Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1896-08-29

\%NNN " f,AANl statement WOGlu DE
NS\W interesting have been
well aware of that
fact for many days, and have been pre-
pairing themselves accordinly. The swell
Sportsman has been overlooking his shoot
ing outfit, ordering hundreds of shells, en-
gaging a skif ard a good man to push It
and practicing getting up early and stay
ing awake.
The small colorcd boy who lives in Til
Cup alley has been iniustriously removing
the rust from his fathers musket and saw
ing his pennies to get an yeast powder bot
tie full Of powder q beer bottle full of
shot and a box of shiny brass caps and
between these two extremes has been AN
army comprising professional men, mer-
chants, clerks in stores, business offices
and the departments and those fortunate
individuals of leisure who are ALWAYS IN
evidence when The proper thing Is TO be
done at the proper time, and who would as
soon think OF missing the marshes the first
week IN September as the theaters the firs,
Week IN the season. all ardent in their de-
| slres to slaughter ''reedieS'' and rail and
all eager Ill anticipation of the opportunity
TO come.
All Kinds of Guns.
This legion viii advance on the MARSHES
Tuesday morning, and the equipment il
Will take into action Will be as difficult II
| conceive as it would be TO describe
1t has long been accepted as an immIt-
able TACT that any Old thing in The shape
| CT a gun. SO long as it has lock, stock and
barrel, is appropriate to blaze away with
at ree1ies or rall, and, 50. everything will
| De III use IRON the la test improved Lafa-
merIess to the cast iron barrel thai I,t.lir-
ed slugs into the greaScrs at tie battle of
| falo Alto.
The skirmish file in the Wilderness Will
| ne repeated, so far as the sense Of sound
! Is concerned ia a Seni-cirele- around the
southern half of the city, and i; NAV result
almost as painfully i'll many Instances be-
| cause where there are SO many shooters in
the reeds so careless of the whereabouts
| or eacn other it is unreasonable to suppose
| tfat some one wont get peppered. The
shooting Will continue until the tide goes
down ana even after that and then the
sror;smen VIII come home with the bird;
they have killed and a magnificent assert
ment Of picturesque tergiversation about
the way they did it,
The inspiration Of all this preparation is
| found in two Little birds distinctively
known to ornitholoeists under intri axe
Latin names. but more popularity familiar
| in this section as the ortolan and reed birl.
The Rail or OrtoIan.
The ortolan is known in the north as
the rail, and when it passes south it is
the sora It's habitat extends over the
| whole Of North America, especially in the
| eastern province, and far south as
| Venezuela. In the Bermudas the migra-
| tons are immense. 1t comes north IN the
| spring, and breeds from Pennsy lvania rear
| ly to the frigid zone as specimens have
| been found in Greer inland. Ii is timii and
| retiring bird, and at low water * hides so
| closely at the bottom of the reeds that
! 1t seldom be detected and rarely
! flushed.
At high water it is driven from its con-
| CeaImcnt, and when flushed rises with
feeble flight and flies a short distance. 1t
| feeds on the seeds of marsh reeds. and lis
note is shrill cry, kuk-kuk-kuk. 1t is
| extremely sensitive 10 cold, and goes south
| at the first sign of frost. When wounded
ether than in the legs il swims and dives
rapidly, and is seldom seen again. Its
! plumagc is bright olive brown above with
| longitudinal spots of black some of he
| feathers being tipped with white. The an
terror portion of its head, with the chin
and throat, is black. The abdomen is
| white, and the breast light plumheous.
| Its legs long, and yelowsh green in
color. 1t rises singly, and is never found
! in fiocks.
The Metamorphosed Bobolink.
The reed bird is the hoboink. WIN it
| gets down to South Carolira 1t is the rice
bird. ard when it reaches Jamaica, where
| it is found in marvellous fiocks, il is known
| as the butter bird. In the spring, when
the reed bird comes north, its musical notes
| is heard in the meadows and fields and tha
| song of the bobolink is welcomed. The
male is then mostly black in color, with
white markings but in the autumn he takes
on the yellow and brown dress like the
female. 1t breeds in the north and starts
south in the autumn in immense fockS,
and continues its journey as far south as
Brazil.
The reed bird mouths twice n year, but
the most interesting phase of his character
may be studied best when it is on a piece
of toast. 1t is SO fat when it reaches this
vicinity that it is broiled best in its own
| -t,l,, Il
and the correct dash of pepper it becomes
morsel that would have made Lucullus
eSchew nightingale's tongues forever hai
he once experienced its gastronomic &c
stasy. The rail, or ortolan, is also good to
eat, but 1t does not excite those subtle
sympathies of the palate like the reed bird
SO 1t Is fortuhit the reed bird flies in
fiockS and gives its purSuers a better show
TO get more victims than they would If il
flew by itself like its autumn companion.
a Talk With William Wagner.
The undisputed authority in Washington
| on guns ammunition and everything per
tanning to a combination of them that re-
lates to sport in the woods, fields or marsh
eS is Mr.. William Wagner. He is the hest
shot in this section of the country, either
in the field or over the traps and his
knowledge is scientific, We'll as practical
while his experience extends back nearly
half a century. Mr.. Wagner can talk too
| in a modest, anassuming way on the sub
| ject. He did this yesterday with a Star
reporter while The rattle of his patent cart
| ridge loader being operated by an as
! sstant made appropriate accompaniment
! to the conversation, End bright-eyea
| little fellow, who calls Mr.. Wagner
papa, and is as proud of being the own II
| OF a 2S-gauge breech-loaling gun and be
! ing able to Kill five BIRDS straight on the
! wing he is of being called Harry, eager
| ly listened
| 81 have shot the marshes of he Eastern
/ branch for forty years." said Mr.. Wagner,
| ''and Until a few years ago out on the
| first day as early the tide was hiCh.
| Most of the OH fellows have dropped away