The Mason County journal. [volume] (Shelton, W.T.) 1886-1927, 1898-03-18
THEY WON'T BE SHOT.
American Quail That Are Trou-
bling CANADIAN Sportsmen.
The Birds Are So Swift OF Wing That the
Hunters Are Unable to Bag Them ::
III some Objections to the Yam 5
kee Invaders.


Two years ago quail became very
scarce in this part of the province OF
Ontario, says the New York Sun, and
some enthusiastic sportsmcn imported
q couple of bevies from the southern
states and turned them loose. This
wear they are reaping their reward,
though it is not the kind they expected
That live quail are plentiful everyone
agrees. but up to date very few dead
birds have gladdened the hearts OF the
hunters. Whether the feathered col
onists have acquired new habits since
coming under the British flag CT have
simply brought with them the spirit OF
independence peculiar to the republic
no one knows, but they are certainly
well able to take care of themselves.
They are wild and wary and unlike the
native Canadian quail are easily
flushed. When flushed they fly straight
for the thick woods, where it is difficult
to get at them. They think nothing OF
fying half a mile to reach thicl1et,
and often instead Of alighting on the
ground they perch in the trees where
no dogs can find them. The other day
the sportsman who had most to do with
bringing in the foreigners tramped
about from sunrise till sunset, and, on
being asked the customary question,
"What luck?" replied:
81 am sinful man, but not a liar. l
didn't get feather. I never saw such
birds. They invariably flushed before
the dogs got within fifty yards of them,
and made for the woods, where it
seemed impossible to find them
After dinner he lit a cigar and gave
his friends the benefit of his observa-
tions.
II don't believe there are more than
a dozen focizs of these imported quail
in the county, he said, ''but they
travel around so much they are seen
everywhere. and in that way give the
impression that the fields are full of
them. asked every farmer I met if
there were any quail about: The an
swer always was: Plenty of them. /
saw a big flock yesterday or the day
before Now, feel sure that many of
these farmers saw the same flock.
When the little native quails were
plentiful they didn't travel about
much A flock would make it's home
in cornfeld where there was plenty
of food and could be found there or in
neighboring field at any time. The
dogs could get within couple of
yards of them before they would rise,
| and 1 never knew them to fly further
than forty or fifty rods. Besides, they
never flew except when disturbed, and
when the dogs struck a trail they could
find the flock by following it. When
hunted the birds would fly back and
forth in couple of fields, and it was
easy to kill whole bevy in an after
noon. Of course that was why the ma
tive quail got killed Off
But these new fellows seem to do a
lot of their travelling on the wing. If
a feeding ground doesn't suit them,
they fly to another. Half a dozen times
a day my dogs trailed a flock over a
farm only to find that the birds had
flown. 1 believe each flock now has a
beat of a dozen or more farms over
which it travels, and as the birds are
seen at different times on all the farms,
each farmer thinks he has flock liv-
ing with him just as in the past, and
that is the cause of the opinion that
quail are plentiful
The sportsman who brings home a
bag Of half dozen birds this year does
well, though it was by no means I'M
usual for good shot five or six years
ago to make bag of twenty or thirty
The men who imported the quail are
satisfied with the result, even though
they haven't killed many yet, for they
say that such wary birds can take good
care of themselves and will in time
become very plentiful But some are
dubious of this and say that an old
fashioned hard winter will kill off the
strangers. The last couple of winters
have been very mild. Besides they
have noticed that the birds are rather
stupid and easily killed in cold weather
in fact, there is very little use hunt
ing them on fine days. But though
there are some doubters among the
sportsmen they all approve of the at
tempt to restock the county with
game. Col. Denison, of Toronto. how
ever, strongly disapproves of it. He is
a descendant of the United Empire
Loyalists, and SO truly loyal" that he
thinks there should be law passed to
keep rebellious American game out of
the country. He sees in this attempt
to COLOMBO the fields and wood with
Yankee quail an effort to foment an
WFTSHHNU- SNAKE YARNS.
UNCLE EPH PLUNKETT, of Mirabella
Falls, Tex, has taught q rattlesnake
to shake his tail to music.
THREE THOUSAND salmon, it is
claimed, were landed by Samuel Good
| win with one haul of net near Port
Angelo, Wash, recently.
Mrs. O. P, PAYNE, of Gainesville, Ca,
| killed thirteen rattleSnakes in the lot