Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 10.djvu/389

* HUNTING. 335 HUNTING. he has failed with both barrels of his gun. Where the birds fly directly away from the fcportsraen, shots are taken at them alternately unless several should rise at once, when it is per- missible for each man to fire at the birds on hia own side. Snipe make their first appearance in spring- time, and are usually found in meadows and talt marshes. The element of chance enters verj' largely into the sport of snipe-shooting, but the hunter accustomed to their habits will u.sually be successful. Windy weather, if the wind is not too higli, is a favorable time. Among experi- enced gunners, jacksnipe is a great favorite, owing to the impossibility of formulating for it any fi.ed rule. Xo two snipe lly alike; one may flush at fifteen feet and another at fifteen yards; one may steady thirty yards away, another at forty, and another may not steady until clear out of range. Woodcock. — During tte day these birds may be found seeking for food in marshy thickets. When disturbed they tly in a rising straiglit line as far as the top of the bushes, and then after making some little distance horizon- tally, they settle down by means of a number of quick zigzag movements. Grouse. — The two most important varieties are the ruffed grouse and the pinnated prairie-chicken. In common with the Canada grouse (spruce partridge), and the blue and sharp-tailed grouse of the West, they have stout bills, short feathered legs, and dark plumage. The bird is found in thick woods, and is greatly protected by its color, which is so much like that of the ground that it is frequently overlooked. It is very shy and wild, and fre- quently will run far ahead of the dogs, and eventually rise completely out of range. Some- times they are hunted with dogs and shot after they have taken refuge in a tree, but the keen sportsman never shoots unless he can secure them on the wing. The ruffed grouse is the most cimning game-bird to be found in the Northern States. Quail is often called a partridge in the Southern .''tates. and is popularly knovn as the Bob WTiite. There are almost fifty varieties of the bird, all of which have practically the same conformation. They are found in the Eastern and Middle States, but are more abundant in the South and Southwest, They afford good sport and are more easily got at than grouse or wood- cock. After the pointers or setters have flushed them they make a very swift flight, and unless the hunter can come up with them immediately they are raised, they are likely to get out of range. Wild foul (in which general description are in- cluded swans and geese, and among the ducks canvasbarks. redheads, mallards, teals, pintail, and wood-duck) abound especially in the lakes of the Xorthom States, along the Xew .Ter.^ey co.ast. Delaware and Chesapeake bays, Currituck Sound, the Mississippi Valley, Puget Sound, the Willamette and Columbia rivers, and all the lakes ,nnrl bays of the Xorthwest. They are very fond of wild rice and wild celeri-. and are fre- quently lured to waters in which they have no natural food by hunters who plant wild rice. They are hunted in a variety of way*, among which may be enumerated the following: The hunter may station himself concealed near a point over which they flv. and shoot them as they pass: or he may put out decoys (see Decoy) : or he may steal upon them while they are feed- ing or resting. In the Chesapeake Bay particu- larly, and occasionally elsewhere, sink-boats are used, in which the gunners lie and shoot the birds as they lly over. Another method is to sink a box in the sand or shallow water in which the hunter lies as in a sink-boat. Another very successful way is to employ the trained Chesapeake Bay dog, which will run up and down the shore, and by its actions excite the curiosity of the birds, which, if they approach to satisfy their curiosity, are within easy range of the gun. This method is known as 'toling.' H ild turkey is hunted with or «-ithout a decoy call or whistle. They are easily tracked by their trail on the ground, and may be shot at their roosts if surprised at break of day. One of the hardest birds to secure is the upland plover or Bartram's sandpiper, which cannot be approached except by me:ins of some trick. For instance, in Rhode Island it is fre- quently hunted from a carriage in which the huntsman hides while he is driven in gradually lessening circles around where the bird is sup- posed to be. Ho must, however, be ready to spring out and fire the moment the bird rises. Occasionally trained ponies are usc-d in much the same way as the carriage, the huntsman being concealed by the animal's fore legs and shoulder. Another method is to build a house of boughs and wait for the birds to alight in its vicinity. The rail, or ricebird, as it is known in the South, is usually hunted from boats at flood tide — a method which demands considerable skill and experience on the part of the man who ma- nipulates the boat. Although they fly veiy slow- ly and are within the capacity of aa indifferent shot, they must be killed at the first shot, or they will dive, and in a majority of instances be en- tirely lost. Cranes are hunted in the Mississippi Valley, their plumage being the principal at- traction. The hunting of game animals, as the lion, tiger, leopard, etc., will be found treated under the titles by which they are described. ( For the fox, see Fox-HuxTiXG. ) Bears are still found through- out the United States, but owing to the increas- ing proximity of man, and the increased employ- ment of arms of precision, they have become ex- ceedingly wary, and in many instances even timid. They may be found in the Catskill and .Adirondack mountains in the East, the moun- tains of Xorth Carolina and West Virginia, and in South Carolina, ilississippi, Georgia, Florida, .rkansas, and the mountains and forests of the West. They are hunted with rifles, and by the aid of dogs. Hunting the hare with beagles (q.v. ) is a very popular sport in England, partly for the exercise it affords, and partly for its economy, in that horses are not required. The following list gives the charge and gauge of shotgun suitable for the various kinds of game- birds. Larger and wild animals are usually shot with a rifle, for which see .Sm.li. Arms. The first figure after the name of the bird has reference to the gauge, and the second figure to the size and kind of shot: Sora, rail. etc.. from 12 to 20; 10 trap. Woodcock, 10 and 12: 10 shot. Snijie. 10 and 12 : 9 shot. Quail. 10 and 12 ; 8 trap. Prairie- chicken. 10 and 12: 8 shot. Ruffed grotise. 10 and 12: 7 trap. Squirrel. 10 and 12: 6 shot. Teal. 10 and 12: 7 shot. Pintail. 10 and 12: 6 shot. M.illard. 10 and 12: .5 shot. Redhead. 10 nnd 12: 4 shot. Canvasback, 10 and 12: 3 shot. Turkey, 10 and 12; 2 shot. Goose. 10 and 12; BB.