The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1899-02-19
GREAT BEVIES OF QUAILS.
BIRDS MEYER MORE PLENTIFUL IN
LOUISIANh WILDS.
Pump Guns-HRbits of the Birds
Instances of Intelligence Difficulties
~ ShootinO Tbam-wiue noOa IeCaived.

WbTS MOI INC REeuJbkLsDTeOuc OI INC WOIlu
feathered tribes 1t would have been extinc
long ago. All through this State the double
barrels have been cracking since Sept. l, anC
they will keep on cracking until the middle o.
March. Not only the double-barrel Is In use
but.the ar.moresdestructlve pump" gun has
found It's way here. This weapon, which is 9
notification of tho Winchester rife. carried
six shells.in-it It's magazine. and only a little
practice 10 required to enable a man 10 FIRE
four OF these shells into a bevy when 1t Ia 1rst
flushed. There is.no law anywhere against the
use OF these weapons. and they are cleaning
out the game In the northern and middle re-
gions Of this country. A sportsman who
wishes to be certain that the thumb and nm
gers Of his left hand will not be blown of must
pay not less than $50 for a double barrel. The
pump gun. which shoots with reasonable
strength and accuracy. may be had In q dozen
different makes for less than 500. Unless 1t is
prohibited, its use in time will come TO be gem
eral. Then the. Louisiana quail mnysas we'll
bid farewell to existence. An instance OF the
execution Of the pump gun was Witnessed here
the other day. John Scannell. a planter and
noted shot.of the Red:River.v Valley, was riding
along the road with a COMPANION. They OBJ
served four doves sitting upon the limb OF a
high tree some.thirty yards from the roadway.
Carelessly- remarking:that he would see how
ioh VI NO COnlu ReI, BChlnell QlS-
mounted and brouRht-his pumpssgun into ac-
tion. One bird. was killed on:tho limb. Tho
other three went dead in flight. the last falling
inside OF fifty yards. 1t should be borne in
mind that tho dove when alarmed 10 one OF the
Bwiftest-of movers.
The quail Of. northern Louisiana, seems to
have thrived' upon persecution. Every man,
white or black. In this part OF the State owns a
gun and uses. 1t. but the birds have increased.
This is due wholly to the cutting up Of the old
plantations into emal.holdings. Much OF the
land has gone out Of cultivation and has grown
up with weeds and briars. An abundance of
cover has been provided and an abundance OF
food. Tho quail does not like the cotton fields
with their Iona bare burrows and comparative
absence Of grass. but is fond Of maize ground,
more particularly when It has been planted
also In peas. and II dotes upon the seed OF the
sorghum. or late yours much sorghum has
been planted about here. Every negro who
tills his tiny holding Of soil has sorghum from
which he mhsheS the syrup that his family
uses. The quail Is fond Of mankind. 1t hangs
about tho settlements. In the wilder parts Of
the country it is practically non-existent. The
more cultivation there Is the better IL ia
pleased. but it must have cover as a protection
against guns. foxes and hawks. 1t gets plenty
OF cover here and a variety OF food. which In
cludes dropped corn. grains. peas. sorghum
pellets. a dozen kinds Of grass seeds and pine
buds. 1t takes its flavor from the food upon
which 1t happens to be feeding at the time OF
Its ending. and an expert can detect readily
the habit OF the bird which he is devouring.
Ihere can be nothing more delicious than a
cock quail this years breeding, seal fat upon
sorghum seeds. The meat is less dry than IA
common with the. genus and it has q sweet
tang that is not sugAry. but Is reminiscent OF
sugar. Such q bird. broiled upon live hickory
Goals. done to a turn and previously treated to
salt. red pepper and a slight dash Of win agar.
does not have to take off its hat to anything
that flies. Again the pine bud diet, which Is
obtained only in the early spring. rives a slight
ly:resinous flavor. which Ia unmistakable. but
not'at all disagreeable. Owing TO the quantity
OF food there is not q quail in this part Of
Louisiana that is not fat. Sometimes. when
driving hard and shot at a height OF forty feet,
they will crack open along the breast when
they hit the ground.
The past season has been exceptionally IA
vorable to q large:crop OF birds. and not the
oldest inhabitant can recall a time when they
were so plentiful. They have been shot hard.
but there has been no apparent.diminution OF
their numbers. AS the frosts have nipped the
and shaved the leaves from the I'M
they have been more easily found
and the scores made In February are as large
az those OF last Novem 1t is still possible
for a man. with a brace of good dogs. to flush
twenty or twenty-five bevies in.the course OF a
days hunt. and each Of these bevies will con-
tain from ten to twenty birds. Indeed, there Ia
a bevy which frequents a large field on. the |
banks Of Cypress Creek. five miles east of Ben
ton. whose members number between forty
and fifty. When they flush the sound ia n
nrattv fair imitation ~ mild rhupJar TLou
have been found several times In the past sea-
son. and on each occasion ono or two Of them
have been killed. but they.have managed to es- |
cape without serious loss. They are large
dark birds OF strong and far flight, and after |
the first rise invariably take to the brake which
upon each side OF the creek. Shooting
In this thicket Is an impossibility. or, rather.
shooting in 1t and hitting anything except
.hrubbery is, an impossitility. Tho size .of
TWO or three tocks became merged into one
and remained merged. This sometimes hap
n such cases the mother quail has been caught
by a fox or hawk.and the little ones. which ara
active travellers, are taken care Of and brought
IN one way tnsy should go by the mother Of
urown birds. OF one family will not affiliate
With another family. They get mixed occao
,ionally wnen they are flushed from the same
leld and happen to scatter into the same
over: but they are always separate before sun
each tribe going to its own ground. Often
/, beyy which. owing to its location, is easily
ound. will be shot until not more than two
members are left. These will remain 20 them
selves, nor will they desert the neighborhood
n which they have been living. In this way
entire bevies are eNterminated. Thu 1uaii ia
bird OF limited habitat. Its range, as il ia
'alled. IL circums crlbed. 1t does NOT RIM
more. than II mile In any direction. Often il ia
TO 4. half milo. 1t loves its own ter
it"ry. and refuses to be dislodged. Ii will
light, for its own ground. The imaginary lines
which. divide its home from the homes OF its
le lBnDOrS are plainly marked.
flefce battles sometimes occur when n beyy
has accidentally strayed into the range Of an,
'ther. In these engagements cocks and hens
axe part with equal fury. The blows admin
stored by beak and wing are severe, The
is large. The quail, when II imar-
mes itself ,wronged, is as puGnacious as any
game chicken that ever slammed its spurs
'gainst a looking glass. The quail fights al
most wholly with its wings. 1t rises a couple
II feet from the ground when three Yards
treat force; II follows that the heavier bird
2 almost always victor. The beak. or pill. ia
Used only when the combatants have become
90 exhausted to fly. Two males doing battle
% the death-the cause of quarrel being either
!. compIacent female or tHbal invasion-are
,bliyious to all sights and sounds. They have
he baresark madneEs. They will not see q
nan who stands within five feet OF them. 1t
) an easy matter to drop a hat over one OF
hem "a IL sonata balIy IN tha ,tr,unj a.