The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1895-11-09
GUN AND GAME.
Canvasback and Other Northern
Birds Are Arriving.

flight of northern game birds, which
proved to be in splendid condition, judg-
ing,by some that were shot on the Suisun
marshes. The canvasback and blackjack,
which are migratory birds, have made
their appearance in large numbers on the
Suisun marshes during the past week, and
good shooting will be in order from now
until the next heavy storm, which will be
q means of drying the ducks from the
marshes ad jaCent to the bay to the grain
fields of Southern California.
Some very good bags have been made
recently in the Sonoma marshes by men
who are shooting for the market. Down
about Alviso the sport, although fairly
good, is not anything in comparison to
what II was last year at this time. In the
past few days many feathered stragglers
from the north have put in an appearance,
and in all probability the shooting will be
excellent on Sunday. good north wind
is certain to bring about a good flight of
birds on the AIviso and AlvaTado marshes.
Quall-shooting should be at its prime
now, as the ground is sufficiently moist to
give dogs an opportunity of showing their
qualities in the field. As soon as the
young grass sprouts the birds will lose
their plumpness and take on decidedly
inferior flavor. This should be the best
month of the year for quailshooting
Cdlue very lledI lOSilisS lbs
thoroughbred Irish water spaniels Irish
Duke and Handy Andy, a few days ago.
Both dogs dashed into the bay after a
wounded duck which was shot near South
San Francisco. The duck proved a good
swimmer and gave its pursuers race of
mile or more. The dogs were gone over an
hour, but their master was delighted when,
after giving them up for lost, he saw the
Duke returning with the bird in his mouth
and Hpn0y ANDY close behind.
Complaint has been made of hunters
entering upon the salt beds at Mount
Eden. Those beds are surrounded by
levees and the owners of the lands can
cause the arrest of all trespassers who
either break the levees or smash the ealt in
the beds when wading after game. Those
salt beds are property rights and cut no
figure in the salt marsh game law.
Sportsmen would be pleased to hear of
the railroad companies issuing orders pro-
hlbiting hunters from carrying guns on
the boats and trains that are not incased.
Some alleged hunters carry old muskets
that are loaded on the trains and boats and
it is astonishing that some accident has
not occurred as yet. Some fine day after
the killing of one or two people, or more
perhaps, the railroad officials will have
warning notices posted.
The latest invention in the way of a
craft for understanding purposes is what is
known as the pneumatic sporting boat,
which is made of rubber and is said to be
an exceedingly good thing in pond shoot
ing. The cut will give an idea of its gen.
eral construction. The upper or floating
surface is divided into four compartments
separately inflated, any one of which will
sustain 200-pound hunter in the water.
1t is SO constructed that it can be neither
capsized nor sunk under any reasonable
conditions. The boat is propelled with
the legs in wa1kIDp bU M nc of fold
ing paddles or fins on the boot legs, which
close or feather with the forward motion
OF the legs and open with backward
stroke. E. T. Allen is the agent for this
novel sporting boat.
Game Warden J. L. Donovanof Alameda
County was accused recently of shooting
ducks on the Willow Lodge Shooting
Clubs preserve, and in answer to the
charge Mr.. Donovan sends the following
seif-explanatory letter from the directors
OF the club in question to THE CALL:
Referring to article that appeared in the
Oakland Tribune recently about Game Warden
Donovan poaching on our preserves. we wish
to state as members of the Willow Lodge Shoot
ing Club that Mr.. Donovan there by
written permission of he club, and it is an in
justice to him to say that he was trespassing
We regard him as an efficient officer, and re-
greet that his visit to our grounds should have
been the cause of any reflection on him.
VIM g. HENSHAW,
c. B. GOULD,
VICTOR H. METcALF,
t. NUsBAUMER.
Charles Dietz, who is probably better
known among his companions as bill
Nye," presented Fred Oleomargarine with
a beautiful mallard duck last Tuesday
which weighed six pounds, and was killed
by Wick Harrier in the Cornbeef pond,
Suisun marsh.
Charley Bruce and Ben Markedly paid
visit to Suisun marshes on the yacht Rover
last week. The clipper-ship got stuck in
the mud on its return trip and the sailors
had to return on the train. Bruce says
that if he had failed to catch train he
would have been stuck faster than the
yacht.
Smokeless powder is being discarded by
large number of hunters whose principal
sport is duck shooting. The objection to
the smokeess powders is that they lose
their force in damp atmosphere, and con-
Sequently many birds which should be
brought to bag escape and fly away in a
manned condition. Dick Brooks. who is
probably as good duck-shooter as any
man in this country. discarded all of his
smokeless-p powder cartridges few days
ago, and IN future will use nothing other
than the old reliable black powder. In
upland shooting the smokeless powders
may do well enough.
The gentlemen '"sportsmen," who con-
tend that the abolition of salt marsh pre-
serves would be a means of leaving aqua
tic game birds open to utter destruction
and that the "pothunters' would not
stop until they had rid the marshes of
every webfooted bird that flies, should
read the American Field-an organ that
is strongly in favor of game protection. In
recent edition of this paper the gentle
men sportsmen of the Cordelia and Teal
Club preserve receive quite liberal SINCE
ing editorially. 1t appears that some
sportsman of this City sent clipping
from the Chronicle to the Field which
mentioned only half the number Of birds
that had been killed on the preserves on
the 18th day of October, and this is the
style in which the sportsman organ han
died, and without gloves. the great pre-
serve sport of the season on the Suisun
marshes:
Taking the Chronicles report, supposing it
to be mainly true, the number of ducks killed
by members OF the three or four clubs shooting
there was in excess OF all reason, and we are
indeed surprised to know that men who claim
to be sportsmen of the highest type, men, many
OF them, able to hunt as many days during
the open season as their inclination dictates,
men who shoot for sport and not for profit,