The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1896-12-27

three diminutive bedrooms, furnished with
trundle beds. In which twoEuests were supposed
to double up, while the family occupied an
adjoining shed. This was surrounded by a Gov
cred piazza, on the walls of which hung each
g%unner's game. and that porch was u sight TO
behold after aten days campaign with the great
punches OF Wild fowls, swans. geese. and ducks
almost covering II. On the ends of tho house
were affixed the head boards NJ many n vessel
which had been wrecked there. among them
those of the good ships Samuel Willcts. tho
Hathorn, the Asia-the crack vessels OF that
day-and many another besides.
The accommodations OF our club were not
what might bc termed luxurious, but from that
worry fact were the moro thoroughly enjoyed by
came as much. pcrnnps. FOR a change as for the
sport; ard u rad en- change they secured, so
far. however, rs the menu went we ha;, nothing
10 complain OF, for MnXon's daughter, who inter-
ward married Chadwick, knew how to cook sea
food to II turn, having been assiduously drilled
to initiate her into the more delicate mystcries
of tho modern cuisine; while the minor. de-
liquors. and cigars were provided by the visit
ors, so that our game surpers furnished each
evening would have met with the approval of Ii
DelmoniCo Or q SnrArin.
Tho little barroom where all assembled after
supper @s~id have Furnished an interior for a
from n lantern pendent from n low ceiling, sup
plemcnied by that thrown ont from q great
tho centre OF the room. whose walls were
wainscoted with wcll-1llcd gun racks. Around
the stove In an inner circle were gathered The
spurtsncr. whose picturesque shooting attire
was n striking feature n. they sat. pipe in
1mmGwG9ss" s anI GINS nma M, IN n nhnnG HSsf fr ,hs n horro oWo
appealing occasionally to their gunncrs. who
formed nm outer circle, still more picturesque,
perhaps. IN their many .cOlUrcd outlnndiSh
habiliments. And thus the light. more and
more dimmed with smoke Of many. pines and
by puffs forceh down the chimney by the gale
without, produced the chinro-oscuro effect 80
priced by the artist.
" Both John Maxon and Chadwick were abso-
lutcly unlrttered. so that their account were
kept, tltronrh the medium Of chalk marks on
bar. Thus each guest WINS represented by a
cnbalistic, figure. known to III" host and the
guest. and the guest became his own book,
keeper. As each chalk mark represented 10
cents. he would. whenever he took n drink or q
cignr. nut down the requisite number o! marks,
and when thcy reached ten lie would make n
cross mark or tally. thus representing u dollar.
and SO on. until the time of departure, when he
would sum them up and pay the scot.
THE evening passed quickly with song and
story and hunting rcminiscencc, but when, two
hours before dawn of the next morning, n Ian,
tern's flash aud n rough. shake announced
time TO get up. ones enthusiasm did not al
S G@yS n fehtssV ex rnri sits ''T Tlier ,o'R Rad ne been D"a
serious wreck and the underwriters, agents had
como down to investigate. and had possession
self shared a rnotn in the loft. through the wea-
th"rboarfs Of which one could see daylight.
craw! ia under the blanket, which. YEARLY and
half frozen, we speedily did, and 1t seemed as If
flashed into our own eyes. and we were hidden
TO tumble out. We had instinctiyely drawn the
ably to avoid the snow which on awakening we
found had covered both bed and clothing, and
ein,ht. N and G"m Boot, so Mt 4 ! n,clock or IN s sie% morning.
we confess to an abatement of sporting zcnl.
"A cup OF fragrant coffee and n well cooked
breakfast. however. set nil that to rights, and
OF We tran!ped through the darkness to our
sneak box for a two-miie pull out TO our point
in the bay. and there. on the edge of n wet
meadow, we made our nest. and. having nut out
our decoys, we waited for day and ducks.
perhaps there may be pleasnntcr places in the
world than a grass nest on u wet meadow, with
the mercury at freezing. where one must lie in
but with all Its drawbacks and discomforts we
look back With unm!ngled sattSfncti3n to many
pleasantly described b. Frank, FORESTER in his
graphic account NJ wild fow, shooting.
into use, so thnt duck shooting especially was nt-
tended with many hrawoacks unknown to the
brecch.loader simply involves tho insertion of
an already lonfen cartridge. which is the work
quite another affair, involving nj upright pc.
sition. which. when game is lowering about, isa
p perS srF foq en mH'i Barrel fir ,fe comes mus. the be G anreisli pf
wndded; then the two charges of shot well
rammcd home; then one must feel around with
percussion caps. which must be adjusted on the
nipples; All this, Of course; takes time. and
Game was plentiful in thosedays, and not so
easily scared as new: in fact. l well remember
going out with Old Jimmy Lovelnnd on one oc-
casion. when having put ont onr decoys and
getting ready Ia shoot we found the bay fisher
men preparing t" haul their seines In close prox-
unity. and there's pom We made up our minds to
quit and 20 homr; but just then there came n
flight of redhcads. and in spite of the presence
OF half adozen men wadinR about and shout
ing. the ducks came to us MS fast rs we could
load and shoot, and we hnEEcd over forty fine
birds.
Tho very inaccessihility of Squan Beach
was an advantage, IL requiring two en-
tire days to reach It from the city. That
fact deferred any hut people OF leisure and
means from attempting II, specially as no one
dreamed of remaining less than n week. and
occasionally during the prevalence of easterly
depth that prcCluded travel and made one n
prisoner. nGlcns volnns. added to which there
were no mail fn%ciiitIc-. which would have madc
II wkward for the business man.
We did not always contins ourselves to
MaXon's place. but late IN the fAll would take n
boat and sail down the bay for twenty miles and
stop at James James, double Jlmsl or Mt
Harvey Cedar'S for n shot at tho brant, which fly
over the SedCcS In great ftncEs ut tnat season OF
the year. These srGGes being partially sub
merged, one is obliged III cunning there to bc in
over with scdge grass and showed into n hole in
the scdce. as II was absolutely necessary to lie
fiat on ones back. one became thoroughly he
numbed on a cold day, and that interfered with
his shooting.
Now also the beach is given over to the sum-
mer Girl, to the Cnllow youth. and 10 the Tcu-
tonic sportsmen, who are whistlel down by the
Pennsylvania Raj lway, whose rails p~rofanC its
sands. whilo hundrcds OF seaside cottages take
the place OF the old cunning houses