The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1903-12-29

icon published in the con-
l.r7ing The expedition.
II i. not a pleasant thing for one who
,-da- himself on his strict obedience to
a-r. laws to be accused OF violating
h.. laws whenever he hunts or fishes
md ESPECIALLY is it exasperating to be
.r-- accused solely for the delectation
,- rr0ar Of ONE hungry and mendacious
~.--.raper correspondent. 1t is not true
that was arrested in Virginia for vio-
.arca Of the game laws, or for shooting
without a license; nor was any complaint
m-aa against me, nor, so far as l know,
ras such a thing been contemplated.
SPORT VERSUS SLAUGHTER.
FouaIly false and mischevious, though
oo+ involving a violation of law, Is the
charge that our party killed 500 ducks
o,tr shooting force consisted of five gun
Nor. ot various grades OF hunting ability,
Intending one who had not fired a gun
~, tveutv wears" and another who could
"ao rrettv well with a rife, but didn't
knnw much about a shotgun" We were
shooting four days, but on only one OF
these days was our force engaged. There
,ea~ not one in the party who would
NOT hye been ashamed of any compile
itv in the killing Of 500 ducks, within
the Tune spent anu LII LhC circumstances
surrounding US; nor is there one OF the
marty who does not believe that, if the
determination Of wild ducks is to be pre-
vented. ard if our grandchildren are o
know ANYTHING about duck-shOotlng, eX-
cent as a matter of historical reading,
stringent and intelligent laws for the
preservation of this game must be sup
pIpmcnted and aided by an aggressive
sentiment firmly held among decent duck
ing spOrtsmen, making it dlsgracetul to
EIl ducks for the purpose OF Boosting
Of a big tag, or for the mere sake OF
killing. Those who hunt ducks with no
better motives than these, and who are
restrained in the absence of law, by
nothing except the lack of opportunity
to kill. are duck slaughterers, who merit
the contempt of the present generation
and the curses of generations yet to
come.
Our party killed about one hundred
and twenty-five ducks. We ate as many
a. we cared to eat during our stay among
the hunting marshes, and we brought
enough home to eat on our own tables
and TO distribute among our friends. It
seems to me that gunners who kill as
many ducks as will answer all these pur-
poses ought to be satisfied.
ON THE COOKING OF WILD DUCKS.
And just here l want to suggest m
thing which ought to greatly curtail the
distribution of wild ducks among our
friends. In households where no idea
prevails of the difference between proper
" cooking q wild duck and one brought
up IN a b~arnyard, a complimentary git
or wild fowl is certainly of questionable
advisability; for if these are ook after
the fashion prescribed for the domestic
duck they will be so thoroughly discre
dIted in the eating that the recipient of
the gift will come near suspecting a prac
teal joke, and the donor will be nearly
guilty of waste.
In Virginia they have a very good law
prohibiting luck sOoting on Wednesdays
and Saturdays, and of course on Sundays.
These are called rest days. We arrived
at the very comfortable clubhouse OF the
Back Bay Club in Princess Anne county,
about noon on Saturday, with weather
very fair and quiet-too much so fer
sood duck shooting. From the time Of
our arrival until very early Monday
morning, besides eating and sleeping, we
had nothing to do but to get ready
It must not be supposed that those words
only mean the settlement in our quarters
and the preparation of our guns, ammuni
ton and other outfit. Many other things
are necessary by way of stimulating in
teTest and filling the minds of waiting
gunners Wit lively anticipation and hope.
Thus during the preparatory hours left
to US our eyes were strained hundreds
OF times from every favorable point or
observation in search of flying ducks;
hundreds of times the question as to the
most desirable shooting points was dis
Cussed, and thosands of times the wish
was expressed that Monday, instead Of be-
ing a blue bird day" would present
Us with a good, stiff breeze from The
hight direction. The field of prediction
was open to all OF us, and none avoided
it. A telling hit was made by the most
self-satisfed weather prophet Of the party
who foretold an east wind at sundoWn
which promptly made its appearance on
schedule time.
When we were reused out of bed at
$50 O'Clock Monday morning We found
cur east vino still with US IN pretty
good volume, and although We all knew
ii was not in the most favorable quarter,
and that the weather was too warm toi
the best shooting, it was with high hopes
that We got into our boats and started
Ill midnight darkness for our blinds
Whatever anticipation of good shooting
| had INDUCED in met with a severe re
verse when [ learned that my shooting
companion and l were expected to XII
CuckS with our decoyS placed to the wind
ward OF us. l warmly protested agaIns1
this, declaring that | had never dom
such a thing in my life, and in the strong
est language | objected to the arrange
ment; but all to no purpose. AS l ez
pected, the ducks that were inclined Il
NJ within our range, coming up the win;
behind us, saw our blinds and US befOr;
they saw the decoys, and when we trieC
70 turn and get a shot, a sudden flare
OF tower put them out of reach. AS TO
lair doc0ying, they had no notion Of su2I
a thing. We killed a few ducks through
much tribulation, but the irritation o
knowing that many good opportunltle
mad been lost by our improper location
more than oVerbalanced all the ~satisfaC
ton of our slight success. That m,
theory on the subject of WindWard dc
coys is correct was proved when o
tuesday, with d wet wind and decoy
TO leeWard, VIC killed at the same plac
more than twice as many ducks as w