Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1882-10-06
ENGLISH GAME KEEPERS.

ENGLISH GAME KEEPERS.
For game preserving, a game keeper
Is. OF course, required; and nearly every
gentleman owning landed property has
one or more in his employ. If the estate
be large one. and the owner much
addicted to sporting. there will be a
'head keeper" '.under keeper" and
staff of watchers; these last being
men under command of the keeper who
perambulate the ''covers." or look out
after poachers and other trespassers.
Their duties are chiefly nocturnal,
though in part performed by day; and
on the estates of wealthy grandees the
tfibe-keepers and watchers included
frequently foot up to fifteen or twenty
individuals. Such princely establish
ments. however. are exceptional; and
the usual game keeping staff is the
keeper himself, with a watcher, or it
may be couple of such assistants Nor
ls the aid given by these restricted to
watching trespassers, they have often
to render it in personal encounters with
the latter-desperate fights where fire.
arms are used on both sides-as the
poachers do not always run away. This,
however. is matter requiring more
detail than present space allows.
For dwelling-place the game keeper
is provided with a neat, comfortable
cottage known as the "keepers lodge"
picturesquely situated. nearly always
in the midst of woods and far away from
other houses; this for the convenience
of his being at all times near the area
of operations. Around it there will be
an acre or two of cleared ground--not
garden. but grass ground, on which
appears an array of little box-like
the kennels or dog there are dogs
chained to them of several breeds, but
all of sporting specialty-pointers, set
ters, watcr-spaniels and retrievers.
Other wooden structurs at some dis
tance apart are the ''cubs'' and coops,
where young pheasants are hatched and
brought up by common barnyard fowls
before being turned out into the covers.
1t is the keepers great ambition, as that
of his master. to show pheasant pre-
serve well stocked with these birds
when October 1st comes around and
friends are invited to take part in the
battue. For attainment of this pheas-
ants eggs are an article of barter and
sale, and readily sell for shilling each,
the purchasers being the men them
selves, and the only ones supposed to
own pheasants. The traffic is carried
on rather surreptitiously, since it is
well known that most of these
eggs must have come out of other pre-
serves-it may be those of a near neigh
hnr or1 Gill hn 10
on. the keeper managing the delicate
negotiation, about which he "kceps
dark" while his master winks at it.
For such and other like reasons, it is a
common thing to hear said that many
gentlemen's pheasants cost them a
guinea a head'' before single bird has
been shot. This sounds big. proclaim
ing the owner man of unlimited means
and open hand, regardless of the ex-
pense, and caring only for the sport.
The assertion has long gone unchal-
lenged; yet it is anything but true.
There may be occasional instances of
plutocrats-and among them. more
than any, the moreaur richeS-who
squander in this silly way; but to my
knowledge most game preservers. gem
try or otherwise. are game dealers as
well. with keen eye to business, and
every pheasant, hare or partridge killed,
save what they keep for their own
tables, is packed and sent off for sale
to the cities. And it is an economy
that pays them WE'LL in most cases, if I
mistake not, returning the expenses of
preserving-keepers, watchers and ev-
erything-with some profit besides.
A notable featurewhich distinguishes
the game-keeper's dwelling from that
of the ordinary cottager is its gable-end.
Against this will be seen nailed up the
skins of all sorts of animals, to him
known as ''vermin'' n''-weasels, stoats,
polecats. and possibly that of the
badger; though the fox, more destruc-
tive to game than any, will not be
there. The killing of Reynard would
be deemed ''dirty trick on the part
of a country gentleman. and in most
cases the keepers master is himself a
fox-hunter. In this "gamekeeper' s
museum" as it is jocularly styled, the
predatory birds hold conspicuous
place-all the species of hawk, with
the raven, carriOn crow. magpie and
Jay; even the rook and jackdaw figur-
ing there as suspected suckers of eggs.
A plenitude of such specimens gives
proof of the keepers zeal and industry
in the performance of his duties.
These duties vary according to the
time of year. In spring. when the
shooting season is over, and early sum-
mer. his ordinary work is to look after
the breeding of the game-birds. note
their places of nesting, and see that
they are not disturbed or interfered
with. Then. too. is his time of best
activity for the extirpation of "vermin,"
all sorts of it being at this season tanner
and so easier to circumvent. The bird
nesting boy. also, needs looking after.
the damage done by him being often as
great or greater than that accruing
from the regular poacher. AS autumn
approaches, the keeper finds full occu-
patton in the training of young dogs to
the gun; and it may be giving some
young master his first lessons in generic.
Later on, when the shooting season
recommences, on all shooting days he
is the conpaqnon de chdsse Of his en-
ployer and such friends as the latter
may invite to shoot with him, the
kopDar HAVING an eva IN their snnrf N ~