The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1902-04-16
RUSES OF THE QUAIL.
Birds Wonderful Art OF Hiding From
Its Foes.

ANY manwho has shot quail stead
ny vii! have noted the birds tricks
aud manners in hiding. It is tho
qualfs instinct to trust first and last
!. to It's protective colora.;on.
Covies which have not been much
shot at will take wing more readily
than others, because their members
have. not learned that they are least
safe when in the air. In we'll hunted
heids quails will lie until the dog 8
nose or the man foot is within q yard
Of them.
There is no doubt that however
:hick the cover and skilfully chosen
the hiding place the dog often sees
them before they flush, but the man
seldom does. ii is easy enough for
tae man to tell when the dog does see
as well as scent his quarry. TIE
animals s eyes show it plainly.
Then, if he chooses, the man may
stand motionless and eearoh the
ground and cover again 'anl again; but
1
the chances are much against his dis
tinguishing any bird forms. This is
the more singular as he knows exact
~ the size, shape and color of the
quail and ought to be able to pick it
out. Probably the human eye takes
in too much territory at once and has
an indisposition to focus itself upon a
small space.
Indians are by inheritance and con-
slant practice the best trailers in the
world. They will see deer's track,
or the slight impression Of the VOLTS
paws, where white man can see only
unmarked ground, but an Indian can
not see hiding quail any better than
another human.
This has been tried often. Indeed,
Indian youths on the western reserva-
tions pursue quail viciously with bows
and arrows and kill many, but they
shoot them when perched in high
trees. They do not make ground
shots often.
The best hand at this kind Of sport
the country has ever known was tho
late Maurice Thompson, who was
much of toxophilite and sang and
wrote the praises of the bow. He
used the fashioned weapon for two
reasons. There was good deal of the
poet in him, and he was born poach-
er.
The latter. was the strongest rea-
son. The bow makes no noise and
the farmer in his field quarter mile
away did not know that a city-dwel-
ler was numbering his birds within
call.
Nothing so delighted Thompson as
the sight Of weather-beaten sign,
showing dimly: ''No Shotin on This
Premis. ;" That was the "premis'' he
wanted to shoot on. The farmer
could get even with him only by find
ing his bicycle hidden somewhere near
the road and breaking ont it's spokes.
In hunting quail with the bow
Thompson displayed great patience
and knowledge Of the habits Of the |
hirds He knev where thay were to
be found and moved Elowly and gently. |
Often he would hear them running |
and cheeping before he saw them.
He would drive them thus for a |
hundred or two hundred yards, keep
ing near them, cautious not to fright
en- then into fight. When one OF |
them crossed an open space or stopped
in an open space to look for the re-
mainder OF the covey, he let drive.
Nearly all Of his quail were killed i
while running. IF they flushed he
marked them down and followed them
rs before. Often he would kill o half
dozen from one bevy before they be-
came 80 scattered that he could not
ind them. He did not attempt TO
discover them after they had taken to
hiding separately because he knew
hat he could not do it. |.
Through thousands Of years Of eTort
% protect itself from its many foes
'he quail has developed back, wing
and neck covering which blends per-
'ectly with any brown objects Of
woods or felds-earth- clods, corn
stalks, ,fodder,dead or half dead grasses,
ALLEN leaves, underbrush, twigs, old
ogs and 30 forth.
Tho males have never lost the be-
raging stripe Of white over the eye
ind it seems singular that this traitor
stripe remains. AS the preservation
# females is more important than
hat Of males the eye-stripe Of the