Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1890-11-28
LITTLE GAME LEFT
FOR THE THANK SEWING DAY HUNTER OF
LATE YEARS.

He is Preceded by Too Many Ambitious but
Unsportsmanlike Men With Guns and
Dogs-How City Shootists Often Get
Themselves Disliked.
The average Thanksgiving Day hunter
may as well give over. In the last week in
November there is in late years no game
left for him worth the search. Our laws
allow the plover-shooter to sally out in the
middle of summer, and if he cannot fill his
game bag with plover he, unless pure bred
sportsman, will kill squirrel, quail,
grouse or rabbit, or almost anything else he
can find, rather than come home empty
handed. On September 1 the squirrel
hunter follows, and he is not usually much
more chivalrous than the plover and wood
cock hunter. By and by the grouse and
quail shooters get to work, all before
Thanksgiving Day, and by the latter part
of November the woods are Greary waste,so
far as game is concerned. The average
farmer will kill a rabbit, or rather hare,
whenever he can. and the pot hunter has
no creed on the subject, but kills by trap
or any other way he can ior filthy lucre's
sake.
Thanksgiving sportsmen were out in
force yesterday, along all the lines of rail-
way, but it is safe 10 say that they didn't
get bird, squirrel or rabbit apiece. About
the middle OF the afternoon a large gang OF
men with guns, beagle hounds, terriers and
ours OF various degrees got on a PittSburg
and Lake Erie Railway train at Moon Run
and they hadn't either fur or feather to
show that they had been in the woods.
They were about as thoroughly disguised
set as you would see In q coon's age.
Country people are largely asking why it
is that so many city people, who are patterns
OF propriety and gentility in the city, be-
come worse than Doors as soon as they strike
the rural districts, and think that much
polish is induced by fear OF the policeman's
club. Not only do many sportsmen act
boorishly in the country, not deigning to
ask permission to throw down farmers
fences, trample their crops and frighten
their stock by shooting and the harrying of
dogs, but some, and not Jew, are guilty of
vandalism that would scarce be believed. 1t
may be that the contents of TASKS carried as
q curative in case of snake-bite have some
thing to do with it. but if there isn't let
up soon there will probably be some extra
murder on the March docket OF the Criminal
Court.
One day last week the dogs belonging to a
party chased rabbit under a haystack on
the farm of George Phillips, between the
OleuUeHNllle PIKE anu DedNeT dUOuL
nine miles from the city, and as bunny re-
sisted all ordinary efforts used to dislodge
him, the vandals amused themselves by
thrusting the muzzles of their guns under
the ricks and firing, thus endangering the
value OF some thousands of dollars worth
of hay. A year or two ago William Quinn's
wheat ricks in the same neighborhood were
burned to afford sport to some half-drunken
rabbit hunters. At Phillips place the gang
was driven off before it did auy burning.
One day last week a farmer living short
distance southeast of Robb station, Montour
Railway, saw a gang of hunters prowling
near his barn, and he sneaked up close
enough TO find out what they had. Among
their game" were seven fine chickens they
had shot on farms in their progress, barn
pheasants" being easier game to some hunt
ers than ferre nature The farmer ordered
a forward movement and the gang laughed
derisively. He then charged upon the louts
with pitchfork. AS might be expected,
they were towards and fled with precipita-
ton.