The Billings gazette. [volume] (Billings, Mont.) 1896-1919, 1900-11-02
GOOD QUAIL SHOOTING.
Sportsmen Are I'm Clover In the
Northwest.
THE IMPORTANCE OF GOOD DOGS.
eavorite Type LIS the Setter-Hunters
Find That the Fields and Forests
Abound In Immense Coveys of Bob
whites"-ChicaKo sportsman's Elk
perfence with Angry Farmers.

Abound In Immense Conveys of "Bob-
whiteso-ChfcaKo sportsman's Eek
perfence with Angry Farmers.
This is the height of the hunting
season in Minnesota for quail and
chickens, and sportsmen are here en-
1oying the excellent shooting Of the
"bObwhite," says L. Z. Cavalier, the
Chicago Times Herald's correspondent,
writing from st. Paul under date of
Sept. 15. Quail are as plentiful along
the timber bordered trea as black
birds in . corntield.
Hunting in all Its phases forms the
principal topic of conversation among
the citizens of all the northwest towns.
Every other man is a sportsman and
keeps a hunting dog and of course a
gun. More attention is paid to the for
mer han to the latter, possession of a
good hunting dog being the first requi-
site. the gun an after consideration.
Any kind of a gun will do, but only a
good dog can find quail.
The setter is the favorite type of dog,
the Irish setter predominating, and
what these prairie farmers do not
know about a dog is not worth know
ing. They c~ongregate at night and tell
of their successes during the day and
Of the working Of their dogs. They
will brag up the CANNES and lever
take any credit to themselves for good
craftsmanship when they bring in a
full game bag. They put the dog first
In all their calculations. When a stran-
ger arrives. he Immediately becomes
an object of interest, and before he is
quite settled he is engaged in CONVEX
sation with several who are anxious to
sell him a dog or to be retained as a
guide to lead him to the best bunting
grounds.
N. r. Palmer, a New York capitalist
now travelling through the west, tells
of his experience, from which a gen
eral character of the quail shooting in
this locality may be had. I'VE p%artici-
pated in iii first North Dakota bird
hunt a few mornings ago and found
before lunch 20 coveys of birds, aver
aging about l5 birds to the coyey. Be
tween the three of us we killed Al as
big, fine, fat birds as | ever saw"
did you ever hunt In South Dakota
along the Missouri 2 said a well known
Chicago sportsman who for obvious
reasons is Withholding his name from
publication. He does not know wheth-
err there Is a warrant out for him or
not. We'll, ! have often run across
vicious and quarrelsome farmers in my
hunting journeys, but | never yet saw
a class that | could not satisfy or jolly
In some way. struck q community
ran right into them-and found excel
lent hunting, for the reason, as | learn
ed afterward, that these people do not
hunt nor do they permit hunters from
the towns to go upon their fields.
There We're three of us, with a driver,
and we We're getting the finest chicken
shooting ! think ! ever saw, when we
heard shouting at a distance and could
see Q number of individuals skimming
over the prairie In our direction.
"Our driver shouted to us some
warning, and we diverted our attention
from the birds to the oncoming men,
women and children, and as they came
nearer we were convinced that we
were up against a lot Of Boxers, They
were armed with pitchforks. scythes,
hoes, rakes, clubs, and, In fact. all the
light agricultural implements were rep
resented in their armament.
''They could speak only In broken
English, and whether 1t was Bohemian
or Russian it made little difference to
VS.. On they came like a herd Of wild
clamoring and motioning to us
to get out OF the country or trouble
would follow, Instinctiyely we threw
UP our guns when the enemy came
within 30 feet and brought them to a
dead halt. But we couldn't stop their
tongues. There was a young girl In
the crowd OF about 40, and after asking
them what caused the excitement she