The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1902-10-19

l. +
He darts like lightning through the air.
With devious wings--a moment. wait
You'll sec the rover travel straight.
Tho American snipe. like the heather
Chinee. is peculiar. When flushed he
Nics rapidly for short distance to right
or left, instantly reyerses his course and
goes in the other direction. and continues
70 pitch and dart rapidly from right 10
{ left, all the while uttering squeak
which Is said TO resemble the word "es-
oape,'' and escape he always does from
the novice. and quite often from older
and more experienced guns. After going
some distance the snipe settles down to
q course more regular. 1t was formerly
considered most important to walt until
che snipc few straight before firing the
gun. He was. however often out Of
fange before making the change in his
Tight and the sportsman Of to-day with
their light iammcrless guns treat him as
q. right or left bird, as he may be going,
end aiming little ahead. have better
chance OF baging him than those VINO
used to wait to see the rover travel
straight
be very difficult mark. His flight is ST.
lent. There is no noisy roar of wings,
ouch as the grouse and rnrtrddges make.
70 discomfort the shooter. The shots that
Rre missed are easily accounted Tor, Tor
st is seen that the bird has decided to go
about Oh tho other tact just at The iltre
the load of shot was fred across ms bc'V,
and OF course. he ESCAPES and 1oNluiS
flies on. announcing the fact TO all Inc
other birds in the marsh. Tie lacks
ere sufficiently long to enable the sports
men kill the bird before il makes the
turn. and if he be sufficiently cool he
cnn select Ill, eslot taking ii TO right or
left AZ he may desire.
: NOT so HARD TO KILL.
began ito shoot snipe when was a
bov. ana il was not very long before
did ycry. Well with them. ] have since
shot them III many States from New
England 10 Dakota. ] have made better
bags and killed more l1irds continuously
without miss when shooting s!iipe, than
/ have when shao;ing any of the other
small birds al. i,4e upland, such as par
tridges woodcocls. ploNer. etc. Prairie
grouse are so large ard iiy 50 straight
and so SLOWLY. that. they Of course, are
easier marks. ard ducks lowering over
decoyss are less difficult.
fberi,ig in the mud in their search for
foed. the carth@orms). usually indicate
their presence in Il marsh. They may.
however! have gone. and this may be
counted on IL 5tlie4 ground has frozen over
since the flexible hill cannot probe the
frozen ground.
The snipa is often called English
snine,' and Jack snipe. These terms
are rlisnomers and equally bad. Theabird
is not at all English, and the term Jack
snipe means nothing and is, too. applied
to ait least one other bird-tlle pectoral
sandpiper Our bird is properly named,
the American snipc. and sportsmen who
desire TO speal. correctly will drop the
word English and Jack.
Like many of the other game birds. the
snipe has many popular local names. such
as marsh snipe. bog snipe, shad bird,
shad spirit, etc. The latter terms are
quite interesting, since they refer TO the
coming of the snipe in the spring. at
the same time With the shad to the
Rivers.
..shad spirit" is q term used by fisher
;. men who heard the squeak of this bird
in the night as they went across the
marsh. In llreider's sporting anecdotes.
II is stated that the snire are called
ehad birds by many of the fishermen. and
the abundance or scarcity of the one Is
considered highly indicative of that of
the other.
lIUNT THEN. DOWN WIND.
The snire should be hunted down wind
ssNhen ere you beat for snipes. implore
Old Oeolus O or marsh and moor.
Boldly 10 breathe. Yet always mind,
Sou turn Your back upon the wind "
The rule is the reverse of that laid
down for the shooting of all other upland
game for the reason that lie snipe
arise from the ground against the wind
and tly against lit or across IT, so that
the chances for a shot are improved by
approaching the birds with the wind.
Herbert. MAS the first to call the atten-
s}on If the American sportsmen to this
import rule OF shooting, and DR.. Lewis
and the other authorities upon field shoot
s fnf give the same advice. The lines are
from Wa.t's culions little book on shoot
ing, written entirely il poetry. and con-
tainng much good advice. published IN
England long before Herbert wrote Field
SHORTS
Bogardrs SAYS: When hunting along
q slough your companion will common-
iy be willing that sYon should take either
ode YOU choose as few men know that
&C makes any difference. Bnt II makes
q very material difference when the wind
take the windward side Won vii have the
most shots have always done SO. and
nave often killed two or three snipe to
one killed by my oinpanion.
The snfpe arc migrants, moving North
an the spring, from the Gulf States and
the West Indies. they arrive in the
Eastern and Central States usually in
apgll. The exact time of their coming
depending anon the weather, From tho
Arctic regions they return again IN the
month OF September. Their range
extends across the continent 70 caiifor-
MIA and 1 have shot them about the
E marshy edges of the small lakes and
ponds on the great plains of the north
west when shooting teal and sharp
tailed grouse.
WHERE TO FIND THEM
II lis useless to look for the birds in
the snrins until the frost Is well out OF
s the ground and 1t is useless 70 look for
them anywhere excepting upon soft.
moist or wet grounds where they can
use their flexible bills to probe for
rrte,, arf ycr.y4 abundant N GER