Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1899-08-15
EASTERN SHO SPORT
An Easily Accessible Section Where
Game is Plentiful.
FINE CHANCES FOR GUgNERs
Quail Numerous, While the Water
Fowl Abound in MuItitudes
VALUABLE ESTIONS
Written for The Evening Star.

! Written for The Evening Star.
| The city of Washington probably con-
tains for it's size more enthusiastic gunners
| than any other city in the east. And whlie
| each and every one takes down his gun and
| puts it in order at the approach or the
| shooting season. and otherwise prepares for
| the anticipated sport, the anticipation is
married by the fact that the vicinity or
Washington-or, at least, that part OF II
within easy access-has but few shootable
| specimens of game for every square mile,
and that there are at least a dozen brother
| gunners all out trying to get a crack at
! them on the same day. Last year w;ts, OF
course, an exception regards quail, for
| they were really quite abundant within
short distance of the city, but it was the
exception which does not prove the rule.
| The truth is, Washington sportsmen who
| can are anxious to get as far away as pos
sible from even the shadow of the city, and
are continually looking for good country to
shoot over where a reasonable amount of
game can be found, yet at the same time
not far distant but that it can be
reached. the sport enjoyed and the return
made in the limited number Of days that
| the ordinary man of business can spare. To
| all such the eastern shore of Maryland or,
as it is more commonly known. 1.-THE East
| ern Shore is submitted for consideration.
1t is really surprising, when we come to
| think of it, how little seems to be known
| of this locality, and how seldom it is men
toned in either conversation or literature.
as compared with other sections Of the
country. After while it dawns on us that
possibly to a certain extent it is unknown
| to the world at large: and the truth is that
| this is just about the case, although it is
one of the oldest settled portions of Mary
land.
| The reasons for this are that it is chiefly
| an agricultural country-there are no man
ufactorieS to draw the attention of business
men, and it is far removed from the
usual and direct lines of travel that the
masses never hear Of it. Consequently, al
though there are many resident Sportsmen
| scattered over the entire territory the
game is never molested out of season, there
| is abundant cover for each and every kind,
| and. best of all, game laws rigidly enforced
| as regards shipping game out of the coun-
| try have served to exclude the market gun
ner who would otherwise go through the
country like sponge through water gath
| ering every available piece of game. regard
| less of the rights and privileges of others
Fine Field Shooting.
The result is that for the man of compar-
atively modest desires the eastern shore
furnishes fine field for various kinds
| of shooting as one would care to visit Nor
| Is it at all difficult Of access or expensive to
reach. One can leave this city, say, at 3
O'Clock in the afternoon and reach most ex-
ceilent shooting grounds by 10 in the even
ing ana ne can make the round trip as re-
CARDS actual travelling expenses for $40
once the destination is reached choice
may be made of the various kinds of shoot
| ing to be foCnd. with the full assurance
that in whatsoever direction that choice
may lie the results will be well worth the
trouble In their proper season can be
found an abundance OF quail, rabbits
ducks, geese, shore birds and water rail or
ortoian, and the very queen of all is the
quail shooting. The writer has visited many
sections of this country for quail including
| the famous quail country of the Carolinas
| but he has never seen finer quail country
| or birds more plentiful than on the eastern
shore Last year as the result of the closed
season the birds were just everywhere even
| coming into the yards and gardens in the
| towns. Sport was to be had on every hand
and fifty or sixty birds for a days shoot
was no uncommon thing. The blizzard of
last winter was severe and thousands of
| quail persisted. For a time it was feared
That the sport was utterly ruined. but it
would seem that as many escaped as per-
Ished and all Indications point to an album
dance OF birds for the fall opening.
Good Dogs Abundant.
The lover of the sport minus a dog need
not be deferred on that account, for there
| are plenty here: nearly every one who owns
a gun owns dog. and one may be borrow
ed for the asking, and good one, too That
dogs. They are in abundance Yet one sees
very few choice dogs. very few one would
look at twice, and yet 1t would be hard to
find royaI Irish setter that could beat
some OF them. The average value can be
judged when it is a matter Of experience
with the writer that he has had a setter
said to be one of the best on the peninsula
offered to him for $15! The writer also has
In mind deg owned by d gentleman near
Parsonburg. a shepherd dog. with just the
faintest trace of setter blood in his veins,
but keener-nosed, stancher, better dog
was never shot over. Also another-just a
common. ordinary black and tan cur-with-
out any particular blood in his make up
The saloonkeeper kicks him out of his shop
and the children tie tin cans to his tail ard
otherwise abuse him, but lust the same
Hector is always in demand when the
shooting season opens.
A black. white or black and white dog
are the only kinds for this country A red
or brown dog is practically yalueless They
are so near the color of the brush that the
eye, cannot follow them, while the above
cOlorS can be seen anywhere.
Much of the land is posted, yet permits
sion to shoot can be obtained everywhere
and while there some sections of the
country that the birds appear to shun, the
section as a whole is teeming with them
and there is an abundance of excellent
sport for those who go there this fall
Rabbits Plentiful.
Rabbits are also there galore, and the
country IS simply OVerrun with them. There
is no law against trapping them for mar
ket and despite the fact that every farmers
boy has his traps set and gathers in his
share. the supply seems rather on the in
crease than to diminish. No one can deny
that the hunting of these little animals is
splendid sport and there are those who put
more time and money and devote more
care to their rabbit hounds than to any
thing else Beasles, of course, are the ia
Vorite choice, and no finer beagles are to
be found than owned in some parts of
Talbot, Wicomico and Somerset counties
There are some large, old-fashioned planta-
items scattered over the peninsula, and
when rabbit hunt is organized it usually
lasts two or three days. embraces a number
of farms, and a good pile of rabbits is the
result. A dozen or SO is by means an
unusual bag for mornings shoot, which
lasts from sun-up till s or 8 o'clock. The
cotton tail of the eastern shore does not
seem to be any different from those found
elSewhere-at least he don't seem any diff
ferent when held up in the hand-but there
is heap (or seems TO be- while he Is alive
for the writer has missed more there than
anywhere else. Here. again, the al-around
dog is found. for there are many mon
grel ours that good at trailing either
rabbits quail, with the point to be re-
membered that such a dog, when given the