The daily morning journal and courier., 1899-06-26
HAWK HUNTING STORIES
HOW I POINTER DOG VAS CURED
 or MOUTHING BIRDS.
Hunters Satisfaction in Shooting the Enemy of Game Birds-Story of the Killing of Oncfn Alabama.

Siedlef SatlSIactlOn In raising my guT
 that when it was pointed at a hawk
 that vicious member of the bird king.
 dom that wages such relentless warfare
 upon young game birds, and old ones
 too, whenever it gets a chance. l have
 stopped hunting grouse and woodcock
 frequently to follow a hawk and if suc-
 cessful in ending his career l felt that
 l had accomplished an act of justice to-
 wards some of our grand game birds
 that year by year find life a harder job,
 bitterly and greedly pursued as they
 are by the voracious market shooter.
 My attention was recently called to an
 article in Clark's Horse Review, a very
 able horse journal in which that
 charming writer, Trotwood, had some
 thing to say on the hawk question, so
 thoroughly interesting that I take much
 pleasure in reproducing it.
 As relaxation from school work it
 was my custom while teaching in South
 Alabama to spend every pleasant Sat
 urday horseback in the field With
 ones lunch tied to the saddle, one's
 dog and gun, one can easily take in
 enough physical and exhilarating men,
 tai exercise to go through a month of
 hard work. | mention this merely to go
 on record in saying that quail shooting,
 on horseback, to one who loves the fields
 and woods, is the healthiest exercise,
 mentally and physically, in the world.
 When I rode home in the evening I al-
 ways noticed a broad-Winged marsh
 hawk sitting on the dead limb of an
 oak tree near my bride path through
 the woods. He would watch me very
 closely and the moment my hand sought
 my gun (throWn across the pommel of
 my saddle) he would dart backward
 into the woods and be gone before
 could get my gun to my shoulder. Be-
 sides he measured distances admirably and would not allow me to ride in gum
 shot of him. Saturday after Saturday he was on his favorite perch, and Sat urday after Saturday I was provoked enough to fire at him at long range, only to see him sail dehantly away. Finally I saw it was a question of brain work, and I resolved to put my head against his I noticed he always watched my hands and was gone the in stant I attempted to raise the gun, so I resolved not to molest him for sev eraI trips. Each Saturday I would ride by him whstling and looking the other way. And closer and closer, until he soon allowed me to ride in good gum shot of him; while he eyed me with eagle scrutiny he made no effort to fly unless I made an effort to raise my gun. On the final Saturday, as rode home in the sunset, sure enough he was on his usual perch Before getting in sight of him I cooked both barrels and laid | the gun in its usual place. Then I start | -.J. pI., n+,.o+ I rxy1,ic oG 1 m ed to the dogs and acted as if I never | suspected he was there. Before, in | shooting, I had always stopped my | horse; but this time. went by at my usual gait. Though watching me with interest, he failed to suspect anything until I had him clearly in my power. He looked so like an eagle, so big and bold and beautiful with his fine, rich feathers shining in the sun, that l had twinge of conscience as I pre- pared for the final act. It left me when I thought of the helpless quails he had eaten and the chickens he had stolen. and just in front of him I turned and a bolt, but no hawk can out-travel No. turkey shot with three drahms of Dumont powder behind it, and carried him home that night. He measured over TOUT rect ITOlH Ilp lO lip.
 The other incident was amusing, in- asmuch as 1t broke pointer bitch l owned of a very ugly habt-that Of birds. She was handsome log, with good nose, but hard head She would find the birds easy enough, put would run over everything at the crack of a gun, and mouth and chew he dead birds shamefully. l tried everything on her from spike collar to he butt of my gun, but it was left for his big hawk to cure her. Hunting with a friend in the prairies of Butler county one day she stood coVey In q ,atch of sedge grass, just behind pine l hicket. Tying my horse in the thicket
 whistled for my friend, who was iuartering with two more dogs some distance, to come up, that the birds I were found While waiting for him l ' walked out to the edge of the pines and I food drinking in that picture so beau iful and thrilling to the quail hunter hat of marble dogs, frozen in stanch I tand nothing stirring but the gentle r yind that blew across the tall grass 2 yhere the covey squatted ready for f ight, no sound save the distant notes c f a yellowhammer in the distance. il ut presently as I stood drinking in it, o heard the covey in tn egrass begin | , sound their peculiar cry of distress. il 10 one who has ever heard the quaiPa l " of distress could forget it-so weird, t lainti~e and sorrowful; so full of g arning and danger. At the same time r was conscious of something getting etween me and the sunlight, I looked s D to see what I thought was an eagle c lmlng straight down out of the skies s
 was not flying, it was falling, with b ings back until they met over his tl lck, legs and talons distended ready to o1 ,ize his prey, neck and head stretched e ,wnward with fierce intentness. It b. Id not seen mel was in the edge of Il le pines and it dropped so close above io y head that I instinctively dodged. as he silly birds never flew, but kept up G eir cry until the hawk struck the cf 'ound with resounding Whack al uarely in the midst of the sedgeg grass ht Id arose almost instantly with bird sf his talons The covey scattered like nt ia things, much to my and my dogs C. sgust.
 never shot a hawk more deliberately an I did that one When one robber ts ahead of another there is apt to V.
 blood on the moon! We were both sassins, to be sure, but I was lying wait first. I stepped out from my Sl