Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1895-09-28


pursuit of nobler game wholly rob of it's
pleasures.
Few there are, indeed, of the old hunters
who cannot remember the thrill of delight
that first snowfall. when early in the morn
ing was discovered that little five-dotted
track leading into the wcodpile down back
of the barn. With what eager excitement
assistance was called and placed on guard,
while, with feverish haste the woodple was
lowered stick by stick, until at last, kick
ing and struggling, bunny was carried to
the house for mothers approving smile.
How many more remember their first old
single-barreled muzzle-loader, and the Sat
urday holiday spent in company with the
older boys out hunting for rabbits, and the
pride felt when marching home with the
first one you ever killed slung over your
shoulder, although you carried a bag for
the express purpose of carrying your game?
All! those were happy days indeed. We
have stood beside our first deer, our first
bear moose buffalo, with mingled feel
in3s of awe and wild enthusiasm, but never
again will we experience a feeling similar
to that of the boy over his first rabbit.
Nor do l mean to belittle the sport in
any way, for it is one fraught with many
pleasures and eXcitements, and legitimate
In every sense of Inc word. while the ami
mails themselves are game to the death.
OF the var Gus kinds of game found
around the capital, the rabbit holds first
place in point of abundance; In fact, they
are far more numerous than the majority
of truck farmers and market gardeners
wish. Even the very heart of the city
gives them shelter. for the brush and under
growth surrounding the base of the Capitol
itself is alive with them. and on any even
ing numbers may be seen running over the
lawn. but seldom venturing far from their
cover.
An Old Hunters Experience.
he oil rah1
interest that l can write-the sport is too
well known in the immediate vicinity to
awaken interest-but there are many who
will hunt this fall for the first time. and
who will go to the woods with all the
feverishness of boyhood and the first gun,
and to these a few points from an old
rabbit hunter may not come amiss.
10 begin with, you want a twelve-bore
gun, with cartridges loaded with one ounce
OF number eight shot, backed by three and
half drachms of powder. A good pair of
canvas legginG is Indispensable, for most
of your work will be in the brush, which
is very hard on the legs and the clothing.
A canvas shooting cap and jacket will
complete your outfit.
AS for locality there is little choice. I do
not know of field within a quarter of a
mile of the city limits where you may not
jump your game, and often they are found
more abundant in some deserted pasture
near by than in more likely spots at
good sport in the meadows bordering East
ern branch, anywhere from Benning bridge
up to and beyond the reform school. That
re gion on the eastern side OF the river be-
low Anacostia down to and even below
EuzZard's Point is particularly prolific in
rabbits. while the country back of st.
Elizabeths and Uniontown is a favorite
hunting ground.
Farther away 1 know of no better rabbit
territory than the country around Mount
Vernon-miles upon miles of the finest
rabbit cover 1 know have been opened up
by the Alexandria and Mount Vernon rail-
road, which makes any part of it easy of
access, and if one tires of hunting
he has only to strike for the railroad
at the nearest point and wait for the hrst
territory known to the writer, and one in
which he has enjoyed no end Of sport
Between New Alexandria and the dyke
of the track. and half day can be spent
there usually TO good advantage.
As Training School.
Rabbit shooting differs from any other
snort We have. in that It can be INDUCED in
by the veriest beginner with fair show
of success. Moreover, it is fit training
school for the future sportsman, for 1t
teaches him observation, self-reliance and
alertness, and the boy; who is schooled on
rabbits is able to take up the pursuit OF
most any game with fair amount OF con-
fidence in himself. Moreover 1t requires in
itself no extras such as are needed for
ether game-no blind decoys, stools or lines
of any descr:ption-evep dog can be dis
pensed with, for you, can kick them up
yourself; still, later on, WILL tell you OF a
few very simple additions to your outfit by
means of which your sport and Its results
can be more than doubled.
The first essential in days sport is an
early start THE early bird catches the
worm" and from daylight until about o
m. the game is on the move; after that
they begin to seek cover or retire to their
burrows, for it must be remembered that
rabbits are nocturnal animals, feeding
mostly by night, and seldom move about
during the day.
In hunting rabbits where you depend sole
ly upon your own efforts to start the game,
you must hunt the ground over thoroughly.
Every little thlcket and clump of grass
must be beaten, every lodge and brush pile
land particularly the latter Investigated.
for rabbits dearly love to take refuge un-
der them therefore, kick each one thor
oughly, and bear in mind that If you
Jump one, be quick, for startled rabbit
is one of the swiftest things on earth, and,
Unlike other game, you have no means of
following him; so II he gets away it is the