The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1886-01-07
Prairie Chickens.

&
Der of Nimrods who 60 out almost daily
to hunt prairie chickens and other game.
Prairie chicken shooting has the prefer.
ence over most hunting sport, for the
reason that it requires carefully trained
dogs and sufficient practice with the
gun to shoot "upon the wing" without
moments warning. The prairie chicken
is an accommodating bird and may be
hunted in pleasant weather; and this
fact may partially account for the ardcr
with which it is pursued. Chicken
shooting, however, is fascinating sport
in itself, the game being very strong of
wing, and exceedingly palatatle. Day.
light finds the hunters-ior they gener.
ally, like their dogs-hunt in pairs
leaving the farm house where they have
passed the night. At the word of COM
mand the dogs leap into the wagon, and
few moments drive brings the hunters
to "likely field" The hunters alight,
slip cartridge into each barrel of their
guns and turn into the field. The dogs
are eager for the sport to begin, and at
the words, "Hunt 'em up" and wave
of the hand, spring out into the stubble
at full speed, one hunter and one dog to
each side of the field. The dogs WORK:
from the edge of the field to the center.
cross, keep on to the other edge, return
and cross again, covering the field in
ever varying and irregular circles. Now
and then one pauaes and snuffs the wind
blowing down the field, or turns quickly
aside from his course and follows up for
few yards an old scent in hope of find
ing it grow stronger. Suddenly one of
them, running at full speed in long
elastic bounds, with ear and tail waving
as he leaps, falls fiat on his belly as if
paralyzed and remains motionless as
stone. Quick as is the movement, the
other dog has also crouched and is point.
ing at the first dog, backing him up"
with implicit confidence, though tbs
scent may not have reached his keen
nostrils. The sagaeious animals turn
their heads and look back at their mas.
ters with intelligent eyes, as if to say:
"Hurry up; here they are!" The men
move rapidly and noiselessly up to the
first dog. The intelligent animal, who
has not moved 8 muscle except to turn
his head and look back, rises slowly and
crouchingly to his feet, and with-aasss
extended steals slowly forward, intclli.
gence and wary caution expressed in
every movement of his eloquent body.
His feet are lifted and put down like
paws of velvet, and his progress is noise.
less and as true as the needle to the pole.-
The hunters follow carefully close be.
hind, guns cooked and ready for use.
Down goes the dog as though shot
dead, and this time he does not dare to
look back, tremor of his body giving
warning that he can 60 no further with
out walking into the covey. The men
take one, two steps-whiz, whirr, three
birds rise-two to the left, one to the
right. Bang bang! bang! The man
on the right kills his bird, the man on the
left kills with the first barrel and misses
with his second barrel. Neither ~huntep
nor dogs stir step. Tie left-hand man
breaks his gun, draws out the discharged
shells and slips fresh ones in their places.
While he is loading up rises q fourth
chicken, this time to the left. The right
hand man knocked it over, and at the
discharge of his gun the chickens riseap.
all sides. The left hand man gets
both barrels and knocks down two bird
They reload, and the dog is told to "h1
'em up." If the birds are plenty and
the stubbles in good condition, the
chances are that covey will be in each
stubble6eld. Hunters often "draw
Blank" as they term it, and sometimes
TWO coveys are found in one field. The
coveys vary widely in size; sometimes as
many as thirty or forty birds are found
together, and sometimes an old cock is
found alone with field all to himself.
The chickens in different coveys also be.
have differently. At times they will get
up singly, and in such case two shoot.
ers will get nearly the whole covey. at
other times the whole covey will rise
together, and it needs quick and skillful
shooting to make each of the four bar
rels count. If the country and Eight of
the birds allow it is sometimes possible
to "mark down" a covey and follo,y them
from the field to field, unless they fly
into the corn, when nursuit is hopeless.
To novice the sport is wildly excit-
ing. The intelligent and admirable
working of the dogs, the intense excite
ment of the moment when the birds are
rising with the noise and speed of
skyrocket from the stubble beneath their
very feet, and the exhileration of sue.
cessful shot, give it fascination hard to
describe to those who have not tried it.
The novice, although he may be a very
good shot at other kinds of game, is very
apt to miss his first half:dozen birds.
They rise so near him and look SO large
that it does not seem possible to miss q
bird, and he is very apt to shoot almost
without aim. After few misses how.
ever, he fiuds that they fyslikss an ex.s
press train, and must be covered By fhe
sights of the gun, and quickly: too.
After thai his luck improves, and he
finds that, like everything else it is easy
enough when you know how, and one of.
the most fascinating of llfcld sports.-
Houston Post.