The morning call., 1894-12-23

'hO enjoyment tucy udfO hoN ih
contemplation ever since the arrival OF the
present Southwestern The little teal Gl>ap-
peat e WITH YIN The first ranpour and their return
after we have had few weeks of cold and dry
weather
The festive spoonbill, which is regarded BY
many sportSmen as poor specimen OF the Wild
duck family. Is, at the present time, about the
best table bird. The mallard and teal are, at
Tue LIS, vi tne season, splendid birds for table
use, nut after they have had mouth or Two OF
exceedingly high living on The sailed mud fats
,ney carry nsny taste which, to say tn least
10 not al an paiaiable. The spoon bill for few
Weehs dltef lis arrival from the north Is az good
Dlrd as any person could wish, bu give him
tne freedom OF the mud fats for month and
aheh you VIII nave bird that is the equal in
1ayur 10 carp.
with the exception of the canvasback, all
otner varieties OF The wild duck will deteriorate
IN navor as the season advances. A general
stampeeu so 10 speak Is now being made on
me gram neids, and as all sportsmen are aware,
Wnen uuchs return after enjoying feast of
young grass. they are as thin as rail and Will
IAN almost at the report OF a gun.
Sp0rISmen, however, as a general thing care
niue Tor tnt edible qualities of he game they
pursue. lhey DO not fret over a bag OF BIRDS
that an eplcure would pronounce worthless, OF
inc othef land they seldom give the condition
Ia whlch their game may be, when brought to
Dag, any consideration. 1t is the sport they
want, and II the birds should happen TO be lean
ana hight OF flesh, so long as the man behind
me gun can nave good shooting there Is a feel
ing Oh happiness and pleasure attached which
enjoy.
The snipe-that little digger of lonebill
iame-ls target for men who are expert with
the gun.
Occasionally articles appear In newspapers
on snlpe-shootlng; how 10 hold on; where the
piIus can De found; down or up wind, etc. No
uouDt the intentions OF the writer's were good.
but TO experienced snip shooters such articles
are amusing. Ii an article on snipe- hooting
was written by every sportsman who has pull
trigger on those birds the tyro who had read
them all would assuredlv forget his literary
knowledge after he had wasted two cartridges
on me scapers OF the patches. Yes there is
only one way OF becoming good snipe shot.
ana tnat Is TO go with some friend VINO las
mastered the art OF shooting snipe, and blaze
away uhtll you learn the TICK. L IS like arm.
ing now TO SWIM IN many particulars. When
you least expect II you VIII get the hang Of The
Dlrds, so 10 speak, and once this part Is sue.
cessfuy accomplished all that will n KIT be
required To complete he education OF Iyro on
snlpe-shootlng Is practice, and II must not be
forgotten, however, that TO become perfect an
almost everlasting amount OF practice is neces-
Sary.
There are days-generally warm ones-when
snipe are easily grassed. but as general rule
the BIRDS are wild. and especially SO II shot at
mucn Goou snlpe-s shooting Is. however. one
OF the most enjoyable paslimes of a sportsman.
In reference o a comment which was made
IN last SUNDAYS CALL on the shooting quail
lies OF Dack and nitro powders, the following
Letter has been received and Is self-eXplanai Dry:
your article on black powder In Sundays
paper seems 10 me TO have hlt the nall on the
quail. and must say that | have had far bet
ter and more satisfactory results from black
powder-Eagle duck. l have tried several
kinds of nitro powders, and their shooting
qualities all seem alike to me in wet weather.
"Once the cartridges become damp The
powder loses It's strength, and think every
sportsman will agree with me when say that
the inost disgusting OF all shots are the ones
which MAIN birds that. instead of dying on the
marsh, should find their way into the sports
mans hunting coat. / will acknowledge, how
ever. In AZ nitro powders quicker than
black and leave less residue in the barrels;
besides the nitro will not cause cloud OF
smoke to hang In front OF the gun, which Is
drawback 10 the black in sultiy weather.
Granting those good qualities 10 the credit OF
me nitro give me, al all times, the tfusty
black, which l can depend upon under any aud
all conditions OF weather. For dock shooting
certainly could not recommend the miro DOW
der 10 any person unless in very dry seasons.
The proof OF what L say is In tn test"
There are fortunately but few papers pub
lished on this coast adyocating The introduce
lion of European game laws INTO this country.
The few journals that say LET US have Eng
llsh game laws for our rich people ana he
arSIOcTatic invaders from foreign lands"
should read the following extract from an
+ aslern exchange ano probably if they eau see
without the aid OF glasses what is best for tile
protection of CalIforna's game birds and AMI
mails they will turn new leaf on the
question OF game preserves and who game
sho uld be preserved for. The article 10 Ques-
tlon reads: The growth of sentiment OF
strict Observance Of game laws will probably
Dc SiOWcI III tUc hOChy MOUNTAIN region than
In almost any other part OF the country, for
reasons which Will be obvious and which to
some extent base themselves on absolute
necessity. Nevertheless, ii Is not o be sup
posed that Montana men look with Indifference
on The wanton and unnecessary destruction of
their big game. There is much protest at the
invasion Of the State by Eastern hunters, who
XIII all aud even thing they can.
The European sportsman is especially
oathed and detested In Montana IL must be
SAID wish good reason in view CT the record of
wi aFfu f.N.e
where names and facts are at hand, although
the greater part of the killing was not done in
Montana. but in Wyoming. A year and a half
ago parry OF German nobemen came over TO
this county and went 10 Montana for sport"
as they understood IT, They divided into two
parties. One party, composed of l.. V. FeililZcn,
Graf Pocully, hunted in Northwestern Mon
ana, with A. Pal aud +. Black of Fridley.
Mont, as guides. They killed only few head
Of game, all their elk. of course, illegally.
The rest OF these III II took Curly Rogers
and A q. Vance as guides, ana went into Wy
oming. Their names were Graf Won Zeppelin,
Ferry aud ii. Bottle, of Muucnen, Germany.
These men committed one of the most abom.
Unable pieces Of buIcnery of which lremzed ac-
count has ever been kept. They hunted on At
antlc Creek and Elk Ridge, near the south line
OF Yellowstone Park. They killed between
thirty and forty huil elk. aud all they did was 10
knock on the horns from the skull. All the
bodies were left 20 rot, ana even greater part
OF the antlers were abandoned later on. The
man Ferry said publicly that he had Killed
twenty-six bull elk himself and that The Sport
was so great that he intended to bring ovef
larger party from Germany the following year."
Oh, yes ! by all means give us English game
laws, and then have only titled Europeans TO
shoot the game that is intended for Americans
ana heir sons.
A Napa paper, speaking OF the proposed In
auguration of foreign game laws in California,
takes a shot at small weekly paper and lands
the following: Field Sports OF San Francisco
speaks glibly OF "poachlng' on the "preseive"
grounds Of the several San Francisco gun clubs
In the SuisuD mai shes. 'Poachng" has de-
CT dedly English twaug to 1t not at all pleasant
TO the ear of the average American. The term
gentlemen spOrtsmen," used by Field Sports
to distinguish the clubmen OF San Francisco
from rustic sporlsmen. would tickle the ear of
English lords hugely, we imagine. TITS English,
you know"
Captain Bogardus Is after DR.. Carver. who re-
Gently announced that he was champion wing
and fancy rifle shot Of the world Bogardus
issues a challenge direc ed at both Carver and
Brewer. The conclusion of Bogardus' chal-
lenge reads:
II understand on good authority that Dr.
Carver says he does not claim 10 be the cham
pion live bird shot OF the world, but that he
does claim to be the champion shot OF the
world. When and where he ever won that title,
unless it was III a match with himself, am I'M
able TO learn. He admits that the title OF live
bird champion shot of the world Is In dispute,
and know he does NOT hold tile champions nip
for quick shooting, as hold that myself l
make DIR. Carver this proposition: Will shoot
him n serjes of matches for the title of cham