The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1900-09-30
FOR SORA.
Little Birds That Are Found Atoms the saw
Marshes Of virginia,
Eron the Richmond Dispolc.

The sora season l. here now. Nature wa
benign when she introduced the Sora tune
to East virginia. II comes Just aft'r the lH'
tense heat Of summer and just before we
partridge and hare season begins, As the
etereotyped expression has It, 1t HIS a Iohs-
felt want. Then nature never set w a Oett't
target for the amateur sportsman than a -"Ia'
The little birds have almost to br coaN'd ""'
of the way TAR enough To- save themselves IRON
being shot an to piecer. They will ~i on TIE
gra,> in the marsh and Wait lOr th' ctl mihlrt
to take good aim, and should, pcrcldI''' Tue
idea get into their pretty little heads To- ny
before the boat, they DO so IN rUru It N,J1,'
llltering SORT ut a way tlat u looks IKE u ply
tu shoot them. But. mirabile dictu, 10 -loo'
them and hit them are often dinerelt thlnf7,
a. many a city and country. sportsman haS I"u''u
out il Is a dead sure thing" that ialls
Sora are found In the marshes that lTlike
the james, Pamunkey, Maltaponl 'hiVka-
hominy and other rivers ana streams OF llut-
water Virginia. They come into the marshes
from nobody knows whore about sept | ahd 90
To The same locality about oct. 10. or as soon a.
frost comes. The proximity 81 the nhr-i->
10 Richmond and the really ine sport on -hoot-
ing them has made Ia" wtld> along the RIVER
Of eastern Virginia NE Mctod Oh inanS n,Cn-
moud -portsmep. Their" are a number OF hrst-
rate shots In Richmond. Every day or 80 a
company Of young men and middle aged, VINO
have been practising on clay pigeons an IN"
summer. come back to the city. after an absence
Of several days. or even a day, bringing several
dozen. even a dozen dozen or more, OF the
beat -tasted birds. when properly cooked, OF
all those that cleave the the air or dip the wing
beneath the wave The sportsman Is showed
through the marsh in a boat by a river man
and shoots the birds "a he sees them.
Sora are Is cents a dozen now, and IN a rev
days, If they continue TO increase, VIII pc sell
ing for 80 cent?. They hardly ever Re' lower
than this to ia" hOuSehepp"T
While the city men hunt sora for the pleasure
there Is IN II. there j. a large company OF men
who live along the rivers in eastern ' lrgunla.
,I.y. tIn Itrds lTp found 10 whom the nlllll-
ing means hard work, broken rest ana Y hh'aIl-
Of earning a livelihood for wives, ana c%hildren'
The river man rcntSH marsh II he hash I one,
and when this business ARRANGEMENT Is MADE
he has to secure his lightwoOd lie mas, OF
course. his boat and his engine. Inc engine
lasts for several year,; if well cared Tor, a NE
time. Ii H. a very different sort OF a thlhE
from an engine IN the common acceptance
Of the term. II is nothing more than an ron
rack. elevated on u stafl some nlne leet
II holds the liChtwoOd, which IN turn furnishes
the light. II must be recalled that sora are
hunted for market al night, when me uue Is
up" a. country people say, Or III. a.,
The town people. who know about tides mainly
through the physical geography, put T. Inc
great task Of the O., Oracer" j. to get his light
wood. For years and years II has been used,
first, before the day Of lamps, 10 make the
light upon the family hearth. and now to klnole
the splendid wood fires when they are nrst
started of a cold morning, OF TO brighten II
when, through neglect, II has burned low.
Now the supply is nearly EXHAUSTED. ana Ine
soracer has to 20 miles and miles into the very
heart Of the primeval forest for the several
wagonloads which are required to carry him
through the season Of about forty-hye days
Each high water is about an hour later man
the one the night before. So, II the, soraCer
goes out AT s O'Clock tonight, he goes about SAD
or o tomorrow night. ne Il forced 70 return
to the shore as the ebb tide comes and the water
leaves the marsh. Most people know that
marshes where sOra are found are covered seN,
eral feet deep with water a. high water, and
are nothing but slick, black mud and tall VIA
oats, tlckahoo. and cut lemon, when the ude
is out" The birds live in the oats and feed on
them The reason in most cases that more NoIh
are killed 10 a boat at some times during ,the
season than others j. on account Of the tides.
Sometimes, when the wind i from the west
even the high tide i too low 10 flood the marshes
deep enough for the SoraCer 10 shove his boat
through the oats and grass, He has to hunt
along the creeks and hoToughhfares which
traverse the marsh in many places, IL II, a
saving often heard IN NJ eouhtryi ba4teeri II ham han
Shot" ones. This is to say that market hunters.
Of course, do not shoot their game, hat Kill them
with the long paddle eighteen feet long WIN
which they shove their boats through the
marshes.
indeed, eighteen inche~ ,~urarc and hlaZing
several feet high. blinds the little birds. They
cit, In terror. uuon the grass. or swim IN ard
out among the tufts of grass. until the Sor1Cerl s in
reach. 4 SLIGHT blow from the hcnvy paddle
save. who goes out with his father for the fun If
II. Tho bird l. not bruised. md : much TO be
Preferred To the shot bird, which Is often badly
torn. The custom is that only one man goes to
n boat, but sometimes, particularly with bows
and old mon, one COOS 10 shove. and the other
IN shove when, he can, and also to SLAP, ~ Is
not an unusual thing for n sOraCer 10 kill nine
or a dozen SOra when they are plentiful. while
his boat il IN one place. Tie stands and slaps the
poor little things until his arms are tired. Such
n night A. this he Is art 10 kill fifteen or twenty
dozen birds for which hc. will probahlyget 9 net
price Of 10 cents. This docs not happen often
and only on very high tides.
The good Soracer mako from so 20 SIS in a
season lasting from Sept. | I'LL Oct. II.