The daily gazette., 1881-11-12
FOWL AND FEATHERS.
nrant shooting ON the Virginia
broad Waters

easy access Of New York citv tba
anords better opportunities at all sea
s1 sEns ior enjoying either good sailing
snoot,ng or fishing than the lonl
stretch of East Virginia coast which
lles between Chinceteague Island ant
Smiths Island, which is sixty mile,
70 the southwark, at Cape Charles,
livery Imaginable thing of sea life
tnat lies, swims or crawls makes this
residing place after the period of re-
production has passed. 1t is the Mecca
ior the epicuro, for by its shores the
most delicious bivalves are gathered.
along with the diamond back terrapip
and shell fishes of an untold variety
ana the broad waters and inlets yield
ap all kinds OF sea fishes, from the
mighty drum, with It's booming sound,
TO the silvery and dainty ''spot, u
sometimes called the Lafayette. To
tne eastward q vast chain Of sandbars,
broken BY many wild inlets, guards
the mainland from the incessant at
Jacks OF the sea. and the low pine
covered peninsula at the westward
seems like a dividing line bet een the
blue sky and the green water of the
large bays which lie between 1t and
the beach. Dotted here and there are
large marshes, inlersected by numer-
GUS thoroughfares and creeks, the
roosting haunts and feeding grounds
Tor every variety of aquatic fowl, from
the ancient looking sickle bill curlew
down to the tiny sandpiper. In win
ter geese, brant and sea ducks swarm
there, and even now the advance guard
mas returned from the north TO fill tbe
place Of the receding army of the
waders.
IL Is only recently that the sportsmen
OF New York and Philadelphia have
thought 1t worth their while TO make
more extended trips In search of good
pay snipe or wild fowl shooting than to
the various places that are strung along
Inc coasts Of Long Island and New
Jersey. Bat the once famous Montauk
Point; Lanes on Shinnecock Bay; Bill
Chadwick's and Bonds, on Barnegat
Bay, and the houses at Egg Harbor and
Cape May county have become too high
toned for the snlpe shooter to stop al,
and The shores are now deserted by dis
appointed tyros.
CHINCoIEAGUE ISLAND.
To reach Chincoteague Island 10 now
an easy matter by one OF the Old Dom
inion line steamer to Lewes, Del, from
there by rail to Franklin City, and
thence by the little steamboat Widgeon
across the bay to the island. The trip
Is short one, as, starting from New
York at tnree O. clock in the after
noon, q delightful sail can be had down
the New Jersey coast and the island
reached in time for an early dinner on
the following day. The Island of Chin.
colleague has always been famous for its
supply of eea food and the "pony-pen-
ning," which takes place once a year
has added to the fame of the island.
From Chincoteaue the start should
be made, for it is easy to get small
yacht, and those who are fortunate
enough to have Captain William j. Clay
Vile for their guide, philosopher and
friend will enjoy the best sports TO be had
on the water within twenty wies OF the
island.
1t is further down the coast, however,
that the best wild fowl shooting is to be
k~A.
THE BLINDS FOR SHOOTING BRANT.
The blinds that are shot out of are
SO unlike those used in other fowling
waters of the country that descrip.
tion will not be out of place. They
are made of strong cedar boughs, or,
what is better, of young cedar trees,
which are firmly driven into the mud |
when the tide is out. Oftentimes they
are planted on the edge Of the shoals,
many miles from the shores, and are
strung at intervals along the deep beds
of the channels. In shape they are
oblong and their size depends upon
the boat they are intended TO con-
ceal.
The roupher tho weather the better |
the shooting for all wild fowl. The |
large beds of birds which collect when |
it is calm get broken up into small
tiocks, which keep continually on the |
wing. When everything is propitious
small punches of birds in rapid suc~
cession approach and settle for the |
stools. At limos tho shooting is very
great, and the sportsman has all he
can do to load and fire. He never |
leaves the blind on such occasions, but
signals after each shot his bayman,
who attends in small sailboat, where |
the dead birds are sure to drift.
The guns that are used by the Hog
Islanders arc the old fashioned muz-
zle-loaders of from twenty to twenty
five pounds weight and of No. A
gauge. 1t is absolutely astonishing
to see with what ease and quickness
these gunners handle these heavy fire.
arms. 1t is not unusual to see one Of
the Doughty boys kill a brace of
black breast plover going before the
wind with one of these semi-shoulder
cannons.
HOG ISLAND AND THE ISLANDERS.
Although Hog Island is a close corpo-
ration and more or less interbreedIng
has been going on for years, its men are
strong and lusty. Superstition, which
always follows in the wake of ignorance
has taken strong possession OF them.
Although brave to foolbardiness in those
things which concern the water and
their vocations, they are but as little,
timid children In their conception of the
shadowy world. Every breach has its
ghost and every marsh its score of
ssiehts" or goblins. The islanders are
q kindly people, whose lives for over
century have been spent in fowling and
and fishjng. II Ia said that the annual