handsomely to a goodly company, or go far and +spread much satisfaction among his friends who may be the fortunate +recipients. The heats of the summer solstice are over, the birds will +keep several days with care, and the sportsman has not to dread either +the burning sun of August or the freezing blasts of winter. + +Many double shots present themselves in rail-shooting; and upon the +manner in which these are turned to account, and the brilliancy with +which a bird that rises while the sportsman is in the act of loading, is +covered with the hastily charged barrel and cut down, depends the +superiority of one marksman over another. In the days of the +muzzle-loader, I have killed many a bird with one barrel while the +ramrod was still in the other, and have shot several with the barrels +resting on my arm, when they had slipped from my hand in bringing the +gun up hurriedly to my shoulder. Every single rise should be secured as +matter-of-course, and most of the double ones, care being taken in the +latter to obey that great rule, of always killing the more difficult +shot first; if you shoot right-handed, as the majority of persons do, +and one bird flies to the right and the other to the left, shoot first +at the former, and you will have less difficulty in bringing back the +gun towards the latter. + +Never relax your vigilance, as the birds rise silently, without the +warning whistle of the woodcock or whirr of the quail, at the least +expected moment; and if the punter attempts to direct your attention, +the chances are ten to one that you look in the wrong quarter. + +The rail, while being a pleasant bird to shoot, is also a pleasant bird +to eat. There is no variety of our wild game, large or small, that is +more delicious; its flavor is excellent, and its tenderness beyond +comparison; it may not have the rich full flavor of that noblest of them +all, the big-eyed woodcock, nor the savory raciness of the full-breasted +quail, nor the strong game taste of the stylish ruffed grouse, nor the +unequalled richness of the kingly canvas-back--but in tender, melting +delicacy it is hardly surpassed. If cooked in perfection, it drops to +pieces in the mouth, leaving only a delightful residuum of enjoyment. It +should be floated in rosy wine, and washed down with the ruby claret, +and accompanied by fried potatoes, thin and crisp as a new bank note. +It may be preceded by the _pièce de resistance_, and should be followed +only by salad, which may in fact be eaten with it, if dressed with +sufficient purity. + +Kill your rail handsomely in the field, missing not more than one in +twenty, present him properly and with due appreciation on the table, and +eat him with the gratitude that he deserves. + +It is only of late years that many rail were killed at the South. The +old-time battue of the negroes at night-time, with paddles and torches, +did not amount to much, but now hundreds are killed daily through the +season in the rivers below Washington, although the weather is usually +so hot that half of them spoil. In those extensive marshes, two hundred +to a gun is a moderate day’s bag. Still the numbers of this excellent +little bird have not sensibly diminished, and good sport is had every +year on the Connecticut and the Delaware. + + + + +CHAPTER VIII. + +WILD-FOWL SHOOTING. + + +It is not proposed to give any extended account of wild-fowl shooting as +practised on the waters of Long Island, or in the neighborhood of the +great Northern cities; the unsportsmanlike modes of proceeding which are +there in vogue, and which, while contravening all true ideas of sport, +insult common sense by the ruthless injury they inflict, have been fully +set forth by other writers. + +In stationing a battery--that imitation coffin, which should be a +veritable one, if justice had its way, to every man who enters it--and +in lying prone in it through the cold days of winter, the market-man may +find his pecuniary profit, but the gentleman can receive no pleasure; +while the permanent injury inflicted by driving away the ducks from +their feeding-grounds, and making them timorous of stopping at all in +waters from any and all portions of which unseen foes may arise, is ten +times as great as the temporary advantage gained; and as for calling +that sport, which is merely the wearisome endurance of cold and tedium +to obtain game that might be killed more handsomely, and in the long run +more abundantly, by other methods, is an entire misapplication of the +word. + +So long as the shooter confines himself to points of land or sedge, +whether he uses decoys or awaits the accidental passage of the birds, he +not only permits himself a change of position and sufficient motion to +keep his blood in circulation, but he allows the frightened flocks that +have already lost several of their number in running the gauntlet, a +secure retreat in the open waters, and undisturbed rest at meal time. +And so long as this is granted them they will tarry, and trust to their +sharp eyes and quick ears to save their lives; but when they cannot feed +in peace, and when they can find no haven of safety in the broad expanse +of water, they will inevitably continue their migration, and seek more +hospitable quarters. + +Wild-fowl shooting, as pursued at the West, or even at the South, is +glorious and exhilarating; there the sportsman has exercise, or the +assistance of his faithful and intelligent retriever, and is required to +bring into play the higher powers of his nature. He manages his own +boat, or he stands securely upon the firm ground, and if he has not a +canine companion, chases his crippled birds and retrieves the dead ones +by his own unaided efforts. + +At the West, although the vast numbers do not collect that congregate in +the Chesapeake Bay and Currituck Inlet, there is an independence in the +mode of pursuit that has a peculiar charm; and from the facilities +afforded by the nature of the ground, the excellent cover furnished by +the high reeds, and the immense number of single shots, the average +success is as great as in the more open waters of the Southern coast. + +The employment of retrievers is not general in our country, which is, by +the character of its marshes and growth of plants, better suited for the +full display of their capacities than any other. There are certain +objections to the use of a dog in wild-fowl shooting, which, although +entirely overbalanced in the writer’s opinion by the corresponding +advantages, are unquestionably serious. The season for duck-shooting is +mainly late and cold, when it is essential to the shooter’s comfort that +his boat should be dry; but the dog, with every retrieved bird, comes +back dripping with wet, and if he does not let it drain into the bottom +of the skiff, where it “swashes” about over clothes and boots, shakes +himself in a way to deluge with a mimic cataract every person and thing +within yards of him. + +It is unreasonable to ask of the intelligent and devoted but shivering +creature, that he should remain standing in the freezing water or upon +the damp sedge; and if the master is as little of a brute as his +companion, and has a spare coat, the dog will have it for a bed, +regardless of the consequences. + +Nor is this the only difficulty; for unless the animal has instinctive +judgment as well as careful training, he may in open water upset the +frail skiff, by either jumping out of it, or clambering into it +injudiciously. A thoughtful creature maybe taught to make his entry and +exit over the stern, but unfortunately, some of the most enthusiastic +and serviceable dogs have little discretion or forethought; and unless +he is trained to perfect quiet, and broken to entire immobility at the +most exciting moments, he is apt to interfere sadly with the sport. + +In spite of these inconveniences, however, the loss of many of his +birds--amounting, amid the dense reeds of the western lakes, to nearly +one-half of the whole number--will satisfy the sportsman that the +retriever, with his devoted and wonderful sagacity, to say nothing of +his delightful companionship, is a most desirable acquisition. Where the +sportsman is forced to pursue his calling solitary and alone, so far as +human associates are concerned, he will find the presence of his +four-footed friend a great satisfaction, and, amid the solitary and +unemployed midday hours, a pleasant resource. + +The dog is the natural companion of the sportsman--the partaker of his +pleasures, the coadjutor of his triumphs; and whenever his peculiar +gifts can be used to advantage, it is a gratification to both to call +upon him. The knowledge that he will acquire in time is truly +marvellous. Not only does he possess the power of smell, but his +eyesight and hearing far surpass those of man; he will often discern a +flock long before it is visible to human eyes, and his motions will warn +his master of its approach. + +His training can be carried on beyond limit; his knowledge increases +daily, and his devotion is unbounded. Of all the race, the retriever is +probably the most intelligent; as, in fact, intelligence is one of his +necessary qualifications. For this work no breed has the slightest value +unless the individuals possess rare sagacity and almost human judgment. +Some of the most valuable English dogs have been from an accidental +cross; and a pure cur with a heavy coat is often as good as any other. + +There is in England a strain of dogs known as retrievers; they are +mostly used in connexion with upland shooting, as English pointers and +setters are not broken to fetch; but the favorite animals for wild-fowl +shooting, which have made their name notorious in connexion with this +specialty, have generally come from parents neither of which possesses +the true retriever blood. + +In this country the best breed will have some of the Newfoundland +strain; the animal must be clothed with a dense coat of thick hair to +endure the severe exposure to which he is subjected, and must be endowed +with a natural aptitude and passion for swimming. The usual color is +dark, which, in the writer’s judgment, is a great mistake; and the only +really distinct breed of retrievers is known as that of Baltimore. + +In the Southern States the dog, as an assistant in wild-fowl shooting, +has always been in far greater repute than at the North; although the +inland lakes of the latter, the extensive marshes closely grown up with +tall _zimosas_, matted wild oats, and thick weeds, make his services far +more desirable. At the South alone has any intelligent attention been +given to raising a superior strain of retrievers; and + +[Illustration: SHRIMP FISHING.] + +whether we seek an animal that by his curious motions will toll ducks up +to the stand, or by his natural intelligence will aid the punt-shooter +in recovering his game, it is at the South alone that we can find any +admitted pedigree. + +In the Northern States, however, the “native,” as he is called at the +West--probably from the fact that he is invariably a foreigner--selects +any promising pup, and by means of much flogging and steady work trains +him to a faint knowledge of his duties. A young dog loves to fetch, and +will take pleasure in chasing a ball thrown for him round the room, and +if he is a water-dog, naturally brings from the water a stick cast into +it, so that the routine part is easily impressed upon him; but an animal +with this proficiency alone is scarcely worth keeping. + +A good dog must have intuitive quickness of thought and judgment; he +must know enough to lie perfectly motionless when a flock is +approaching; he must understand how to retrieve his birds judiciously, +bringing the cripples first; he must have perseverance, endurance, and +great personal vigor. A duck is cunning, and to outwit its many +artifices and evasions the retriever must have greater shrewdness; it +can skulk, and hide, and swim, and sneak, and he must have the patience +to follow it, and the strength to capture it. Wonderful stories are told +of the many exhibitions of what seems much like human reason, evinced by +some of the celebrated retrievers. + +But probably the rarest quality for a dog or man to possess, and the +most necessary to both, if they would excel in field sports, is the +power of self-restraint. To ask an animal, trembling all over with +delirious excitement, to lie down and remain perfectly motionless during +those most trying moments when the ducks are approaching and being +killed, is to demand of him a self-control greater than would be often +found in his master. Yet upon this quality in the dog depends the entire +question of his value or worthlessness; if he makes the slightest +motion, the quick eyes of the birds are sure to discern it; and if he +bounces up at the first discharge, he will certainly destroy his +master’s chance of using his second barrel, and perhaps upset him over +the side of the boat. + +It is to avoid the sharp eyes of the ducks that a black color for the +dog has been condemned. Amid the yellow and brown reeds of the marshes, +or upon the reflective surface of the open water, black, from its +capacity for absorbing the rays of light, is visible at an immense +distance. Yellow, brown, or grey are the best shades; and any color is +preferable to black. Red is selected by the Southerners for their +tolling dogs, but this is with the purpose of making them attractive. + +Many persons conceive that a dark coat is warmer for an animal than +white, an idea that is carried into practice in the ordinary winter +dress of human beings; but it is refuted not only by the simplest +principles of science, but by the natural covering of the animals that +inhabit the cold climes of the north. The polar bear is clothed in +white, while the southern bear is of a deep black; and many of the +animals and some birds that pass the winter in the arctic regions, +change their dress in winter from dark to grey or pure white. + +Undoubtedly with a retriever the first point is to consider his +protection against cold; plunging as he does at short intervals into +water at a low temperature, and exposed when emerging to the still +colder blasts of Æolus, he must be rendered comfortable as far as +possible at the sacrifice of every other consideration. This is attained +by the thickness more than the color of his coat; and the writer has +always fancied, whether correctly or not, that curly hair is warmer than +straight hair. + +The matted coat of the Newfoundland dogs--the smaller breed being +preferable by reason of size--is extremely warm, and where its color is +modified by judicious crossing, is all that can be desired; while the +instinctive intelligence, the devotion, faithfulness, docility, and +interest in the sport, of these admirable animals, fit them in an +extraordinary degree for wild-fowl shooting. Coming from the north and +accustomed to playing in the water, they can, without danger, face the +element in its coldest state; and whether it be to chase a stick thrown +into the waves by their youthful human playmates, or to recover ducks +shot by their sporting owner, they take naturally to all aquatic +amusements. + +Nevertheless, as has been heretofore remarked, although it is well to +have a slight strain of the Newfoundland, no distinct breed is necessary +to make a good retriever. Our ordinary setters are sometimes +unsurpassable for the purpose; and any tractable dog, if well trained, +will answer in a measure. + +How different it is to stand in the narrow skiff among the tall reeds at +early dawn, with the eager and expectant, though humble, associate, +crouched in the bottom upon his especial mat, and there in the +increasing light that paints the east with many changing hues, to single +out the best chances from the passing flocks, and have your skill doubly +enhanced by the intelligent cooperation of your companion; than to lie, +cramped, cold, and suffering, all through the weary hours, stretched at +full length upon your back with eyes staring up to Heaven and straining +to catch a glimpse of the horizon over your beard or forehead; and +occasionally to rise to an equally constrained posture that is neither +sitting nor lying, and do your best to discharge your gun with some +judgment at a passing flock of fowl! Who can hesitate in selecting the +mode in which he will pursue the sport of wild-fowl shooting? Most of +the favorite varieties of ducks, including many that are known among +ornithologists as sea-ducks, _fuligulæ_, are found in the many scattered +ponds, the shallow marshes, or the extensive inland seas of the great +west; while the swans and geese are shot, the former along the larger +rivers and lakes, and the latter in the corn-fields. It is true that the +enormous flocks that collect in the lagoons and bays of the South are +rarely seen; but the flight of small bodies or single birds is more +continuous, and probably the total number even larger. + +It is impossible to particularize localities as pre-eminent for this +sport where so many are good; and the swamps, rivers, lakes, cultivated +fields, and even open prairies of Ohio, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, +Iowa, Nebraska, Dakota, Colorado, Minnesota, and Wyoming, and the +Western country generally, abound in their seasons with various +descriptions of wild-fowl. An English sportsman, who had spent many +years in the West, gave it as his opinion that the best place for all +varieties of sport in the world was Southern Minnesota. + +Although the use of a light skiff is always desirable and adds +enormously to the comfort of the shooter, circumstances will often arise +that will deprive him of its use; and in such case he has no better +resource than to don his long wading boots, and tramp through the +shallow water until he comes to a favorable spot, perhaps the deserted +house of a family of beavers; and there, perched upon its summit and +concealed by the surrounding reeds, to resign himself to the inevitable +inconveniences of his position. When his feet grow cold in spite of +their india-rubber casing, and his muscles weary for want of rest, he +will long for the dry skiff; and when he comes to “back” his load of +game--consisting, if he is successful, of geese, canvas-backs, +red-heads, mallards, blue-bills, widgeons, and perhaps a swan--across +the muddy flats a mile or two to dry land, he will long for it still +more intensely. + +For shooting ducks the best weather is dark, or even rainy, as at such +times the birds fly closer to the earth, being unable to follow their +course, and do not perceive the sportsman so readily. But as a natural +consequence, the sportsman’s ammunition becomes damp and his clothes +wet, while the old-fogy owner of the muzzle-loader will unjustly +anathematize Eley’s water-proof caps when his gun misses fire, instead +of blaming his own stupidity. The insides of barrels will foul and the +outsides rust; the loading-stick will become dirty and the sportsman’s +hands and face grimy; and then the happy possessor of the breech-loader, +when he handles his clean cartridges, although one occasionally may +stick, will thank his good fortune and bless Lefaucheaux. + +A strong wind forces the birds out of their safe course, up and down the +open “leads,” upon the various points where the fowler, selecting the +most favorable by watching the flight, takes his stand; and, when they +are heading against it, reduces their speed from the lightning rate of +ninety miles an hour to reasonable deliberation; but when they are +travelling with it, renders the art of killing them one of no easy +acquisition. + +In shooting wild-fowl, or in fact any rapid flying birds, it is +necessary to aim ahead of them--not that the gun is actually fired ahead +of them, but to allow for the time, hardly perceptible to man, but +noticeable in the changed position of the birds, necessary to discharge +the piece; and the distance allowed must depend not only on the rapidity +of their flight, but on the customary quickness of the marksman. The +great fault of sportsmen is, that they shoot below and behind their +birds; and this is particularly apt to be the case where the game, as +with wild-fowl, appears to move more slowly than it really does. + +To the novice in this peculiar sport, the second difficulty to overcome +will be the inability to judge distances. Not only do objects appear +over the water nearer than they really are, but there is no neighboring +object that will aid the judgment in coming to a correct conclusion; and +by changes in the weather birds in the air will seem to be nearer or +further off, and their plumage will be more or less distinctly visible, +according to circumstances. After several days’ experience in dark, +cloudy weather, the greatest proficient will, on the first ensuing day +of bright sunshine, throw away many useless shots at impracticable +distances. + +There is no criterion to determine the distance of any bird high above +the horizon, and any recommendation to wait till the eyes can be +seen--the book-maker’s rule--is worse than useless; it is a matter of +experience and judgment. + +There is no better time to kill ducks than when they are coming head on, +the commonly promulgated idea that their feathers will turn the heavy +shot being simply absurd; and all the marksman has to do is to cover his +bird, pitch his gun a trifle upwards, and pull the trigger. + +In the matter of ammunition, the high numbers of shot and the light +charges of powder of old times have changed by general consent; and for +ducks, one ounce and a quarter of No. 4 or 5, and perhaps No. 3 late in +the season, and of No. 1 or 2 for geese, driven out of the ordinary +field-gun by three and a half drachms of powder, will be found +preferable. I say a field-gun, because, although the heavy duck-gun, +with its enormous charge of six drachms of powder and three ounces of +shot, is undoubtedly more killing when discharged into large flocks, the +waste of ammunition would be immense were it used at the scattering +flight of the western country. + +Many kinds of wild-fowl will, like bay-snipe, be attracted by an +imitation of their cry; and, when decoys are used, the mastery of these +calls is necessary to the proficiency of the bayman. But at the West, +where the use of decoys is not customary, and where the nature of the +ground prevents full advantage being obtained from these devices, a +knowledge of the art is not so necessary. Nevertheless, there is +something thrilling in the “honk” of the wild goose; when it is heard, +the sportsman is earnest in his efforts to imitate it, and if +successful--which he often is, for the bird responds readily--is not +only proud of the result, but amply rewarded for his skill. + +In shooting from any species of cover, when ducks are approaching, it is +more important not to move than to be well hid; the slightest motion +startles and alarms the birds, that would possibly have approached the +sportsman in full view if he had remained motionless. If they are +suddenly perceived near at hand while the sportsman is standing erect, +let him remain so without stirring a muscle, and not attempt to dodge +down into the blind. The ducks may not notice him--especially if his +dress is of a suitable color--among the reeds, but will inevitably catch +sight of the least movement. + +So much for general suggestions and advice, which will be regarded or +disregarded by the gentlemen for whom this work is written, much +according to their previously conceived ideas; and which may or may not +be correct according to the opportunities of judging, and the skill of +turning them to account, of the writer; and now we will record a few +personal experiences, in the hope, if not of further elucidating and +supporting the views herein expressed, of furnishing the reader with +more interesting matter. + +[Illustration] + + + + +CHAPTER IX. + +DUCK-SHOOTING ON THE INLAND LAKES. + + +Out West--’way out West--a very long distance from our eastern cities in +miles, but, thanks to steam and iron, a very short one in hours, upon an +island lying in a bay that debouches into one of the great chain of +lakes, is situated a large, neat, white-painted and comfortable house, +where a club of sportsmen meet to celebrate the advent and presence of +the wild ducks. The mansion--for it deserves that name from its extent +and many conveniences--peeps out from amid the elms and hickories that +cover the point upon which it stands, almost concealed in summer by +their foliage, but in winter protected, as it were, by their bare, gaunt +limbs. From the piazza that extends along the front a plank pathway +leads to the wharf, which shelves into the water, like the levees on the +Mississippi, and down or up which each sportsman can, unaided, run his +light boat at his own sweet will. Adjoining the wharf is the out-house, +where the boats are stored in tiers, one above another, and are +protected summer and winter from the weather. Not far off stands that +most important building, a commodious ice-house, suggestive of the +luxuries and comforts that a better acquaintance with the ways of the +place will realize. + +The island is not large, but wherever it is tillable, a garden, orchard, +and grapery have been planted, and furnish the household with delicious +fruit and vegetables. Quail have been introduced, and, being protected +by the regulations of the establishment, have increased and multiplied; +and wild turkeys occasionally commit upon the vines depredations which +are condignly punished. It is a lovely spot, far from other habitations, +and affords shelter during the fall months to as pleasant a set of +sportsmen as can be found the world over. + +The President, with his short figure and grey hair, but sharp, clear +eye, was selected for his superior success as a marksman, and rarely +returns from a day’s excursion without a boat-load of game. The +Vice-President and Secretary are the only other officers, and upon their +fiat it depends whether any outsider shall trespass upon their inland +Paradise. Promiscuous invitations were once extended to the brethren of +the gun and rod, but so many spurious counterfeits presented themselves, +that a stringent rule had to be adopted to exclude all but the genuine +article. + +The shooting lasts from the 1st of September till the chill breath of +winter closes the bay and drives the birds to more hospitable +localities. It is pursued in a small, light, flat-bottomed boat, +similar, on a larger pattern, to the rail-boats used on the Delaware. +Each boat is provided with a pair of oars working on pins that fit into +outriggers; and also with a long setting-pole, which has a bent wire, +like a tiny two-pronged pitchfork, on the end, to catch against the +reeds in poling. A place is made to rest the gun on upon one of the +thwarts; an ammunition-box, containing separate compartments for shot of +several sizes, wads, and caps, is stowed away in the bottom, and a heavy +loading-stick, in addition to the ramrod, is carried. Two guns are an +absolute necessity, unless the sportsman has a breech-loader; for many +birds are crippled and require a second shot before they escape into the +thick weeds, where they are hopelessly lost; and when the flight is +rapid, he requires, at least, four barrels, and would be thankful if he +could manage more. + +The bay, which stretches in vast extent, is filled with high reeds and +wild rice, and rarely exceeds a few feet in depth except where open +passages mark the deeper channels. It is a matter of no little intricacy +for a stranger to find his way, and after nightfall the oldest _habitué_ +will often become bewildered, as the various bunches of weeds, tufts of +rice, or stretches of pond lilies look alike, and when a southerly wind +is blowing the water falls and leaves all but the deep channels nearly +or quite bare. If a man under such circumstances once loses his course +he may as well make up his mind to pass the night in his boat; though he +work himself almost to death trying to pole over bare spots, he will but +travel in a circle and grow momentarily more bewildered. + +I landed at the wharf in the middle of October, of a year ever famous +for the immense numbers of birds that were killed during it, and met +with a hearty greeting from a goodly company collected round the +groaning board of mine host of the white-flowing locks. There was our +worthy President, and our Secretary and Treasurer gracefully combined in +one; there our lucky man and the unlucky man, and there a famous +black-bass fisherman, and there my special friend, and others of lesser +note. + +We sat down to tea with roasted canvas-backs at one end of the table, +broiled steaks at the other, and beautiful potatoes flanking each that +had been raised on our own premises and were tumbling to white +particles, as though they were trying to be flour; jolly, round, baked +apples sitting complacently in their own juice, vegetables of all sorts, +grapes from our grapery, and so many other inward comforts that one +hardly knew where to begin and never knew where to leave off. Our comely +hostess, who had prepared these good things, poured out the tea for us, +and put in sly remarks to her favorites; and, altogether, it was truly +pleasant. + +After tea and adjournment to the sitting-room, while enjoying the +practical cigar or comfortable pipe, we discussed the varied fortunes of +the day and the probabilities of the morrow; compared views on the +habits of fish, flesh, or fowl, and related experiences of former +expeditions. But eager for the morning sun, we retired early and dreamed +of victory. + +As soon as the lazy dawn streaked the east, dressing being done by +candle-light, we hastily disposed of our breakfast and prepared for the +start. Having selected our boats and arranged them on the wharf, we +stowed our guns, ammunition-boxes, over-clothes, a few decoys, and such +other articles as fancy suggested; and then taking two little tin pails, +we put a nice lunch of cold duck, steak, bread, pickles, cake, and fruit +in one, and into the other water with a large lump of ice bobbing around +in the centre; and thus equipped, each man slid his boat down the +inclined wharf, and shipping his oars, pulled for his favorite location. + +My friend and myself joined forces, and made our first pause at a little +bunch of wild rice not far from the house, called Fort Ossawatomie. +Decoys are not generally used in this region, as they cannot be seen +from any considerable distance by the birds on account of the reeds; but +my friend had left his at this place over night, and they were still +“bobbing around”--pretending to swim and looking deceitfully +innocent--when we ensconced ourselves among the reeds near by, crowding +down into the bottom of our boats well out of view. + +Several flocks were seen hovering over the horizon, or moving along in +the distance, scarcely discernible against the morning clouds; and +although occasionally they bade fair to approach, our hopes were, +destined to disappointment, till a single bird turned and headed +directly towards us. When a bird is approaching head on, it is almost +impossible to tell whether he is not going directly from you; and at +times, except for his growing plainer every moment, we should have +doubted which way this bird was flying. Once he turned, from a change of +fancy or fearing danger, but perceiving some other cause of alarm he +again straightened his course towards us. + +We were bent down, peering eagerly through the high reeds, as at last he +came by, within a long gunshot, on the side of my companion. The latter, +rising at the exact moment, wheeled round, brought up his gun, and fired +in an instant. It was just within range, but the bird turned over, +killed dead, and fell with a great splash into the water, sending the +spray six feet into the air. Seizing the pole, I pushed out to him, and +found that he was a blue-bill, one of the best birds of the Western +waters, and at this time in perfection. + +We again concealed ourselves; but noticing that the birds shunned the +spot, I determined to leave it, and pushed out alone to one of the +principal landmarks, where the landscape presents so great a +uniformity--a large umbrella-like elm upon the distant shore. I did not +follow the regular channel; and at first the way was a difficult one, +being directly through a fringe of wild rice, where the water was +shallow and the stalks reached high above my head, but beyond, an open +patch of water-lilies stretched for half a mile. + +The broad, smooth leaves of this remarkable plant, far larger than those +of the pond-lilies of the Eastern States, lay in numbers upon, or half +buried in, the water; while standing up a few feet above its surface +with their straight stems, and gracefully waving in the wind, were the +cup-like pods that contain the seeds. + +When the pods first form the seeds are entirely hidden from view, but as +they increase in size, holes form in the covering, through which they +peep as through a window. The seeds and pod are originally green, but +darken and turn blue, and then brown, as the season advances; and the +holes, which begin by being small, become larger till they open +sufficiently for the seeds to fall out. The seeds or berries are +elliptical in shape and of almost the size of a chestnut; in the green +state they are soft, and can be readily cut with a knife; but when ripe +and black, they are as hard as stone, and will turn the edge of a knife +like agate. + +When about half ripe, or bluish in color, they are good to eat, and +after the removal of a little green sprout hidden in the centre, are +sweet, tasting much the same as a chestnut. As they ripen and their +covering recedes, their stems hold them upright; but the first heavy +frost breaks down the stems, and lets the seed fall out into the water, +where they lie till next year. + +The working of nature is wonderful, as no one observes more frequently +than the sportsman; all this care is taken to preserve the seeds for +their appointed work. If they were permitted to fall out when green or +even half ripe, the action of the water would soften and destroy them; +extreme hardness is necessary to resist its action for so long a time; +while, on the other hand, if they were retained longer and exposed to +excessive cold, their germinating principle would be annihilated. + +Wood-ducks are fond of them in their unripe state, and frequent the +marshes, especially in the early fall, to procure a supply. With a view +to nuts and grapes for dessert, I paused to gather a number of pods, and +was carelessly pushing along, when from out a bunch of weeds, with a +great clatter, sprang a couple of those birds. Dropping the +setting-pole, I threw myself forward to seize the gun; but for this +shooting, infinite practice and great aptitude are required; and +although well accustomed to kill rail from the floating cockleshells on +the Delaware river, and able to take one end of a birch canoe with any +man, I was bunglingly in my own way, and, when at last one barrel was +discharged, a shameful miss was the only result. Anathematizing my +awkwardness, I was dropping the butt to reload, when, roused by the +report, another bird sprang not more than twenty yards off. In an +instant the gun was at my shoulder, and, when the fire streamed forth, +the bird doubled up, riddled with shot, and pitched forward into the +weeds. It was a drake, and, although young, the plumage was resplendent +with the green, brown, and mottle of the most beautiful denizen of our +waters--the elegant wood-duck. + +Several more rose, far out of range, before the lilies were passed and +my destination in the open channel reached. Stopping on the brink of the +latter, to watch the flight of the birds, I noticed that they +frequently crossed a reedy island in the middle of the channel, and +consequently proceeded to conceal myself in what among our association +is called the Little Bunker. It was an admirable location; the channel +on each side did not exceed one hundred yards in width, and the weather +having become thick, with an easterly wind blowing and a slight rain +driving, the promise of sport was excellent. + +Once fairly hidden, and my work commenced; bird after bird and flock +after flock approached, and although the boat, even while pressed in +among and steadied by the stiff reeds, was far from firm, a goodly +number was soon collected. How much more exhilarating is this noble +sport as it is pursued in the West than upon our Atlantic coast, where, +stretched upon his back in a coffin-like battery, the sportsman has to +lie for hours cooling his heels and exhausting his patience! There he is +not confined to one position; but, after shooting down a bird, has the +excitement of pushing after it, and, if it is only wounded, of following +it, perhaps in a long chase before it is retrieved; and then he must +make all haste to return to the hiding-place, over which the birds are +flying finely in his absence, and thus he keeps up a glow and fire of +activity and exercise. + +It is a glorious sight to see a noble flock of ducks approach; to watch +them with trembling alternations of fear and hope as they waver in their +course, as they crowd together or separate, as they swing first one +flank of their array forward, then the other; as they draw nearer and +nearer, breathlessly to wait the proper time, and, with quick eye and +sure aim, select a pair, or perhaps more, with each barrel. It is still +more glorious to see them fall--doubled up if killed dead, turning over +and over if shot in the head, and slanting down if only wounded, driving +up the spray in mimic fountains as they strike; and glorious, too, the +chase after the wounded--with straining muscles to follow his rapid +wake, and, when he dives, catching the first glimpse of his reappearance +to plant the shot from an extra gun in a vital spot. Glorious to survey +the prizes, glorious to think over and relate the successful event, and +glorious to listen to the tales of others. + +Sad, however, is it when the flock turns off and pushes far out to the +open water; sadder still when the aim is not true and the bird goes by +uninjured; sad when the chase is unsuccessful and the weeds hide the +prey, or he dives to grasp a root and never reappears; and saddest of +all to fall overboard out of your frail bark--A fate that sooner or +later awaits every one that shoots ducks from little boats. + +I had had all these experiences except the last, and almost that--when +pushing through the weeds, my friend appeared, attracted by my rapid +firing, and after comparing our respective counts, ensconced himself in +one of the points opposite me on the channel. By this plan all birds +that came between us gave one or the other a shot, and each could mark +birds approaching the other from behind. + +The morning passed rapidly away amid splendid shooting, and noon found +us united in my hiding-place to eat a sociable meal together. During the +middle of the day the birds repose, and the sportsman employs the time +in satisfying the cravings of hunger or even in a nap, interrupted +though he may be in either by an occasional whirr of wings, that, when +it is too late, informs him of lost opportunities. + +We talked over matters. As the day had cleared off and become warm, the +prospect of sport for some hours at least was over, and my friend +suggested we should visit the snipe ground. To approve the suggestion, +to push out and to ship our oars, was the work of a moment, and we were +soon at Mud Creek bridge, a pull of about two miles through an open +lead, from which the ducks were continuously springing on our approach. +Having anchored our boats a short distance from shore, to prevent the +wild hogs paying us a visit, we waded to land, and substituting small +shot for the heavy charges in our guns, walked a few yards up the road +and crossed the fence. + +I had brought my setter with me, and he had proved himself a model of +quietness in the boat, from the bottom of which he had raised his head +only once all day; when my first duck dropped he rose on his haunches, +and watching where it fell, sniffed at it as I pushed up, and then, +satisfied he had no part in such sport, lay down to sleep. + +The moment he touched land his vigor returned; at a motion, he darted +out into the meadow of alternating broad slanks and high field grass +that lay before us, and ere he had traversed fifty yards, as he +approached an open spot, hesitated, drew cautiously, and finally paused +on a firm point. Stepping to him as fast as the impressible nature of +the ground permitted, we flushed three birds, rising as they are apt to +do one after the other, and killed two, one springing wide and escaping +unshot at. + +While going to retrieve the dead birds we flushed two more, both of +which were bagged, one a long shot, wing-tipped, and not recovered till +some time afterwards; for, ere we reached him, we had sprung a dozen, +most of which were duly accounted for. The missed birds, after circling +round high in the air, returned to the neighborhood of their original +locality, and pitching down head-foremost, concealed themselves among +the high grass near enough to lure us to their pursuit. + +The walking was terribly hard; the clayey mud uncommonly tenacious; the +day was already well advanced, and splendid as was the sport, we +resolved, after having pretty well exhausted ourselves and bagged +twenty-six birds, that we must hasten back to the rice swamp, or we +should lose the evening’s shooting. + +We returned to our boats, and stowing the game, pulled with the utmost +vigor down the channel of Mud Creek, and in a short time were again +hidden among the high reeds, awaiting the ducks. This time my friend +selected a spot near a sort of semi-island, that was submerged or not, +according to the state of the water, and near which was a favorite +roosting-place. + +The sun was leisurely dropping down the western sky, throwing his +slanting rays across the broad bay, and lighting up the distant +club-house as by a fire. The fringe of land, trees, and bushes, that +shut out the horizon and rose but little above the water level, was +growing dim and hazy of outline. The wind had died away; and stillness, +but for the quacking of the ducks, the splashing of the coots, or +so-called mud-hens, and the occasional report of a gun, reigned supreme. +A lethargy seemed to have fallen upon the birds; a distant flock alone +would at long intervals greet our eyes, and for some time our evening’s +sport bade fair to prove a failure. + +However, as the sun was about to sink, the birds began to arrive, at +first one or two at a time, then more rapidly and in larger flocks, till +at last it was one steady stream and whirr of wings. Faster than we +could load, faster than we could shoot, or could have shot had we had +fifty guns, from all quarters and of all kinds they streamed past; now +the sharp whistle of the teal, then the rush of the mallard, sometimes +high over our heads, at others darting close beside us; by ones, by +twos, by dozens, by hundreds, crowded together in masses or stretched in +open lines, in all variety of ways, but in one uninterrupted flight. + +Such shooting rarely blesses the fortunate sportsman; we drove down our +charges as best we could, sometimes having one barrel loaded or half +loaded, sometimes the other, oftener neither, when we were interrupted +with such glorious chances; our nerves, eyes, and muscles were on the +strain, and to this day we have only to regret that we did not then +possess a breech-loader. + +The air was alive with birds; the rustle of their wings made one +continuous hum; the heavy flocks approached and passed us with a sound +like the gusty breeze of an autumn night rattling through the dying +leaves. When the sun fled and darkness seemed to spring up around us, +they appeared in the most unexpected and bewildering manner; at one time +from out of the glorious brilliancy of the western sky, then from the +deep gloom of the opposite quarter, darting across us or plunging down +into the weeds near by. + +Our birds lay where they fell, and when the approaching night bade us +depart, we retrieved sixty-seven--the result of about one hour’s +shooting--doubtless losing numbers that were not noticed, or which, +being wounded, escaped. Had we not been awkward from a year’s idleness, +or had we shot as the professionals of Long Island and each used a +breech-loader, I could hardly say how many we might not have killed. As +it was, the sport was wonderful, and the result sufficient to satisfy +our ambition. + +We lost no time in escaping from the weeds into the channel-ways, +whither the open-water ducks--the red-heads and canvas-backs--had +preceded us, and were still directing their flight; and then started for +the few dim trees that we knew surrounded the club-house, rousing in our +course immense flocks of the worthless American coot, _Fulica +Americana_, the mud-hen of the natives. + +The wharf reached, the boats landed, supper over, the birds counted and +registered, the social pipe illumined, and we gathered in a circle round +the fire of our parlor for improving conversation. + +“How many birds have we killed this year?” inquired a member. + +“The record shows a goodly total of 2,351,” replied the Secretary, +turning to the register; “almost as many already as the entire return of +last season, during which we only killed 2,908.” + +“And the better varieties seem this year to be more numerous.” + +“In that particular there is surprising uniformity from year to year. +Last season the return is made up as follows: canvas-backs, 246; +red-heads, 122; blue-bills, 395; mallards, 540; dusky-ducks, 108; +wood-ducks, 601; blue-winged teal, 474; green-winged teal, 39; widgeons, +204; pin-tails, 50; gadwalls, 67; spoonbills, 11; ruddy-ducks, 2; +butter-balls, 7; geese, 2; quail, 14; cormorants, 2; turkeys, 3; great +hell-diver, 1; and this year the average is about the same.” + +“But I think,” said the President, “the canvas-backs and red-heads are +earlier and better than usual.” + +[Illustration] + +“They are rather earlier in making their appearance abundantly. The +variation is never great, however, and the birds appear in the following +order: the wood-ducks first, being plentiful early in September; the +blue-winged teal begin to surpass them about the 20th of that month, and +soon afterward the mallards arrive; widgeons are abundant by the middle +of October, and canvas-backs and red-heads are the latest.” + +“Ah,” burst forth the unlucky man, enthusiastically, “the wood-duck +shooting is my favorite; when they rise from the lilies they are easier +to kill than when flying past at full speed; and you have a punter to +pole the boat and help mark the wounded birds.” + +“October has my preference,” responded the President, with glowing eye; +“the large ducks--the mallards, canvas-backs, and red-heads--have then +arrived; the blue-bills and teal are numerous; and, when a single teal +flies past, a man has to know how to handle his gun to keel him over +handsomely.” + +“But mallards dodge, when you rise to shoot, at the report of the first +barrel; and red-heads and canvas-backs, if not killed stone dead, dive +and swim off under water, or, catching the weeds in their bills, hold on +after death and never reappear. Have you noticed the large teeth, or +nicks, in the bills, especially of red-heads?” + +“Yes. Those long, recurved teeth aid them in tearing up the wild celery, +on which they feed. I have had them serve me the trick you complain of +when they were at the last gasp--so nearly dead, that I have pushed out +and been on the point of picking them up. When not so badly hurt, they +will swim off with their bill only projecting above the surface, and if +there is the least wind this is entirely invisible. The trick is known +to others of the duck family; even the ingenuous wood-duck will have +recourse to the same mean subterfuge occasionally, as one that was but +slightly wounded proved to me to-day.” + +“Is it true,” inquired the fisherman, “that other ducks steal from the +canvas-backs the wild celery that they have exhausted themselves in +procuring?” + +“The widgeons have the credit of doing so; but I have never seen, and +somewhat doubt it. The canvas-back is too large and strong a duck to be +readily trifled with, and is by no means exhausted by diving to the +depth of a few feet after celery. This celery, as we call it--which has +a long, delicate leaf, resembling broad-grass, and bears the name of +_Zostera valisneria_ among the botanists--grows in water about five feet +deep, and its roots furnish the favorite and most fattening food of the +canvas-backs, red-heads, and, strange to say, mud-hens. The widgeon is +not a large nor powerful duck; can dive no further than to put its head +under water, while its tail stands perpendicularly above the surface; +and, although a terrible torment to the weak and gentle mud-hen, would +think twice before incensing the fierce and powerful canvas-back. Of a +calm day it is amusing to watch the flocks of noisy mud-hens, collected +in front of the club-house, diving for their food, and being robbed of +it by the widgeons. The latter swims rapidly among them, and no sooner +does he espy one coming to the surface, with his bill full of celery, +than he pounces upon and carries it off. He is watchful and voracious, +and quickly devours the food; while the injured mud-hen, with a resigned +look, takes a long breath and dives for another morsel.” + +“Do they not combine to drive the robber away?” + +“Occasionally; but he minds their blows as little as their scoldings, +and generally swims off with his prize. The canvas-back, however, would +soon teach him better manners.” + +“Are the western canvas-backs as delicate and high-flavored as those of +the Chesapeake?” + +“Fully so, as my friends in New York, who have been fortunate enough to +share my luck, have often testified. Of course, when they first come +they are thin and poor, but having the same food as is found in the +Chesapeake, and being less disturbed, they soon attain excellent +condition, and are entirely free from the slightest sedgy flavor.” + +“That sedgy or fishy taste is confined mainly to birds shot on the salt +water, and is rarely found in any birds killed upon the inland lakes, so +that many--for instance the bay-snipe--that are barely passable when +shot along the coast, are excellent in the interior.” + +“And yet the naturalists class the canvas-back among _fuligulæ_, or sea +ducks.” + +“That arises from some scientific peculiarity, and is not universal. He +is certainly a fresh-water duck, and thousands are shot here yearly.” + +“I lose a great many crippled birds,” said the unlucky man, +meditatively; “I wonder what becomes of them all?” + +“Many die, a few recover, some are frozen in when the bay freezes over; +after the first hard frost large numbers can be picked up, but they are +so poor as only to be fit to send to the New York market. Most sportsmen +lose many ducks that they should recover; considerable practice is +required to mark well, but the search after a bird should be thorough, +and not lightly abandoned. The boat, when pushed into the reeds, must be +so placed that it can be easily shoved off, and the pole kept ready for +instant use. If, however, a mallard is only wounded, and falls into the +weeds, it is useless to go after him. + +“On the other hand, if a canvas-back, but slightly touched, falls in +open water, he will be rarely recovered; the one hides in the weeds, the +other dives and swims under water prodigiously. The mallard and +canvas-back are the types of two classes--the former is a marsh duck, +the latter an open-water duck. The mallard lives on the pond-lily seeds, +and affects the shallow, muddy pond-holes; the canvas-back seeks the +broad channels, and devours the roots of plants; the one dodges at the +flash, of the gun or sight of the sportsman, the other moves +majestically onward, regardless of the havoc that the heavy discharges +make in his ranks. Of nearly the same size, of unsurpassable delicacy on +the table, of equal vigor, they differ utterly in their habits.” + +“Speaking of types,” said the unlucky man, recalling unpleasant +reminiscences of numerous misses, “you might call blue-bills types of +the fast-flying and dodging ducks. When they come down before a stiff +wind, and are making their best time, lightning is slow by comparison, +and shot does not seem to me to go quite fast enough.” + +“They are the scaup or broad-bill of the East, _Fuligula Marila_, and +are aptly termed the bullet-winged duck. They are undoubtedly the most +difficult duck to kill that flies. I have known a thorough sportsman and +excellent shot on quail, shoot all day at them without killing one. You +must make great allowance for their speed.” + +“And, moreover,” added the President, “you must load properly; there +must be powder enough behind the shot to send it clear through the bird; +one pellet driven in that way will kill a bird that would carry off a +dozen lodged beneath the skin or in the flesh.” + +“Perhaps so, but I doubt its feasibility,” was the response; “no small +shot was ever, in my opinion, driven through the body of a duck with any +charge of powder at over thirty yards. I use light powder and plenty of +shot.” + +This announcement was received with unanimous dissent, and the President +expressed the general feeling when he continued-- + +“Heavy shot will make a gun recoil painfully; but if the shot is light +the charge of powder may be large without producing unpleasant effects; +the shot will be driven quick and strong, and the bird deprived of life +instantaneously. Perhaps the pellets are not driven through the body, +but the blow is severer and the shock is more stunning. I use one ounce +of shot and three drachms of powder, and would prefer to increase rather +than diminish the powder. It is a mistake to suppose powder does not +burn because black particles fall to the ground if it is fired over snow +or white paper; these, I take it, are flakes of charcoal and not powder, +and some will fall, no matter how light may be the load.” + +“For my part,” persisted the unlucky man, “I think the crippling of +birds arises from our inability to judge distances, and from our firing +at birds out of reasonable range. The patent breech was meant to remedy +the necessity for such heavy charges of powder as are used in the +old-fashioned flint-locks. Johnston, the author of an admirable treatise +on shooting, which is now out of print, is my authority, and he says +that an over-charge of powder makes a gun scatter prodigiously without +adding proportionately to the force.” + +“That depends upon the character of the bore,” answered the Secretary; +“if it is relieved at the breech, and after narrowing above, made a +perfect cylinder towards the muzzle, the more the powder the better it +will shoot.” + +Seeing that an interminable discussion was about to open, branching +off, in all likelihood, into the comparative qualities of powder and +manufactures of guns, the President interposed. + +I slipped off and went to bed. Being a comparative stranger at the club +house, for this was the first year of my membership, I had made it a +rule to follow the advice and direction of the older habitues, but I +wanted to get a chance to try some experiments of my own. This would +require a little preparation for which I needed the early hours before +the others should be up. + +As I have said, the members were not at the time of which I am writing +in the habit of using decoys. There was a prejudice against them, their +weight in the boat was an admitted disadvantage, which it was claimed +was not compensated by any corresponding benefit. My experience in a +country where birds were not so plenty, assured me that this was a +mistake, but having come to the club house unexpectedly, I had not +brought my decoys with me, and had to rely upon such substitutes as +could be got up on the spur of the moment. It was with the intention of +preparing these that I retired so early. + +In those ancient days of Western civilization, it was the habit not only +to put several beds in one room, but often to devote one bed to the +accommodation of two men, but by being content with a very small +apartment, I had succeeded in getting a room all to myself. The bedstead +was nothing more than a cot, none too long and by no means too wide. +There was a feather bed on it, a couch we Eastern people do not always +approve, but which has its compensations of a cold night in a loosely +framed house. When I had once felt the insidious wind creeping down my +back where the clothes left an open place for it, I learned the +superiority of experience to theory. I slept, however, as only the just +and the sportsman sleep, my head dropping into unconsciousness as it +touched the pillow, and never returning to it until the daylight +penetrated the open window with its welcome rays--sleep without a dream, +such as youth and health and tired nature only know. + +Next morning I borrowed a saw and a hatchet, all the tools that the +place boasted, and fashioned as best I could some floats. These I +carefully concealed in my boat, and said nothing about them. After +breakfast, when we pushed off, I took my course alone. I went pretty +well up into the marsh, in fact as far as in my ignorance of the +intricacies of the swamp I dared. I chose a point between two creeks, +and going carefully into my blind from behind, so as not to break it +down in front, a precaution which I observed most of the sportsmen +neglected, I concealed myself, and waited the course of events. Mere +waiting never suited my views, but on this occasion there was nothing +else to do. It was some time before I killed a duck, and I was wondering +whether I should have any opportunity to try my floats, when a solitary +mallard came within long range, and I was so fortunate as to bag him. + +It was a beginning, I set him on one of the blocks of wood I had roughly +trimmed into shape that morning. I had noticed the day before that the +water was too deep to set up a dead duck in the ordinary way. Neither +had I been able to find weights of half bricks, which are the main +reliance of the Long Island gunner, or stones, which were an unknown +quantity in that muddy country. So the best I could do, was, to thrust +down a long reed with a string tied to it at the proper distance from +the bottom. My decoy was not as natural as I could have made it with +better appliances, but it was the best I could manufacture, and it did +some service. In less than five minutes it was joined by another +mallard, which first came to look, and was then persuaded to stay by the +gentle influence of an ounce and a half of shot. + +In a short time all my floats were occupied, and although they bothered +me, and wasted my time by breaking away in consequence of not being +properly arranged, they brought me, I do not doubt, twice as many birds +as I should have got without them. I have much faith in being well +hidden. For black ducks, which are the most wary, it is absolutely +necessary not to disturb a leaf that their sharp eyes will notice. If +the reeds are thick enough of themselves to conceal the shooter, do not +either add to them or break them down. I have seen blinds built up, till +they looked like straw mattresses set on end, of which the birds would +be more shy than of the man himself. I was killing shoal-water ducks, +not of course getting canvas-backs, red-heads, or broad-bills so far +back in the marsh, and it was not desirable to have many stools for the +same reason that it is not right to have too large a blind, they are apt +to awaken suspicion. + +One great improvement noticeable after the decoys were set out was, that +the birds came in closer, and gave me better shots. Without them there +is nothing to attract the ducks out of their line of flight, they drive +straight along, perhaps in a direction to bring them to the gunner, more +likely not, but if there are a few decoys, they will at least make a +dash toward the stand. Situated as I was, surrounded almost entirely +with marsh, only a little open water on front and on either side of me, +I felt the want of a dog sadly. My setter, which I had brought from the +East solely for snipe shooting, had shown himself on the day before so +utterly worthless as a retriever, that I had not taken him with me +again. Many of my ducks fell into the reeds, and if they were killed +dead, they were hard to find, and if they had the least life in them, +they would crawl away, and sneak so effectually that if I got them at +all it would be after I had wasted much valuable time. Had my retriever +been with me, I am sure that I should have doubled my bag. + +Of all the retrievers which have ever been used in this country, none +equal those which are called the Chesapeake Bay dogs. Their hair is so +thick and matted that they can stand any amount of cold without +suffering, they are capital swimmers, and I have seen them dive for a +wounded duck, and they seem to have an adaptation for this shooting, +developed perhaps by generations of training, which no other dogs +possess. On one occasion I remember taking out a pup for the second time +that he had ever been shot over. He was so eager that I had to tie him +in the blind, and only let him loose after a bird had been shot down. +Yet on that day I saw him recover a wounded duck after following him +half a mile, twice drop a dead one which he had in his mouth, to bring a +live one, and jump on another and hold him with his paws till he could +reach him by putting his head entirely under water. The wonderful +instances of intelligence reported of this breed would be incredible, if +something only a little less astonishing were not known to every man who +has owned one. + +On this occasion I did not have my dog, and much was the time and many +the duck I lost in consequence. It seemed as though most of those which +were killed dead, fell into the marsh where I could not find the half of +them, and that the wounded fell into the open water, whence they made +their way to cover, before I could run the boat out and pick them up. +The sun was shining brightly from a cloudless heaven, and although the +air was cold, I was so sheltered by the reeds that I was as warm as I +desired to be. That is one of the points of superiority of inland over +battery shooting; had I been lying in the battery with the same wind, no +amount of sun would have kept me warm. + +I had to pick up early, as it would be no joke to be lost in those +monotonous marshes during the night. To get out after dark would have +been impossible, and almost equally impossible for any assistance to +reach me. I was fain to be satisfied with a moderate bag, and lose the +evening’s flight rather than lose myself. When I arrived at the club +house, I found that with the aid of my improvised stools I had made the +second-best bag of the day. Comparative stranger as I was to the +marshes, this result was more than satisfactory. My supper tasted all +the better in consequence, but I did not say anything about the means +which I had taken to bring about the result. + +That evening, when we had collected around the social fire and lighted +our still more social pipes, the president referred to the fact that the +night before, after I had gone to my welcome couch, the rest of the +members had been repeating stories and called upon the unlucky man to +fulfill a promise he had made to give some personal experience of trout +fishing. + +UNLUCKY MAN.--“But my adventure occurred on Long Island, whither I had +gone to learn trout-fishing. I had a new rod of Conroy’s best and most +expensive pattern, a book full of flies, a basket, a bait-box, a net, a +gaff, and all things appurtenant, and was especially proud of my fishing +suit, which a brother of the angle had kindly selected for me. My boots +came above my knees, and were of yellow Russian leather, with which my +brown pants matched admirably, while a blue vest, a white flannel coat, +red neck-tie and crimson cap, combined all the colors that were least +likely to alarm the fish. + +“The other anglers collected at the hotel kindly aided me with their +advice, for which I was truly grateful. They rigged out my leader with +flies, and convincingly proving that the more flies used the more fish +must be taken, fastened on thirteen. Conroy had hardly served me fairly +in selecting my assortment, for they were pronounced by all not to be +half large or bright enough. It was clear that the larger the fly the +easier the fish could see it, and the more surely it would catch; so +they loaned me a number, principally yellow, green, and blue, which was +the more generous of them, as they had but few of the same sort +themselves. + +“They impressed upon me to be up early, because trout will not bite +after sunrise--besides, I knew from the proverb that worms were more +easily obtained early; and it was still dark when, having passed a +restless few hours, I awoke and dressed. The house was silent, not a +person to interfere with me, and having set up my rod the night before, +I crept cautiously down stairs. The tip would slash about and knock at +the doors and on the walls as I passed, and gave me great trouble in +turning the corners of the stairs, but I reached the hall door safely +and stepped out upon the piazza. + +“I had hardly congratulated myself, when, hearing a suspicious growl, +and recollecting that the tavern-keeper had a cross mastiff, I turned, +and saw him in the dim light making straight for me. Running was never +my forte, but, gentlemen, my speed round that house with that mastiff +after me has rarely been equalled; he kept it up well, however, and if +he could have turned a corner readily, would have caught me. Recovering +my presence of mind in the third round, I darted through the hall door, +and slamming it to behind me, heard my enemy bounce against it, and +after a growl and a sniff or two, turn away in disgust. + +“Upon regaining my breath, I ascended to my room, and loading the +revolver which I always carry on dangerous journeys, returned to the +attack, determined on revenge. Strange to say, however, the cowardly +beast, the moment the pistol was presented at him, uttered a low whine +and shrank away. Disgusted with his cowardice, I seized up my rod, which +had been dropped in my first flight, and pursuing him howling piteously +three times round the house, laid it on him soundly. + +“It must have been poor stuff, for the tip broke. Conroy mended it +afterwards, without charge, when I told him the circumstances. But I put +in a spare one, and having dug my box full of worms, went to the shed +where my horse was left standing, ready harnessed, from the night +before. There is nothing like attention to these little matters in time; +for, if the hostler had had to harness him, he might have detained me +many precious minutes. + +“A half-hour’s drive soon brought me to the pond, and, after hitching +the animal to the fence--for it was necessary to turn into the field +from the main road--I walked down to the bank and jumped into a boat. +Unfortunately, it was chained to a staple and padlocked; the inn-keeper +had forgotten to give me the key. They were all the same but one, lying +on the shore and turned bottom up, that did not seem to be sound. No +time, however, was to be lost; the streaks in the east were beginning to +turn red--an indication that the sun was rising--and the hour for +fishing would soon be over. I launched the boat, such as it was, and +pushed off. + +“Casting the fly is difficult, but casting thirteen flies is almost +impossible. The boat was leaky; the fish did not rise, and the water +did. I bailed as well as I could with one hand, and fished with the +other, till at last, almost exhausted, I saw the sun rise. As a +desperate resource, however, the bait-box came into play. I removed the +flies and substituted a hook and worm; but while thus employed, and +unable to bail, the water gained on me rapidly. Hardly had the bait +touched the water before a fine fish seized it. I tried my best to pull +him out, but he would not come--the rod was such a miserable, weak +affair that it bent like a switch. The trout swam about in every +direction, and tried to get under stumps and weeds and to break my line; +but I held him fast and reeled in--for my friends had explained to me +what the reel was for--and was about to lay down my rod and fish him out +with the landing-net, when--the boat sank.” + +CHORUS--“Could you swim?” + +“No; but the water was only up to my arm-pits, and I was about to wade +ashore, when a colored gentleman, who had arrived and been sitting on +the bank for the last few minutes, shouted to me that it was his boat +and I must bring it with me. I answered, savagely, that I would do +nothing of the sort, when he began to abuse me and call me thief, and +say I had stolen his boat, and he would have me arrested. So I thought I +had better comply, and waded along, dragging it after me. The bottom was +muddy, and I slipped once or twice and went all under. It was probably +then that the fish got off; but my colored friend took pity on me, and +pointed out to me the best places to walk. + +“I was nearly ashore, and had clambered upon a bog, as the gentleman +advised, and, by his direction, I jumped to a piece of nice-looking +green grass. I have always thought he deceived me in this, for it turned +out to be a quagmire, and I sank at once above my waist in solid, sticky +mud. The matter now became serious; my weight is no trifle, and every +motion sank me deeper and deeper. I implored the colored man to help me +out; to wade in to me, and let me climb on his back; I offered him money +profusely; and--would you believe it?--he laughed, he roared, he +shouted, he rolled over in an agony of mirth. He asked me whether I was +afraid to die--that only cowards were afraid to die. I did not dare to +say no, lest he should take me at my word, and was ashamed to say yes; +but, as I kept on sinking, I had to own up that I was afraid, and then +he only laughed louder than ever. + +“My feelings were beyond description--fury does not adequately describe +my rage; but fear so tempered it, that I seemed to change suddenly from +the extreme of heat to the extreme of cold. I would begin by swearing at +him, and end by imploring; I begged, cursed, prayed, and raved. Overcome +by his unrestrained delight, at last I threatened--pouring out upon him +the vilest abuse, and dire menaces of what I would do when I did get +out. The prospect of that, however, rapidly diminished--the nasty, slimy +mud rose by perceptible degrees--and then he made me take back all my +threats and apologize to him. In the agony of my returning terror, he +actually made me beg his pardon. + +“When, however, hope was nearly over with me, he slowly, with maddening +deliberation, took a rail from the nearest fence, and, interspersing the +operation with much improving advice, began to pry me out. As I rose +towards the upper world my courage returned, and my revenge was merely +waiting till my body touched _terra firma_ to take ample amends. Even +that satisfaction was destined to disappointment; for when I was so far +out, that with the aid of the rail I could help myself, he dropped it, +and, suspecting my intention, he scuttled off as fast as his black legs +would carry him. + +“What an object I presented after effecting my escape--from head to foot +one mass of mud; my handsome clothes, my hands and face, all blacker +than my ebony friend, and stiff and heavy with the noisome +conglomeration. After resting for a few minutes, I gathered up my rod +and started for the wagon, when what should I see in the other end of +the lot but a bull. A single glance showed me what I had to expect; no +bull could stand such an object as I was. I ran and he ran. I made for +the wagon and he after me. Such a picture as I must have presented, +flying from an infuriate bull, may seem funny to you, gentlemen, but was +not to me. We both reached the wagon and both went into it together--I +into the seat, he into the body; the result being that I went flying out +again, on the other side, over the fence. The horse, which at that +moment must have been dreaming, or sleeping the sleep he did not have +the night before, aroused by the crash, cast one look behind and burst +his bonds and fled. + +“It was a long walk home; people looked strangely at me on the way, and +some unfeeling ones laughed. My wagon was broken, my horse was ruined, +my clothes were spoiled; and the only consolation I had, was that my +brother anglers at the hotel felt and expressed such intense sympathy +for my sufferings.” + +The resigned tones and manner of the speaker were inimitable, and his +story was received with great satisfaction and closed the evening’s +amusements. All parties having resolved upon an early start, retired +early, and enjoyed a rest such as the sportsman only knows. + +One of the attachés of our club-house, without whom it would be deprived +of many pleasant features, and who is a remarkable and eccentric +character, is called Henry--a Canadian Frenchman. He possesses the +lightheartedness, the honesty and trustworthiness of that peculiar +class, with the strongest prejudices against mean and underhanded +actions and those who are guilty of them; he is, in his own obstinate +way, devoted to the service of those who enjoy his esteem. Animated with +strong dislikes, he is barely polite to those who have excited his +distrust, while he will do anything for his favorites. He is a good +shot, and thoroughly acquainted with the marsh and the habits of the +birds, but on no terms will he make any suggestions as to the most +promising localities. To the question, no matter how casually or +confidingly uttered: + +“Well, Henry, where had I better go, to-day?” He will respond, looking +you calmly in the face, and in a slightly admonitory tone: + +“You know I never give advice, sir.” + +His greatest favorites can obtain no more satisfactory answer, and in +fact not much information of any kind, from him in relation to the +flight or haunts of the birds. He appears to have discovered that +knowledge worth having is worth working for, and is resolved that every +man shall be his own schoolmaster. He has quite an insight into +character, and appreciates the members of the club and their +peculiarities. + +One day a party, including a number who were not members, had been +snipe-shooting, and some of the latter indulged the habit of pushing on +before their neighbor to shoot any bird they may have seen alight, or +had reason to believe was upon his beat. Afterwards Henry remarked, as a +sort of soliloquy, “He was a poor man--did not have much education, and +supposed he did not know; but he did not think it right for one +sportsman to run in ahead of another in order to shoot a bird before +him. Probably he was wrong; but that was the way he felt, and could not +help it.” + +It was this curious individual who waked us the next morning at an hour +before daylight, and enjoyed heartily the satisfaction of rousing us up +at that unseemly time. We were no way loth, however, and hastily +swallowing our breakfasts and launching our boats, pushed out under +cover of the darkness for our respective points. As yet the water and +land were scarcely distinguishable, and localities could only be +determined by intuition. Night was still brooding with outstretched +wings on the earth; the sky seemed to be close overhead, and the clouds +could not be distinguished from the open heavens. Slowly, however, the +outlines of the horizon became apparent; then the heavy masses of +lowering cloud that hung in the eastern sky, and left a narrow, +transparent strip of light between themselves and the horizon, came out +in strong relief; the stars faded and turned dim; trees, bushes, and +distant elevations--the minutiæ of the landscape--appeared; long lines +of sedge-grass and reeds sprang up from the water; the eastern sky, and +especially the bright strip beneath the cloud, became lighter; a roseate +tinge spread itself over the meadows, deepening to intensity in the +east, and at last the sun peeped over the horizon. + +Occasionally ducks will move at the first break of dawn; but frequently, +as in the present instance, they do not fly till about sunrise; then the +canvas-backs commenced coming in from the open water; the red-heads +accompanied them; and the mallards, aroused from safe beds among the +reeds, flew with loud quackings overhead. Later, the rapid blue-bills +and teal darted past, the pin-tails moved majestically in stately lines, +and the diminutive butter-balls hurried by. The rising sun dissipated +the clouds, and the increasing wind announced a glorious ducking-day. + +To enjoy this sport thoroughly, or to make the most of the chances +offered, requires long practice and peculiar skill; but, when this skill +has been acquired, no specialty in sportmanship can be carried to higher +perfection, or confer more intense delight. To observe quickly and note +the direction of flight of the distant flock; to catch sight of the +single bird just topping the reeds; to hide well from the sharp eyes of +the approaching ducks; to keep a steady footing, yielding to the +treacherous motions of the unsteady boat without losing self-command; to +measure the distance accurately from birds passing high in air; to +select the proper moment to fire, and to determine correctly the speed +of the moving object; to do all these things at once, without hesitation +or failure in any particular, requires in a man the highest qualities of +a sportsman. The wonder is that success is so often attained; for there +are many men who will kill almost every bird that comes fairly within +range, and who will tell you before they shoot whether they are sure of +killing or not. + +Unfortunately our party, although tolerably proficient, were far from +perfect. Many were the fair shots missed, or only half hit, and more +still were the impossible shots that were wasted. The wind drove the +birds upon the long neck of reeds called Grassy Point, where several of +us had located ourselves, and the river-scows, or small boats, +occasionally passing kept them in motion. + +During the morning several flocks of swans were seen, looking, when they +passed in front of a dark cloud, like flying snow-flakes. Although +somewhat resembling the appearance of geese, at a distance, the beat of +their wings and their trumpet-voiced cry are altogether different. They +were very shy, keeping far out of range; but excited our nerves at the +mere thought of what glory would be conferred if they should happen to +come within the proper distance. + +One of our party, however, acquired but little credit by a shot which he +made at a flock of geese that passed within twenty yards of him. He was +of Milesian descent, and explained the occurrence afterwards as +follows: + +“You see, I was watching them come closer and closer, and making my +calculation to pick out two fine ones. I knew the fellow at the head was +an old gander, and tough; but right behind him came two tender, juicy +youngsters--altogether the fattest and best in the whole flock. Well, it +took me some time to make this selection, and, letting the old one go +by, I was just about preparing to knock over the two others right and +left--and done it I should have, because I intended to, you know. Well, +I put up my gun, and was about taking aim, and was waiting for them to +get just in the right position--for I was as cool as I am this moment; +an old hunter like me is not easily flurried. Well, they were almost +ready, and I was on the point of cutting them down, when somebody +else--bad luck to him--about a hundred yards off fired into the flock. +Of course they flirted in every direction, and darted about so, that I +lost sight of those I selected; and how could you expect me to kill any +others when I had made up my mind to have those? You need not laugh +because I missed with both barrels; I wouldn’t have missed if the birds +had been in their proper places, where I was pointing my gun.” + +So it was that we obtained no geese. But the canvas-backs and mallards, +in the early morning, made up for the deficiency; and when, towards +midday, they ceased flying, some of our party resolved to pole for +wood-ducks. + +To do this, as has been heretofore intimated, requires more practice +than even shooting from “points”--exacting from the sportsman not merely +readiness in handling the gun, but activity of motion and accuracy of +balance. The gun, at full cock, is laid in its rack across the thwart; +or, as I prefer, from one thwart to another, with the triggers up; the +sportsman, standing erect on the stern, wields his pole with care, +avoiding noise, and never by any chance touching the side of the boat +with it, for nothing alarms the birds so much as rapping on the side of +the boat, although it is not easy to avoid doing so. He faces forward, +raises the pole carefully, and replacing it without a splash or a blow +on the crackling stems or leaves of the lilies, use his body as a +fulcrum as often as he wishes to alter the direction of the boat. He +works his way against the wind as much as possible, and, casting his +eyes in every direction, is always on the alert. Suddenly, with a roar +like distant thunder, a wood-duck, generally the male, starts from the +weeds, and with a curious cry, like that of a wailing infant, makes the +best of his way from the approaching danger; instantly the sportsman +drops the pole, wherever it may be--in mid air or deep in the mud, just +planted or at its full reach--and springing to his gun, raises it with +rapidity but deliberation, and, if the bird has hot already gained a +safe distance, discharges it with the best effect he is able to command. +Frequently, at the report, another bird will start, and offer a fair and +generally successful shot. + +To one accustomed to kill quail, this shooting, after the awkwardness +arising from the motion of the boat is overcome, is not difficult; but +the knack of dropping the pole at once is almost unattainable. Most +persons, at first, frantically endeavor to deposit the pole in the boat, +and cannot drop it instantly; others give it an energetic push. The +former allow the birds time to escape, while the latter increase the +unsteadiness of the boat. + +The birds usually rise well, attaining the height of twenty feet before +they move directly away, and hence present a good shot. If they are +missed, they may be marked down, pursued, and started again; and as they +are frequently very numerous, and rise at unexpected moments, they keep +the sportsman excited, until, worn out with the excessive and +unaccustomed labor, he has to stop and rest. If the water is low the +poling is hard work, and at the most favorable times will be found +sufficiently exhausting. The birds principally frequent the lily beds, +which stretch out in broad patches where the water is moderately deep; +but they are also found in open spots among the high reeds, and +occasionally among the deer-tongue. + +There are several kinds of weeds growing in the shallows of the bay, and +restricted in their extent by its depth. The reeds, which in the fall +resemble a ripe field of grain, have crimson stems, and narrow yellow +leaves, almost inclosing the stems at their base and streaming +gracefully in the wind at the top; they thrive in shallow water, and, +attaining a height of twelve feet, form the hiding-places of the +sportsman. The wild rice had a greenish-yellow stem, with longer joints +and without leaves; it branches at the end into the seed-receptacles, +and is not found in such large patches. The deer-tongue grows in deeper +water, and retains its green hue till the weather intimates that winter +is present. It has a leaf like a dull spear-head, that projects but a +few inches above the surface; and its stout stems, springing up close +together, constitute a serious obstacle to the advancing boat. There are +also scattered patches of weeds, usually called grass because they are +green, but with a round, hollow, tapering stem, or leaf, that has no +resemblance whatever to grass. + +Early in the season, when there are few birds flying over the points, +and the young, tender, and gentle wood-ducks crowd the marshes and will +permit an easy approach, it is customary to employ a punter, who poles +the boat while the sportsman sits on the forward thwart, gun in hand, +ready in a moment to cut down the feeble birds. But if any of the +shooting is to be done from the points, the punter will be found in the +way, increasing the unsteadiness of the boat and augmenting the danger, +already sufficiently great. Although by no means proficient, I always +prefer poling myself, and will never permit any guns in the boat but my +own. + +On the day more particularly referred to in this chapter, we found the +birds plentiful, although rather wild, and had grand sport, starting the +crying wood-ducks and the quacking mallards from their hiding-places, +and killing a goodly number in spite of their sharp ears and strong +wings. + +Of the particular shots, the numerous misses, the various mishaps, it +were vain to tell. A baptism in the shallow bay-water is regarded as a +necessary initiation, and not being dangerous, the ceremony is +frequently repeated. Good shots are rarer than bad ones, even with the +best marksmen, and perhaps the author would have to vindicate truth by +telling some awkward blunders of his own, and thus forfeit the reader’s +respect for ever. It is sufficient for the reader to recall the best +day’s sport at ducks he ever had, to imagine his own shooting +considerably improved, his strength and activity augmented, and his +promptest deliberation surpassed; and he will have a faint idea of our +performance. It is enough to say the birds were there, and we were +there. + +Towards night we occupied a series of points above the Gap, as it is +called--an opening between the island where the house is situated and +the land beyond--and waited for the evening flight. The wind had died +away, and as the sun was setting, the mallards came in from the lake to +pass the night. Innumerable flocks, one after another, appeared from +behind the trees, and passing overhead, settled down into the reeds. By +twos, threes, or hundreds in a flock, in straight, even lines of battle, +or bent like the two sides of a triangle, or in long single file, their +wings whistling in the still air, or producing reports like pop-guns as +they flirted or touched one another--immense numbers moved over us. + +Having ascertained by several ineffectual shots that they were far out +of range, we watched them with delight and curiosity, wondering whence +they could all come, and whither they were going. There was no abatement +or pause till the increasing darkness shut them out from our sight. Had +we been prepared with Ely’s wire cartridge we could have rained +destruction among them, but as it was we only killed a few chance birds; +and then reassembling our party where the open lead joined the bay, we +returned to the club-house together. + +The next day being clear and still, it was devoted to fishing and +exploring. A Kentuckian who was among our numbers, having no fishing in +his own State, and knowing nothing of salmon or striped-bass, and little +of trout, was devoted to black-bass fishing. Persuading the writer to go +in the boat with him, while two friends accompanied us in another, we +crossed the bay, and having fastened large Buel’s spoons to the end of +stout hand-lines, proceeded to troll in the most primitive manner. + +The bass were plentiful, and rushing from their lairs in the weeds close +to the shore, darted out after the boat had passed, and devoured our +baits. Although quite large, they gave feeble play, turning over and +over in the water, and rarely jumping with the vigor of fish brought up +in cooler latitudes; in fact, the river and lake bass differ so greatly +as to seem almost to belong to different species. The river fish, which +lie in the discolored water where long weeds grow from a bottom of deep +mud, are yellow in color, have a large head, and a yellow iris to the +eye. The lake fish, which prefer the clearer element near rocky shoals, +have a small head and reddish eye, are dark-sided and vigorous, have a +large forked tail, and are infinitely preferable on the table. + +One of our friends in the other boat was a practical joker, and of a +lively turn of mind. He at first amused himself by jerking the line of +his companion who sat nearer the bow, to induce him to think it was a +bite; then he landed all the fish that were taken on either hook; and +finally, having accidentally caught his hook into his companion’s and +drawn it in without the latter’s knowledge, he hung it on the gunwale +and had the fishing to himself. As the portion of the line, or bight as +sailors call it, which still towed overboard kept up the ordinary +strain, his associate was in great wonderment at his bad luck, and did +not discover the reason till the fishing was over. + +Having absolutely filled our boats with bass that weighed from two to +four pounds, and having ordered a good dinner at the club-house to +entertain some strangers, we returned, rather disgusted with such tame +sport. + +We caught, besides the bass, a few pickerel and a small pike-perch, +_lucioperca Americana_; and found the most successful bait was a red and +tin spoon, with a white feather on the hook. The natives call the +pickerel a grass-pike, and the pike-perch a pickerel. Those curious +nondescripts--half fish, half reptile--bill or gar-fish, _lepidosteus_, +relics of antediluvian ages, were seen in the water, but are only taken +in the net. + +The weather had been clear, mild, and still; it continued so for several +days, and as storm and wind are necessary to duck-shooting, our sport, +although pleasant, was greatly diminished. Consequently we rose at +reasonable hours, ate comfortable breakfasts, and smoked our pipes +before we left the house. One morning, as I was about departing, the +Kentucky fisherman, who had found the weather admirable for his sport, +offered to bet ten of the largest fish he would catch against the +largest bird I should shoot, that I would not kill a dozen ducks. Of +course I accepted the wager. + +It was unpromising weather, still and warm, and there was absolutely no +flight either during the morning or evening; but by chance two +cormorants came close to my stand. Without waiting to distinguish what +they were I fired, killing one dead, and dropping the other some +distance off in the open water. My disgust on picking up the one +nearest, and observing the thick legs, ugly shape, and crooked yellow +bill, was only diminished by the recollection of my bet. I lost, failing +in the end to bring home the dozen birds--although I shot more than that +number, but was unable to recover several that fell in the weeds--and on +my return, using that fact as an excuse, endeavored to beg off. The +Kentuckian was delighted; imagining from my conversation that I had shot +a canvas-back, and anticipating an amusing triumph, he insisted upon the +letter of the law. + +Our discussion, as was intended on my part, attracted the attention and +interest of all the members, and my opponent waited with a victorious +air till I should bring him my largest bird. At last, after much +procrastination, it was produced amid such shouts as rarely rang through +the old club-house. In vain did my Kentucky friend attempt to disclaim +his acquisition or propose to waive his rights; “he would have the bird, +and he must take him; it was a remarkably fine one of the kind, and a +good specimen.” At last he burst forth: + +“Oh, get out with your cormorant; take him away; do, and I’ll never make +another bet with you as long as I live.” + +To this day, in that section of the West, a man who is too exacting +occasionally wins a cormorant. + +The time that circumstances permitted me to devote to pleasure was +drawing to a close, and the last morning that was to be appropriated to +the ducks had arrived, when, as I was about loading my boat, Henry stood +before me, and with great earnestness remarked: + +“I am going to shoot with you to-day, sir.” + +If he had said, “I am going to shoot you,” he could not have spoken with +more firmness and solemnity; or, if he had anticipated the most violent +contradiction, he could not have assumed a more convincing manner. The +proposal, as it suggested an augmented bag for my last day, was, +however, cordially welcome; and, as soon as he was ready, I inquired in +an unconcerned manner: + +“Well, which way shall we go?” + +The effrontery of the question fairly took him aback, and, pausing in +apparent irresolution as to whether he was not in danger of being caught +at last, he seemed for a moment half inclined to run for it. +Incoherently he commenced his usual response about not giving advice; +paused, and then, in a sadly reproachful tone, remonstrated as follows: + +“You know if I were to give advice to gentlemen, and they were to have +bad luck, they would blame me; and how can I know all the time where the +ducks are flying?” + +“But, Henry, as we are going together, I must certainly be told where +the place is to be.” + +This appeared to surprise him; for, after a moment’s deliberation, he +jumped into his boat, and, seizing his paddle, said, “I am going to +Grassy Point,” and made off as fast as he could. + +“Well, Henry, I suppose I shall have to go with you, instead of you with +me; but the difference is not very great.” + +He seemed confused, and in doubt whether he had not compromised himself, +and paddled with such speed that I could scarcely keep up with him. +Seated with his face towards the bow of the boat, his guns lying ready +for instant use in front of him, he plied his double paddle--that is to +say, a long paddle with a blade at both ends, which are dipped +alternately--with a vigor that would have distanced, for a short +stretch, the most expert rower. Like the other natives, he preferred +the double paddle to the oars. While using it he could make an accurate +course--an important consideration in the intricate channels; could +watch for a chance shot ahead of him, or chase a wounded duck +advantageously; at a moderate speed, could travel a long journey; and, +for a spurt, could surpass the same boat propelled by oars; and was not +annoyed by catching the blades in the innumerable weeds. So great was +the respect that I acquired for the double paddle, from his manner of +wielding it, that I thereupon resolved to have one and learn to use it, +even if I did suffer somewhat in the attempt. + +We proceeded in unbroken silence, and, reaching the point, located +ourselves well upon it, not far apart, and awaited the ducks. Henry was +an excellent shot, and set me an example that I did my best to follow; +but as the birds did not fly well, we left at the expiration of a couple +of hours, and crossed Mud Creek into the main swamp, called Lattimer +Marsh. On the way, happening to pass an old muskrat house, my curiosity +was excited, and I inquired: + +“Are there any animals in that house now?” + +“I don’t know whether there are any animals, sir; there might be some +sort of animals, but there are not any rats.” + +“Where are the rats, then?” + +“They all disappear in summer; they leave their houses, and in the fall +build new ones. I can’t tell what becomes of them; but they have queer +ways. They build a big house--a sort of family house, as I call +it--where a number of them dwell; and around it, about fifty rods off, +smaller ones, where each rat appears to feed or go when he wants to be +alone. There are generally two entrances, one above and the other under +water, so that when the bay is frozen over they can get in.” + +“How do you catch them?” + +“We set spring-traps of iron, but without teeth, so as not to hurt the +skin, near their houses, and where we think they will be apt to step +into them. The time to catch them is from the 1st of March till the 10th +of April.” + +“Can anybody trap them?” + +“Oh no, sir; that wouldn’t do at all; a person has to own the land, or +have the right to trap. The land isn’t worth much, though--only about a +dollar an acre.” + +“The Indian name of muskrat is said to be musksquash?” + +“I don’t know how that is; but I have heard people call them so. There +are a good many in the marsh, and we sometimes make three or four +hundred dollars a year from them.” + +“But, as the swamp fills up and the land makes, won’t they disappear?” + +“No, sir; the swamp isn’t filling up; but the land is sinking, or the +water rising--either one or the other; for the swamp is growing larger. +The trees on the island are being killed by the water--some are dead +already; and every year more high land becomes meadow, and the meadow +turns into swamp.” + +“I thought the Western lakes were growing shallow, and receding yearly.” + +“Not here, sir. Why, that long spit of reeds beyond Grassy Point was dry +land once, so that you could drive a team clear over to Squaw Island; +there were large trees on it, but they are all dead, and the channel +between it and the island is six feet deep.” + +“All the better for us sportsmen. Have you any other valuable animals +besides the rats?” + +“A few otter; but not many. No, sir; the ducks are the most valuable +things we have.” + +“They will soon be killed off.” + +“No, sir; as there is no shooting allowed in the spring they are +becoming more plentiful. They are tamer, too; and some stay here all +summer and breed. It was the spring shooting, when they were poor and +thin, that killed them off or drove them away.” + +“How many birds can a good shot average daily the season through?” + +“I think I can kill forty a day, but perhaps there are some men who can +shoot better. But now, sir, if you will choose your stand, I will go a +little way below.” + +I ensconced myself in a bunch of high weeds surrounded by a pond of open +water, and killed a few mallards. The birds did not fly well, however, +and we moved from place to place in the hope of better luck, and with a +restlessness that showed increasing dissatisfaction on the part of +Henry; so that I was not surprised when, early in the afternoon, he told +me that he must return to the club-house. I remained for some hours +where he left me; but hearing rapid shooting near the Gap, I poled my +way there through a broad field of lilies, known as the Pond Lily +Channel, and there, to my surprise, found Henry. + +Whether it was the desire to be alone, for his peculiarity of preferring +to shoot by himself has been mentioned, or whether he was tempted by a +favorable flight of birds, I never knew; when I appeared, he paddled +hastily away as though ashamed, and made no answer to my inquiries as to +what detained him, or how they could manage without him at the house. +Unceremoniously occupying his place, I completed the evening, and the +allotted hours of my stay, with some excellent shooting at flocks of +mallards, widgeons, and blue-bills, that poured through the Gap in +endless flights, till after dark. + +Then, for the last time, I rowed through the darkness towards the +well-known point; for the last time sat down at the groaning board which +our kind-hearted landlady had furnished so liberally; played my last +game with the euchre-loving son of Kentucky; smoked a farewell pipe of +Killikinnick in the sociable circle around the air-tight; slept for the +last time in the comfortable bed under the hospitable roof of the +club-house; and next morning, having seen my associates depart, each in +his little boat, and bid them all farewell, I set out, with my birds +packed in ice, for the City of New York. My friends welcomed me and my +birds gladly. Reader, had you been my friend, you would also have +welcomed us both. + +It is surprising how well the duck-shooting in the confluents of the +great lakes has held out in spite of time and breech-loaders. Wild +ducks, like tame ones, lay fifteen to twenty eggs, not like the English +snipe, which rarely lays more than four. They go to inaccessible places +to breed, and are so tough, strong, and active, that they can put their +natural enemies almost at defiance. Spring shooting has been forbidden, +and the result is that as many are now killed every fall as were killed +twenty years ago. + +[Illustration] + + + + +CHAPTER X. + +SUGGESTIONS TO SPORTSMEN. + + +The word “sport” has been more abused, ill-treated, and misapplied than +any other in our language; of a high, pure, and noble signification, it +has been debased to unworthy objects; of a restricted and refined +significance, it has been extended to a mass of improper matters; from +its natural elegant appropriateness, it has been degraded to vulgar and +dishonest associations. + +The miserable wretch who lives on the most contemptible passion in human +nature, and with practised skill cheats those who would cheat +him--winning by the unfair rules of games, so-called, of chance--or, +with less conscience, converting that chance into a certainty, calls +himself a sporting man. The individual who, having trained a horse up to +the finest condition of activity and endurance, drives or rides him +under lash and spur round a course to win a sum of money, although he +may call himself a sportsman, is really a business man. The daring +backwoodsman of the Far West, who follows the fleet elk or timid deer, +and who attacks the formidable buffalo or grizzly bear, is less a +sportsman than a mighty hunter; the man who shoots with a view of +selling his game is a market-gunner; and he who kills that he may eat is +a pot-hunter. + +The sportsman pursues his game for pleasure; he does not aspire to +follow the grander animals of the chase, makes no profit of his success, +giving to his friends more than he retains, shoots invariably upon the +wing, and never takes a mean advantage of bird or man. It is his pride +to kill what he does kill elegantly, scientifically, and mercifully. +Quantity is not his ambition; he never slays more than he can use; he +never inflicts an unnecessary pang or fires an unfair shot. + +The man who, happening to find birds plentiful in warm weather, and, +after murdering all that he can, leaves them to spoil, is no more a +sportsman than he who fires into a huddled bevy of quail, or who +considers every bird as representing so much money value, and to be +converted into it as soon as possible. + +The sportsman is generous to his associate, not seeking to obtain the +most shots, but giving away the advantage in that particular, and +recovering it if possible by superiority of aim; for although to be a +sportsman a person must naturally be an enthusiast, he should never +forget what he owes to his friend, and above all what he owes to +himself. + +Boys and Germans need not imagine that killing robins or blackbirds on +trees, no matter how numerously, is sport. Robins and blackbirds, the +latter especially, if the old song is to be believed, make dainty pies, +but do not constitute an object of pursuit to the sportsman. Diminutive +birds shot sitting are as far beneath sport as gigantic wild animals +shot standing or running are above it. The only objects of the +sportsman’s pursuit are the game birds; not in the confined sense used +in old times by the English, when the very prince of all--the +woodcock--was excluded from the list, but embracing every bird, fit for +the table, that is habitually shot on the wing. Many of these, perhaps +the finest, gamest, and bravest, are shot over dogs, where the wonderful +instinct of the animal aids the intelligence of the human; but whether +followed by the faithful setter, or lured to bobbing decoy; killed from +points where, prone in the reeds, the eager sportsman, insensible to +cold or wet, at the grey of dawn or dusk of night, awaits his prey; or +from the convenient blind which the deluded birds approach without +suspicion, or pursued with horse and wagon on the open plain--these all +are game birds, and he who follows them legitimately is a sportsman. + +Wild birds, like the tame ones, are given for man’s use, and the best +use that can be made of them is the one that will confer most health, +nourishment, and happiness on mankind. Fanatics imagine that although +birds may be killed, it must be done only to furnish food; as if there +was nothing beyond eating in this world, and as if contribution to +health were not as essential as supplies to the stomach. The two may and +should be combined; a man who is hungry may kill that he may be +satisfied, the man who is sickly may kill that he may recover--neither +may kill in excess; and a third may kill lest he become sick, provided +nothing is injured that is not used. + +Death before the muzzle of a gun, in the hands of an experienced +marksman, when the body of the charge striking the object terminates +life instantly--and even when, in the hands of a bungler, the wounded +bird is not put out of his pain till he is retrieved--is far more +merciful than after capture in a trap, accompanied with agonies of +apprehension and perhaps days of starvation, till the thoughtless boy +shall remember his snare and awkwardly end life. The birds of the air +and beasts of the field are given for man’s use and advantage, whether +domesticated, or wild as they once all were; and if they serve to supply +him with food or healthful exercise, and especially if they do both, +they have answered their purpose. It is certainly no more brutalizing to +shoot them on the wing or in the open field, when they have a reasonable +chance to escape, than to wring their necks in the barn-yard, or knock +them on the head with an axe. + +To become a sportsman, the first thing to acquire--provided nature has +kindly furnished the proper groundwork of heart and body, without which +little can be done--is the art of shooting. A few, very few men become, +through fortuitous circumstances of nature and practice, splendid shots; +many shoot well, and some cannot shoot at all. The author of this work +has handled a gun from his twelfth year, and been out with thousands of +sportsmen, but he never yet saw a dead shot--one who can kill every +time. + +Crack shots, however, are numerous; and include, according to Frank +Forester, those who, in covert and out of covert, the season through, +will kill three out of five of the birds that rise fairly within range; +but in the opinion of the author, the application should be extended to +any man who can kill two out of five on an average. This calculation, +however, has no reference to fair shots; every bird that rises within +twenty-five yards and is seen, though it be but for an instant, and many +that rise at thirty-five yards, are to be counted. + +In our country there is so much covert, that the man who picks his birds +and only fires at open chances, is a potterer, unworthy even of the +common-place name of gunner; he has nothing of the sportsman and little +of the man about him. Afraid to miss, anxious to boast of his skill, +desirous of surpassing his friends, he unites the qualities of braggart +and sneak. + +Be liberal in your shots; do not grudge ammunition, nor dread the +disgrace of a miss--the disgrace of eluding the trial is far greater; +and no man who waits for open shots, and acquires a hesitating manner, +will ever effect anything brilliant. If you miss, there are always +plenty of excellent excuses at hand--your foot slipped, the bird dodged, +a tree intervened; or, you hit him hard, cut out his feathers, or even +killed him stone dead, but he did not fall at once. If you doubt the +validity of these excuses, go out with the best shot you know and +observe whether he does not furnish you with ten times the number in a +week. + +Now, the author cannot shoot, and never could; but he manages to bring +home as many quail, wood cock, snipe, rail, ruffed grouse, and ducks, on +the average, as any of his friends. He observes that most of them miss +as often as he does, with no better excuses, and some far oftener; but +still he never, to the best of his belief, saw the season during which +he killed--that is, bagged--one-half of the birds he shot at. Some +professionals, of course, shoot at one kind of game wonderfully; the +gunners of Long Island Bay are astoundingly accurate on wild-fowl, but +would not kill one quail in a week; while some men who could scarcely +touch a duck, handle their guns splendidly in the thickest cover. +Professionals, however, usually yield the best chances to their +employers, and may be more skilful than they seem; but among amateurs +the author claims a rank that will at least entitle him to judge of +others. + +The majority of persons rarely consider how many birds escape, without +the fault of the marksman; at over thirty yards the best gun, especially +when a little dirty, will leave openings in the charge where a bird may +be hit with only one shot, if at all. Ducks, the larger bay-snipe, +ruffed grouse, and, above all, quail late in the season, will carry off +several shots--flying away apparently unhurt, although in the end they +may fall dead. If the gun was held perfectly straight this would happen +less frequently; but to so hold it is almost impossible, for no living +man could kill, once in a dozen times, a flying bird with a single ball; +and even then the probabilities are, that a yellow-leg snipe shot at +more than thirty-five yards off, would once in five times carry away the +few pellets that may strike him; and at forty yards escape entirely +untouched. If the reader will select the best target his gun can make +with an ounce of No. 8 shot at forty yards, and see how many spaces +there are entirely vacant large enough to contain a snipe, he will be +convinced that the above statement is correct; and at fifty yards, the +chances are three to one against the marksman. Sir Francis Francis, who +is a good authority in England, says, that to kill one bird in two shots +is good shooting; and there the grounds are almost always open, while +the reverse is the case with us. + +Do not be discouraged, therefore, if the sun gets in your eyes, your +foot slips, the bird dodges, a few floating feathers are the only result +of your effort, or you make a clean miss; others do the same. Neither +lose your temper nor curse your luck, as by so doing you may excite your +nerves and injure your shooting, and cannot improve it. Be cool, never +shoot without an attempt at aim, if it is only where the bird +disappeared; take your disappointments pleasantly, strive to do your +best, and you will improve. + +Many ducks fly at least ninety miles an hour; that is, twenty-six +hundred yards a minute, or forty-four yards a second; if, therefore, a +duck starts at your feet with that velocity, and you require a second to +cover him, he will be out of range; or if he is flying across, and you +dwell one forty-fourth part of a second on your aim, you will miss him. +A quail, late in the season, flies as fast as this, and rises with a +rapidity equal to his flight. He is often found in coverts, dodges and +twists with remarkable skill and judgment, frequently flies off in a +direct line behind the thickest bush, and requires the perfection of +training to bring down with certainty. These are difficulties that +patience alone can overcome; for if shooting were simple, there would be +no art or pleasure in it. + +All books on sporting tell you to fire ahead of cross shots, and in this +they are right; but the reason they give is, that time is necessary for +the shot to reach the object--in this they are wrong; shot moves +infinitely faster than the bird, and for practical purposes, reaches its +mark instantaneously. Human nerves and muscles, however, are imperfect, +and it requires an instant, an important one, to discharge the gun after +the aim is taken. The result, therefore, is the same, and you must +endeavor to shoot ahead of the bird; and if he is flying fast, far ahead +of him. If the motion of the object is followed and the gun kept moving +before the discharge, some writers allege no allowance need be made, but +it is so difficult not to pause slightly, that it is better in all cases +to allow some inches. + +To follow the motion of a very fast-flying bird, is almost, if not quite +impossible, and the attempt to do so at all, is apt to create a popping +habit. When a broad-bill, driving before a strong north-wester, darts +past, the best plan is to try and fire many feet, even ten or fifteen, +ahead of him; and then you will rarely succeed in discharging your piece +before he is abreast of the muzzle, and frequently will lag behind him. +The aim must be taken on the line of flight, and a little attention will +convince you that the bird is up with the sight ere the trigger is +fairly pulled. A knowledge of this principle, and an ability to practise +it, may be said to be the art of duck-shooting; as in that there are a +vast majority of cross shots, and the birds fly rapidly. + +There is an erroneous idea that the eye must be lowered close down to +the breech, in order to have a correct aim; but, while it is apparent if +the neck is not bent at all there can be no aim, a slight inaccuracy +will not only make no difference, but will give an advantage by throwing +the shot high. It will be perceived, on fastening the gun in an +immovable position, that the eye may be moved from near one hammer to +the other, and the aim altered but a few inches, on an object thirty +yards distant--an inaccuracy, considering the spread of shot, which is +utterly unimportant. + +So also, although by the attraction of gravitation the charge falls +somewhat, the deflection is too inconsiderable to merit attention. + +After watching himself carefully, reading what the best authors have +written, and comparing experiences with his friends, the author has +concluded that experienced sportsmen miss from hesitation in pulling the +trigger, dwelling on the aim, and nervously shrinking from the recoil. +The first fault arises from some temporary or permanent condition of +mind or body, the second from anxiety to make assurance doubly sure, and +the last from habit. + +If a man is naturally slow he can never shoot fast-flying birds, but if +his fingers are stiff from cold he can warm them. A resolution to fire +boldly, and not to dread missing, will cure the over-anxiety that +destroys its own intent, but to meet the recoil without giving to it, or +pushing against it, which is the more common mistake, is often extremely +difficult. This unfortunate habit, occurring at the moment of highest +excitement amid the noise and smoke, is rarely noticed by the guilty +party, and some will at first stoutly deny its existence. + +To mind the recoil of a gun seems pusillanimous, and few can believe, +till assured by actual experiment, that it equals sixty or seventy +pounds, and will crush the bones of the body if immovably fixed. Let the +reader observe the next time that his gun is unwittingly left at +half-cock, how far he will pull it out of aim, and how he will push +against it, when attempting to discharge it at game. An acquaintance of +the writer, who would scout the idea of being affected by the recoil of +his gun, and indeed would have sworn “it did not kick a bit,” was once +chasing a diver on a placid, sluggish stream, in a dug-out. When the +bird rose close to the boat, the sportsman was standing erect, poising +himself with care in the unsteady craft, but as he pulled the trigger he +instinctively pushed so hard, that, as the cap snapped, he lost his +balance, upset the canoe, and pitched forward head-foremost overboard! + +Probably one half of the fair shots that are missed escape on account of +this unfortunate nervousness; and it is a habit that can only be cured +by incessant care and unrelated watchfulness. Anything that affects the +nerves, as smoking or drinking, increases the difficulty, and the sudden +flushing of a bird will cause it. Unhappily it is apt to be most +prevalent when the shooting is good and the sportsman excited, thus +ruining many of his best days. With heavy loads, or what is known as a +kicking gun, the error will be aggravated; and most persons have no idea +of the proper proportions of powder and shot, putting in immense +quantities of the latter and sparing the former. + +The true load for a gun not exceeding eight pounds in weight, regardless +of its size or bore, is one ounce and a quarter of shot and three +drachma of the strongest powder, or three and a half drachms of common +powder. The same proportion should be retained if the gun is heavier or +the charge increased. Where more shot is used power is lost and recoil +aggravated; and if the powder is not augmented one ounce of shot will do +better execution than two. + +Many persons who have ascertained this fact and practise upon it, will +inform you that they drive their shot through the birds, and +consequently kill them instantly. This is a mistake; small shot are +rarely, if ever, driven through a bird; but where the force is +increased the blow is much harder, and stuns. It is the velocity rather +than the size or number of the shot that tells. A soldier in battle was +struck on the belt-plate by a spent minié bullet not a half inch in +diameter, and he described himself as feeling that he had been torn to +pieces, and that a cannon-ball had gone directly through his body. + +The size of the shot is to be proportioned to the size of the +bird--weight, of course, being an element of power and telling on each +individual pellet--but the more the aggregate amount can be reduced the +less the recoil. Six drachms of powder and one ounce of shot, will not +occasion as much recoil as three drachms of powder and an ounce and a +half of shot. + +The gun should always be held firmly to the shoulder, and the shoulder +never rested against a solid substance; indeed, the collar-bone may be +broken by simply firing directly upwards. Therefore, never fire in the +air while lying on your back upon the ground, and be careful when +shooting at ducks from a boat not to support yourself upon the latter. + +If the reader still doubts the universally disastrous effects of +cringing at the moment of discharge, let him have an assistant to load +the gun out of sight, who without his knowledge shall vary the load, and +occasionally put in none at all. Then let the reader fire at a mark, and +in spite of the efforts which he will naturally make, he will find when +there is no load, and consequently nothing to distract his attention, +that he does shrink, and pull the muzzle somewhat off the object. + +This book is not written for beginners; there are plenty of works with +every variety of instruction in them, and the reader is supposed to have +read them, digested their contents, acquired a knowledge of the gun, and +some skill in its use, and to have been frequently in the field, but to +be perfect neither in the use of the gun, nor the practice of the +sportsman’s art. There are, however, a few simple suggestions that may +prove valuable, not only in acquiring the ability to shoot, but in +restoring it where, from want of practice, it has diminished. + +The sportsman must be as quick and ready in handling his gun as the +juggler in handling his tools; he must be able to bring it to his +shoulder and point the muzzle at a stationary mark simultaneously, to +aim in every direction with equal facility, and to follow a moving +object accurately. This is merely mechanical, and is acquired, like +every other mechanical art, by dint of practice. + +Some writers recommend firing at turnips tossed through the air by an +assistant, and this is well; but an equally advantageous plan is to +throw a soft ball about a room and take aim at it, pulling the trigger +every time, with an unloaded and uncocked gun. The sole, but important, +recommendation of this idea is, that it may be carried out anywhere and +at all seasons, and if the reader will try it daily for a week before +going into the field, he will perceive the effects. + +So also, to acquire quickness: if the reader will throw two small +objects--pennies, or the like--into the air, and endeavor to aim at or +hit them both before they reach the ground, he will in a short time +obtain such facility that he will be able to lay down his gun, and after +throwing the pennies, to pick it up and hit them both twice out of three +times. + +To shoot at pigeons from a trap, robins from trees, and even swallows on +the wing, although the practice differs greatly from shooting at game, +is useful to a certain extent; but steady and long-continued practice of +this nature is injurious rather than beneficial. It is somewhat +notorious that the celebrated pigeon-shots are generally poor marksmen +in the field, and entirely at a loss in thick covert. + +After all, however, the best place to learn the use of the gun, while it +is by all odds the pleasantest, is in the field; where, amid the +thousand beauties of nature, and under the excitement of the presence of +game, the sportsman by slow degrees overcomes the innumerable +difficulties that surround the art of shooting flying. + +Closely allied to skill in killing the right object is the ability to +avoid killing the wrong one. A gun is extremely dangerous--how much so +is known only to those who have handled it long; in spite of the best +care it will occasionally go off at unexpected times, and in careless +hands is sure, sooner or later, to do terrible damage. Every possible +precaution must be taken, vigilance must never be relaxed, the muzzle +must under no circumstances point towards the owner or his companions; +if two men are crawling through thick brush, the gun of the first must +point forwards, and of the last, backwards; the caps of muzzle-loaders +should be removed on getting into a wagon, and when the loaded weapon is +left in a house the hammers ought never to be left down on the caps; +but, above all, no man who is not in search of an early grave should +pull a gun towards him by the barrels. + +These rules are simple, and the reasons for them apparent; if the hammer +is on the cap, a blow on it, or its catching on a twig, will discharge +the load; if a horse runs away, as horses have an unpleasant habit of +doing, even if the lock is at half-cock, the tumbler may be broken down; +if a gun is capped in a house, every one but an idiot knows it is +loaded; and if it is drawn towards a person--as will be often done by +thoughtless people in taking it from a wagon or lifting it from a boat +or from the ground--it is almost sure to go off. + +In the field it should be earned either at whole or half-cock; +authorities differ as to which of these two modes is the safer. If the +hammer is at full cock, a touch on the trigger will set it loose; if it +is at half-cock, in the excitement of cocking it when a bird rises +unexpectedly, it will often slip unintentionally. I prefer the former +method, believing that the sense of danger makes the person more +careful, and that the risk of a twig’s touching the trigger in spite of +the trigger-guard is very slight, while the weapon is ready for instant +use, and only has to be pointed at the object and discharged. Moreover, +I have twice seen a gun that was at half-cock discharged when the +sportsman was in the act of cocking it hastily, and twice when putting +it back to half-cock; but the piece should never for a moment be trusted +out of the sportsman’s hands without his first putting it at half-cock; +nor should he ever cross a fence without the same precaution. In +changing from whole to half-cock, pass the hammer below the first notch, +so as to hear a distinct click when it is drawn back. + +Countrymen when about to walk a log over a rapid stream, will usually +carefully put the hammers down on the caps, and placing the butt on the +log, steady themselves by it, thus insuring their destruction if they +should happen to slip; and if they stand on a fence they do the same +thing, and rest the stock on the upper rail. Not only should such +follies be avoided, but the gun should never be leaned against a tree, +as thoughtless people are apt to do when they stop at a spring to drink, +and never placed where it can slip or roll. + +When you desire to reload a muzzle-loader, put the hammer of the loaded +barrel at half-cock, and if the right barrel has been discharged, set +down the butt so that the hammers are towards you, and the contrary way +if the left barrel is to be loaded; in this manner you will avoid +bringing your hand over the loaded barrel, and in case the other charge +should go off you would lose the end of your thumb, perhaps, but save +most of your fingers. + +From the foregoing rules, which apply mainly to muzzle-loaders, it will +be seen how much safer are breech-loaders; with them the entire charge +can be withdrawn on entering a house or getting into a wagon, and there +is absolutely no danger to fingers or thumb in the process of loading. +And in carrying the weapon on long tramps in the woods, where it is +frequently removed from boat to shoulder, from shoulder to boat, and +from wagon to case, and when it has to be ready at any instant, with the +muzzle-loader the only possible precaution is to leave the nipples +without caps, which are to be carried in the vest pocket, and must be +removed after every vain alarm; while with the breech-loader, the charge +itself is not inserted till needed. + +With these few suggestions, which are applicable not merely to the kinds +of sport treated of in this volume, but to every species of shooting, we +leave the young sportsman to his own resources and to the knowledge that +he will acquire in the field, hoping that he may find something in them +that will aid him to kill reasonably often the game he points at, and to +avoid the dreadful misfortune of injuring a friend or companion. + + + + +CHAPTER XI. + +DIRECTIONS FOR BUILDING A BATTERY. + + +A battery, or sink-boat as it is called in some parts of the country, is +a narrow box with a platform around it, so arranged that the weight of +the shooter will sink it so nearly level with the water that the ducks +will not notice it when it is hidden among the stand of stools that are +always anchored around it. The box is almost square, narrowed a little +on the bottom and at the foot, twenty-two inches across at the head, +eighteen at the foot on the top, and four less on the bottom; the two +end pieces are of one and a half inch oak, the sides of three-quarter +inch white pine. It is fifteen inches deep, except at the head, which +shoals up to six inches, beginning about two feet abaft the end. This is +done in order to enable the sportsman to look over the edge of the box +without getting a cramp in his neck, and besides to reduce the flotation +of the battery as much as possible, which is a most important thing to +effect. The narrowing of the bottom is for the same purpose of +diminishing the buoyancy, for as it has to be sunk to the level of the +water if the weight of the sportsman will not bring it down +sufficiently, iron weights, or what is far preferable, iron decoys, have +to be placed in it or on it, and weights in the box are always in the +way. + +Two oak carlings are cut out six feet long, one and a quarter inch +thick, and two and a half wide in the middle, tapering off to one and a +quarter at the ends, with a bow or spring of an inch from the center to +the extremities. Nail these firmly on each end an inch below the top of +the box, and to them fasten the platform, which is made of planed stuff +ten feet long, and to each end of which a batten is nailed as well as a +short additional carling in the middle, projecting from the side of the +box. Fill in the head and foot of the platform with short pieces, so as +to make it compact, and take especial care to have it fit tightly around +the box. As it is made of three-quarter inch stuff, there will be left a +quarter of an inch all around the box to which, when the other work is +done, a narrow piece of lead is nailed that can be raised to keep out +the water in rough weather. Two boards, or what is better, two frames +covered with duck, are hinged together by leather hinges. These are one +foot wide each, and as long as the platform, and are hinged to it on +both sides. A foot-piece made of two boards is hinged to the foot in the +same way. To the head it is customary, on Long Island, to fasten a +fender of the width of the battery and wings, and eighteen or twenty +feet long. It is made of duck nailed to thin wooden slats, is tied on to +the battery when in use, and taken off at other times. In other parts of +the country it is customary to dispense with the fender and substitute a +head wing of three boards hinged on like the foot and side wings. A +single board, fourteen to sixteen inches wide, can be used at the foot +in place of the double foot wing. Sometimes an additional row of lead is +put on about the middle of the platform as an additional breakwater. + +The battery is anchored at both ends. From the head of the fender a sort +of bridle, a short rope tied into the two corners, is fastened at the +center or bight to the anchor rope. A small grapnel or light anchor is +used at the head, as it is important that it should not drag, while at +the stern, to a rope led through a hole in the foot board, a stone is +fastened. This is arranged in this way as it is occasionally necessary +to haul it in and throw it out again on a change of wind. The entire +surface of the battery, wings and all, is to be painted a dull blue, as +near the color of the water as possible. The necessary iron decoys, to +bring the whole structure down to a level with the water, are set upon +the platform, and the stand of stools, not less than a hundred and +fifty, and double that number is better, are placed around the battery, +mostly at the foot and towards the left side if the shooter is +right-handed. A bottom board of half-inch stuff, with half-inch cleats +under it, is put in the bottom of the box for the gunner to lie on, and +all is ready for the exercises to begin. A sink-box made on this plan +will stand quite a heavy sea, but care must be exercised in taking it up +that the wind does not get under the fender when it is being hauled +aboard the sailing vessel, that is ordinarily used in this kind of +shooting, for if it does, and it is blowing at all hard, the fender, +box, platform and all will be lifted out of the water and tossed +skyward. Wear dull-colored clothes, never a red shirt, and a cap in +battery shooting. And first and last, remember never to rise to shoot +before the birds are well into the lower portion of the stools. More +birds are lost by getting up too soon to shoot than from any other +cause. + +[Illustration] + + + + +APPENDIX. + + +The following technical descriptions are taken mainly from “Giraud’s +Birds of Long Island,” a work that is now almost out of print, but which +is more valuable to the student of nature than some of its more +pretentious rivals; and I have interpolated such suggestions and made +such alterations as my experience dictated and the purposes of this work +demanded. A discourse on the wild-fowl of the Northern States hardly +seemed complete without such a description of them as would enable the +sportsman to distinguish one from another; and yet it was not within the +purview of a work intended for sportsmen, to devote much attention or +many of its pages to ornithology. This is therefore condensed into an +Appendix, where it will not trouble the general reader, but will be easy +of reference when the information it contains is wanted. + + +THE GOOSE. + +_Genus Anser_, Briss. + +_Generic Distinctions._--In this class of birds, the bill is shorter +than the head, rather higher than broad at the base; head small, +compressed; neck long and slender; body full; feet short, stout, and +central, which enables them to walk with ease; wings long; tail short, +rounded. + + +THE WILD GOOSE. + +Canada Goose. + +_Anas Canadensis_, Wils. + +_Specific Character._--Length of bill from the corner of the mouth to +the end, two inches and three-sixteenths; length of tarsi, two inches +and seven-eighths; length from the point of the bill to the end of the +tail, about forty inches; wing, eighteen; the head and greater portion +of the neck black; cheeks and throat white. Adult with the head, greater +part of the neck, primaries, rump, and tail, black; back and wings +brown, margined with paler brown; lower part of the neck and under +plumage, whitish-grey; flanks, darker grey; cheeks and throat white, as +are the upper and under tail-coverts. The plumage of the female rather +duller. + +This bird is nowhere very abundant, but migrates across the Northern +States in their entire breadth from ocean to ocean; it obeys the call +well, and stools readily if the gunner is carefully concealed. It is the +latest in its migrations of the wild-fowl. + + +THE BRANT. + +Barnacle Goose--Brent Goose. + +_Anas Bernicla_, Wils. + +_Specific Character._--Bill black; head and neck all round black; a +patch on the sides of the neck white; upper parts brownish-grey, the +feathers margined with light greyish-brown; quills and primary coverts +greyish-black; fore part of breast light brownish-grey, the feathers +terminally margined with greyish-white; abdomen and lower tail-coverts +white; sides grey; feathers rather broadly tipped with white. Length two +feet; wing fourteen inches and a half. Female rather smaller. + +The brant is not fond of the fresh lakes and streams, but prefers the +ocean and its contiguous bays and lagoons; it is far more abundant along +the sea-coast than upon the western waters, and in fact I am not aware +that I have ever killed one in the inland States. It responds to its +peculiar note, stools well, and is often killed in great numbers on the +South Bay of Long Island. + + +THE SWAN. + +_Genus Cygnus_, Meyer. + +_Generic Distinctions._--Bill longer than the head, higher than broad at +the base, depressed and a little widened towards the end; upper +mandible, rounded, with the dorsal line sloping; lower mandible +flattened, with the angle very long, and rather narrow; nostrils placed +near the ridge; head of moderate size, oblong, compressed; neck +extremely long and slender; body very large, compact, depressed; feet +short, stout, placed a little behind the centre of the body; tarsi +short; wings long, broad; tail very short, graduated. + + +THE WHITE SWAN. + +American Swan. + +_Cygnus Americanus_, Aud. + +_Specific Character._--Plumage, pure white; bill and feet black; length +of the specimen before us, four feet; wing twenty-one and a half inches. + +These magnificent birds, the most majestic of the game-birds of our +continent, are rarely shot to the northward and eastward of Chesapeake +bay, but are much more abundant in the far West--even to and beyond the +Rocky Mountains. + + +FRESH-WATER DUCKS. + +_Genus Anas_, Linn. + +_Generic Distinctions._--Bill higher than broad at the base, widening +towards the end, and about the same length as the head; the upper +mandible with a slight nail at the end; neck rather long; body full; +wings moderate, pointed; feet short, stout, and placed behind the centre +of the body; walks with a waddling gait; hind toe furnished with a +narrow membrane. + + +MALLARD. + +Green Head, English Duck, Grey Duck (female), the Duck, the Wild Duck. + +_Anas Boschas_, Wils. + +_Specific Character._--Speculum bright purple, reflecting green, +bordered with black; secondaries broadly tipped with black; secondary +coverts towards their ends white, broadly tipped with black; adult male +with the entire head and upper part of the neck bright green, with a few +touches of reddish-brown passing from the forehead, on the occiput; +middle of the neck with a white ring; the lower part of the neck and +breast reddish-brown, approaching to chocolate; fore part of the back +light brown, rest of the back darker; rump black; upper tail coverts +greenish-black; upper parts of the wings brown, intermixed with grey; +breast, sides, flanks, and abdomen, grey, transversely barred with +dusky; bill greenish-yellow; feet reddish-orange; tail rounded, +consisting of sixteen pointed feathers, nearly white; speculum violet; +length two feet, wing eleven inches. + +Female smaller than the male; speculum less brilliant; general plumage +brown; head and neck streaked with dusky; the feathers on the back and +flanks margined with white, with a central spot of brown on the outer +webs; bill black, changing to orange at the extremity. + +This bird is abundant both at the West and along the coast, but on the +fresh water it frequents the mud-holes and shallow marshes, in +contradistinction to the open water-ducks that affect the broad unbroken +stretches of water. + + +BLACK DUCK. + +Dusky Duck. + +_Anas Obscura_, Wils. + +_Specific Character._--General plumage dusky; speculum green, reflecting +purple, bordered with black; secondaries tipped with white. Adult with +the forehead, crown, occiput, and middle space on the hind neck +brownish-black, the feathers slightly margined with greyish-brown; +cheeks, loral space, and sides of the neck dusky grey, streaked with +black; throat reddish-brown; general plumage dusky, lighter beneath; +under wing-coverts white; speculum brilliant green; bill yellowish; feet +reddish-orange. Female rather smaller, plumage lighter, speculum less +brilliant. Length of male about two feet; wing eleven inches. + +These ducks are killed equally in the fresh and salt waters; they come +to the decoys warily. + + +GADWALL. + +Welsh Drake, German Duck. + +_Anas Strepera_, Wils. + +_Specific Character._--Speculum white; secondary coverts black; upper +wing-coverts chestnut red; general plumage dusky grey, waved with white; +abdomen white. Adult with the bill bluish-black; head and upper part of +the neck grey, streaked with dusky--darkest on the upper part of the +head, as well as the middle space on the hind neck; lower neck, upper +part of the breast and fore part of the back blackish-brown, the +feathers marked with semicircular bands of white, more distinctly on the +fore part of the neck and upper part of the breast; sides of the body +pencilled with greyish-white and dusky; lower part of the breast and +abdomen white, the latter barred with dusky towards the vent; lower and +upper tail-coverts and sides of the rump greenish-black; tail +greyish-brown, margined with white; hind part of the back dark brown, +faintly barred with white; primaries brown; secondaries greyish-brown, +tipped with white; middle coverts reddish-brown; a few of the outer +secondaries broadly margined with greenish-black; inner scapulars brown, +broadly margined with dull yellowish-brown; outer undulated with dark +brown and yellowish-white; feet dull orange. Female two inches shorter; +about four inches less in extent. Length twenty-one inches and a half; +wing eleven. + +This is an ugly duck, and not much esteemed by epicure or sportsman. + + +WIDGEON. + +Bald-pate. + +_Anas Americana_, Wils. + +_Specific Character._--Bill short, the color light greyish-blue; +speculum green, banded with black; under wing-coverts white. Adult male +with the loral space, sides of the head below the eye, upper part of the +neck and throat, brownish-white, spotted with black; a broad band of +white, commencing at the base of the upper mandible, passing over the +crown; behind the eye, a broad band of light green, extending backwards +on the hind neck about three inches; the feathers on the nape rather +long; lower neck and sides of the breast, with a portion of the upper +part of the breast, reddish-brown; rest of the lower parts white, +excepting a patch of black at the base of the tail; under tail-coverts +same color; flanks brown, barred with dusky; tail greyish-brown, tipped +with white; two middle feathers darker and longest; upper tail-coverts +white, barred with dusky; lower part of the hind-neck and fore part of +the back undulated with brownish and light brownish-red, hind part +undulated with greyish-white; primaries brown; outer webs of inner +secondaries black, margined with white--inner webs greyish-brown; +secondary coverts white tipped with black; speculum brilliant green, +formed by the middle secondaries. Length twenty-one inches, wing ten and +a half. Female smaller, plumage duller, without the green markings. + +This duck is much prized along the sea-coast, but at the West he holds +an inferior rank. + + +PINTAIL. + +Sprig-tail--Pigeon-tail--Grey-Duck. + +_Anas Acuta_, Wils. + +_Specific Character._--Bill long and narrow, lead color; at the tip a +spot of block, at the corner of the mouth a spot of similar color; neck +long and slender; speculum bright purple, with reflecting deep green +bordered with black; the feathers broadly tipped with white; tail long +and pointed. Adult male with head, cheeks, throat, upper parts of the +neck in front and sides, dark brown; a band of light purple behind the +eye, extending about three inches on the sides of the neck; on the hind +neck a band of black, with green reflections, fading as it extends on +the back--a band of white commencing between the two former, passing +down the neck on the lower part of the fore neck; breast and fore part +of the abdomen white, tinged with pale yellow--hind part of the abdomen +and vent greyish-white tinged with yellow, and marked with undulated +lines of brown or dusky; at the base of the tail a patch of black; under +tail-coverts black, margined with whitish; two middle feathers black, +with green reflections, narrow, and about three inches longer than the +rest, which are rather long and tapering; upper tail-coverts ash-grey, +margined with yellowish-white, with a central streak of dusky. Rump +greyish-brown, marked with undulating lines of white; sides of the rump +cream color; sides of the body, back, and sides of the breast, marked +with undulating lines of black and white. Primaries brown; shafts +brownish-white, darker at their tips; secondaries and scapulars black, +with green reflections, the former margined with grey, which is the +color of the greater part of the outer web, the latter margined with +white; speculum bright purple, with splendid green reflections edged +with black, the feathers broadly tipped with white. Length twenty-nine +inches, wing eleven. Female with the upper part of the head and hind +neck dark brown, streaked with dusky; sides of the throat and fore neck +lighter; a few touches of rust color on the chin and on the base of the +bill. Upper plumage brown, the feathers margined and tipped with +brownish-white; lower plumage brownish-white, mottled with brown; +speculum less extensive, and without the lengthened tail feathers so +conspicuous in the male. + +This duck is more abundant in the neighborhood of the great lakes than +along the margin of the ocean; in epicurean qualities it ranks with the +black duck. + + +WOOD-DUCK. + +Summer-Duck. + +_Anas Sponsa_, Aud. + +_Specific Character._--The pendant crest, the throat, upper portion of +the fore neck, and bands on the sides of the neck white, with the +speculum blue, glossed with green and tipped with white. Adult male with +the bill bright red at the base, the sides yellow; between the nostrils +a black spot reaching nearly to the black, hooked nail; the head is +furnished with long silken feathers, which fall gracefully over the hind +neck, in certain lights exhibiting all the colors of the rainbow; a +narrow white line from the base of the upper mandible, passing over the +eye; a broader band of the same color behind the eye, both bands +mingling with the long feathers on the occiput; throat and upper portion +of the fore neck pure white, a band of the same color inclining towards +the eye; a similar band on the sides of the neck, nearly meeting on the +nape; lower portion of the neck reddish-purple, the fore part marked +with triangular spots of white; breast and abdomen dull white; sides of +the body yellowish-grey, undulated with black; the feathers towards the +ends marked with a broad band of black, succeeded by a band of white; +tips black; tail and upper tail-coverts greenish-black; lower +tail-coverts brown; sides of the rump dull reddish-purple; rump, back, +and middle portions of the hind neck, dark reddish-brown, tinged with +green; a broad white band before the wings, terminating with black; +lesser wing-coverts and primaries brown, most of the latter with a +portion of their outer webs silvery white; the inner webs glossed with +green towards the ends; secondaries tipped with white; their webs blue, +glossed with green; the inner webs brown, their crowns violet-blue; +secondaries black. + +Female, upper part of the head dusky, glossed with green; sides of the +head, upper portion of the sides of the neck, with the nape, +greyish-brown; a white patch behind the eye; throat white, the bands on +the sides of the neck faintly developed; fore part and sides of the +neck, with the sides of the body, yellowish-brown, marked with +greyish-brown; breast and abdomen white, the former spotted with brown; +lower tail-coverts greyish-white, mottled with brown; tail and upper +tail-coverts dark brown, glossed with green; rump, back, and hind neck, +dark brown, glossed with green and purple; bill dusky, feet dull green. +The crest less than that of the male, and plain dull brown. Length +twenty inches; wing eight inches and a half. + +This is an extremely beautiful duck, but of moderate size; it is rare on +the sea-coast, but absolutely swarms during the month of September among +the lily-pads of the Western swamps. Fed upon the berry of this plant, +called at the South chincapin, it becomes fat and deliciously tender. It +does not pay much attention to decoys. + + +GREEN-WINGED TEAL. + +_Anas._ + +_Anas Crecca_, Wils. + +_Specific Character._--Bill black, short, and narrow; the outer webs of +the first five secondaries black, tipped with white; the next five plain +rich green, forming the speculum; secondary coverts tipped with pale +reddish-buff. Adult male with a dusky band at the base of the bill, of +which color is the throat; a faint white band under the eye; upper part +of the neck, sides of the head, and the crown, chestnut brown; a broad +band of bright green commencing behind the eye, passing down on the +nape, where it is separated by the terminal portion of the crest, which +is dark blue; lower part of the hind neck, a small space on the fore +neck, and the sides of the body, undulated with lines of black and +white; lower portion of the fore neck and upper part of the breast +reddish-brown, distinctly marked with round spots of brownish-black; +abdomen yellowish-white, faintly undulated with dusky; a patch of black +under the tail; outer tail-feathers buff, inner white, with a large spot +of black on the inner webs; tail brown, margined with whitish, the outer +feathers greenish-black; upper parts brown, faintly undulated with black +and white, on the fore part of the back; outer scapulars similar, with a +portion of their outer webs black; lesser wing-coverts brown-ash; +greater coverts tipped with reddish-cream; the first five secondaries +velvety-black; the next five bright green, forming the speculum, which +is bounded above by pale reddish-buff, and on each side by deep black; +before the wing a transverse, broad white band. + +Female smaller; head and neck streaked with brownish-white and dusky, +darker on the upper part of the head; lower parts reddish-brown, the +feathers margined with dusky, upper parts dusky-brown, the feathers +margined and spotted with pale reddish-white, without the chestnut red +and the green on the head; the black patch is wanting, as is the white +band before the wings, the conspicuous spot on the wings is less +extensive. Its short and narrow bill is at all times a strong specific +character; length fifteen inches; wing seven inches and a half. + +This is an excellent little duck, too confiding for its own security, +but capable of saving itself by great rapidity of flight. It is greatly +attracted by decoys, and will generally alight among them if permitted. + + +BLUE-WINGED TEAL. + +_Anas Discors_, Wils. + +_Specific Character._--Bill bluish-black and long in proportion with the +other dimensions of this species; smaller wing-coverts light-blue; +speculum purplish-green. Adult male with the upper part of the head +black; a broad band of white on the sides of the head, before the eye +margined with black; rest part of the head, and upper part of the neck +greyish-brown, with purple reflections on the hind neck; chin black; +lower parts reddish-brown; lower part of the fore neck and sides of the +body spotted with blackish-brown; breast and abdomen barred with the +same color; lower tail-coverts blackish-brown; tail brown, margined with +paler, the feathers pointed, a patch of white on the sides of the rump; +back brownish-black, glossed with green; the feathers on the fore part +of the back and lower portion of the hind neck margined with +yellowish-white; primaries brown; inner webs of the secondaries same +color; outer vanes dark green, which form the speculum; secondary +coverts brown, the outer broadly tipped with white, the inner tipped +with blue; tertials dark-green, with central markings of deep buff; +feet dull yellow. + +Female without the white patch on the sides of the head; throat white; +lower parts greyish-brown, the feathers spotted with darker; upper parts +blackish-brown, the feathers margined with bluish-white and pale buff; +smaller wing-coverts blue; speculum green; secondary coverts the same as +those of the male; length fourteen inches, wing seven inches and a half. + +This species greatly resembles the last. + + +SPOONBILL. + +Shoveller. + +_Anas Clypeata_, Wils. + +_Specific Character._--Bill brownish-black, about three inches in +length, near the end it is more than twice as broad as it is at the +base; much rounded and closely pectinated, the size of the upper +mandible at the base having the appearance of a fine-toothed comb. Adult +male with the head and the neck for about half its length glossy green, +with purple reflections; lower part of the neck and upper part of the +breast white; rest of the lower plumage deep chestnut-brown, excepting +the lower tail-coverts and a band across the vent, which is black, some +of the feathers partly green; flanks brownish-yellow pencilled with +black and blackish-brown; inner secondaries dark green with terminal +spot of white; outer secondaries lighter green; primaries dark brown, +their shafts white, with dusky tips; lesser wing-coverts light blue; +speculum golden-green; rump and upper tail-coverts greenish-black, a +patch of white at the sides of the rump; tail dark brown, the feathers +pointed, broadly edged with white, of which color are the inner webs of +the three outer feathers. + +Female with the crown dusky; upper plumage blackish-brown, the feathers +edged with reddish-brown; breast yellowish-white, marked with +semicircular spots of white. Young male with similar markings on the +breast; length twenty inches and a half, wing ten. + + +SEA-DUCK. + +_Genus Fuligula._ + +_Generic Distinctions._--In this class the head is rather larger, neck +rather shorter and thicker, than in the preceding genus (Anas), plumage +more dense, feet stronger, and the hind toe with a broad appendage, +which is the principal distinction. + + +CANVAS-BACK. + +_Fuligula Valisneria_, Wils. + +_Specific Character._--Bill black, the length about three inches, and +very high at the base; fore part of the head and the throat dusky; +irides deep red; breast brownish-black. Adult male with the forehead, +loral space, throat, and upper part of the head dusky; sides of the +head, neck all round for nearly the entire length, reddish-chestnut; +lower neck, fore part of the breast and back black; rest of the back +white, closely marked with undulating lines of black; rump and upper +tail-coverts blackish; wing-coverts grey, speckled with blackish; +primaries and secondaries light slate color; tail short, the feathers +pointed; lower part of the breast and abdomen white; flanks same color, +finely pencilled with dusky; lower tail-coverts blackish-brown, +intermixed with white; length twenty-two inches, wing nine and a +quarter. + +Female, upper parts greyish-brown; neck, sides, and abdomen the same; +upper part of the breast brown; belly white, pencilled with blackish; +rather smaller than the male, with the crown blackish-brown. + +This is without question the finest duck that flies, as it is the +largest and gamest; it is abundant late in the season, but wary. + + +RED-HEAD. + +_Fuligula Ferina_, Wils. + +_Specific Character._--Bill bluish, towards the end black, and about two +inches and a quarter long; irides yellowish-red. Adult male with head, +which is rather large, and the upper part of the neck all round, dark +reddish chestnut, brightest on the hind neck; lower part of the neck, +extending on the back and upper part of the breast, black; abdomen +white, darker towards the vent, where it is barred with undulating lines +of dusky; flanks grey, closely barred with black; scapulars the same; +primaries brownish-grey; secondaries lighter; back greyish-brown, barred +with fine lines of white; rump and upper tail coverts blackish-brown; +tail feathers greyish-brown, lighter at the base; lower tail-coverts +brownish-black, rather lighter than the upper; length twenty inches; +wing nine and a half. Female about two inches smaller, with the head, +neck, breast, and general color of the upper parts brown; darker on the +upper part of the head, lighter on the back; bill, legs, and feet, +similar to those of the male. + +This duck, as it is scarcely distinguishable from the canvas-back, and +has mainly the same habits, is but little inferior to that incomparable +bird. + + +BROAD-BILL. + +Blue Bill, Scaup, Black Head, Raft Duck. + +_Fuligula Marila_, Linn. + +_Specific Character._--The head and neck all round, with the fore part +of the breast and fore part of back, black; the sides of the head and +the sides and hind part of the neck dark green, reflecting purple; +length of bill, when measured along the gap, two inches and +five-sixteenths; length of tarsi one inch and three-eighths; length from +the point of the bill to the end of the tail nineteen inches; wing eight +inches and five-eighths; a broad white band crossing the secondaries +and continues on the inner primaries. Adult male with the forehead, +crown, throat, and upper part of the fore neck brownish-black; sides of +the head, neck, and hind neck, dark green; lower portion of the neck all +round, with the upper part of the breast, purplish-black; rest of the +lower parts white, undulated with black towards the vent; under +tail-coverts blackish-brown; tail short, dark brown, margined and tipped +with lighter brown; upper tail-coverts and rump blackish-brown; middle +of the back undulated with black and white; fore part black; wings +brown, darker at the base and tips; speculum white, formed by the band +crossing the secondaries and inner primaries; scapulars and inner +secondaries undulated with black and white; secondary coverts +blackish-brown, undulated with white. Female with a broad patch of white +on the forehead; head, neck, and fore part of the breast umber brown; +upper parts blackish-brown; abdomen and lower portions of breast white; +scapulars faintly marked with white. + + +WHISTLER. + +Golden Eye, Great Head. + +_Fuligula Clangula_, Linn. + +_Specific Character._--Bill black, high at the base, where there is +quite a large spot of white; head ornamented with a beautiful crest, and +feathers more than an inch long and loose; insides yellow; the entire +head and upper part of the neck rich glossy-green, with purple +reflections, more particularly so on the throat and forehead; rest of +the neck, with the entire plumage, white; sides of the rump and vent +dusky grey; tail greyish-brown; back and wings brownish-black--a large +patch of white on the latter, formed by the larger portion of the +secondaries and the tips of its coverts; legs reddish-orange. Length +twenty inches; wing nine inches. Female head and upper part of the neck +dull brown; wings dusky; lower parts white, as are six of the +secondaries and their coverts; the tips of the latter dusky. About three +inches smaller than the male. + + +DIPPER. + +Butter Ball, Buffel-Headed Duck, Spirit Duck. + +_Fuligula Albeola_, Linn. + +_Specific Character._--Bill blue, from the corner of the mouth to the +end about one inch and a half, the sides rounded, narrowed towards the +point; head thickly crested, a patch behind the eye and a band on the +wings white. Adult male with the plumage of the head and neck thick, and +long forehead; loral space and hind neck rich glossy green, changing +into purple on the crown and sides of the head; from the eye backwards +over the head a triangular patch of white; the entire breast and sides +of the body pure white; abdomen dusky white; tail rounded, +greyish-brown; upper tail-coverts lighter; under tail-coverts soiled +white; back and wings black, with a patch of white on the latter. Female +upper plumage sooty-brown, with a band of white on the sides of the +head; outer webs of a few of the secondaries same color; lower part of +the fore neck ash-color; breast and abdomen soiled white; tail feathers +rather darker than those of the male. Male fourteen and a half inches +long; wing six inches and three-fourths. Female rather smaller. + +The dipper is quite plentiful everywhere in the Northern States, but not +much valued. + + +OLD WIFE. + +South Southerly, Old Squaw, Long-Tailed Duck. + +_Faligula Glacialis_, Linn. + +_Specific Character._--Length of bill, from the termination of the +frontlet feathers to the point, one inch and one-sixteenth--the upper +mandible rounded; the sides very thin; the bill rather deeply serrated, +and furnished with a long nail; tail feathers acute. In the male the +middle pair of tail feathers are extended about four inches beyond the +next longest, which character is wanting with the female. Adult male +with the bill black at the base; anterior to the nostril reddish-orange, +with a dusky line margining the nail; fore part of the head white, the +same color passing over the head down the hind neck on the back; eyes +dark red; cheeks and loral space dusky-white, with a few touches of +yellowish-brown; a black patch on the sides of the neck terminating in +reddish-brown; fore neck white; breast brownish-black, terminating in an +oval form on the abdomen--the latter white; flanks bluish-white; +primaries dark brown; secondaries lighter brown, their coverts black; a +semicircular band of black on the fore part of the back; the outer two +tail feathers white--the rest marked with brown, excepting the four +acuminated feathers, which are blackish-brown, the middle pair extending +several inches beyond the others. Female without the long scapulars or +elongated tail feathers; bill dusky-green; head dark, greyish-brown--a +patch of greyish-white on the sides of the neck; crown blackish; upper +parts dark greyish-brown; lower parts white. Length of male from the +point of the bill to the end of the elongated tail feathers twenty-three +inches; wing eight inches and five-eighths. Female about six inches less +in length. + +This bird is abundant along the coast, but is generally tough and fishy. + + +MERGANSER. + +_Genus Mergus_, Linn. + +_Generic Distinctions._--Bill straight, higher than broad at base; much +smaller towards the end; upper mandible hooked; teeth sharp; head rather +large, compressed; body rather long, depressed; plumage very thick; feet +placed far behind; wings moderate, acute; tail short, rounded. + +[Illustration: SHELDRAKE.] + + +SHELL-DRAKE. + +Goosander Wenser. + +_Mergus Merganser_, Wils. + +_Specific Character._--Forehead low; head rounded, crested; bill bright +red, the ridge black, high at base; upper mandible much hooked. Adult +male with the head and upper part of the neck greenish-black; lower +portion of the neck white; under plumage light buff, delicately tinged +with rose-color, which fades after death; sides of the rump +greyish-white, marked with undulating lines of dusky; fore part of the +back and inner scapulars glossy black; hind part of the back ash-grey; +the feathers margined and tipped with greyish-white, lighter on the +rump; upper tail-coverts grey, the feathers marked with central streaks +of dusky; tail feathers darker; primaries dark brown; wing coverts and +secondaries white, the outer webs of the latter edged with black; the +basal part of the greater coverts black, forming a conspicuous band on +the wings; under tail-coverts white, outer webs marked with dusky grey, +which is the color of the greater part of the web; bill and feet bright +red. Female with the head and upper part of the neck reddish-brown; +throat and lower neck in front white; breast and abdomen deeply tinged +with buff; upper parts and sides of the body ash-grey; speculum white. +Length of male, twenty-seven inches; wing, ten and a half. Female about +three inches smaller. Young like the female. + + * * * * * + + [Illustration] + + + The American Agriculturist + FOR THE + Farm, Garden, and Household. + +Established in 1842. + +The Best and Cheapest Agricultural Journal in the World. + +TERMS, which include postage _pre-paid_ by the Publishers: $1.50 per +annum, in advance; 3 copies for $4; 4 copies for $5; 5 copies for $6; 6 +copies for $7; 7 copies for $8; 10 or more copies, only $1 each, Single +Numbers, 15 cents. + + +AMERIKANISCHER AGRICULTURIST. + +The only purely Agricultural German paper in the United States, and the +best in the world. 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