The Washington herald., 1907-10-20
HUNTING SQUIRRELS
MANY PLACES NEAR THE CAPITAL IN WHICH
ONE MAY FIND THEM

OlNE MN
A good many years ago. when quite
youngster the writer followed. with ad-
miring envy, a veteran squirrel hunter
as he stalked down the street on return
ing from his favOrite sport. with a string
of eighty-four grays hanging down his
back, the result of two days shooting
on the hickory hills Of Central New
York At that time I was the proud pos
SCISSOR Of an old-fashioncd rife that bad
been bored out into a shotgun, which
scattered its contents over several square
acres Of territory, and with which the
killing Of a squirrel was well nigh an
impossibility. Silently ] gaZed on the
splendid bunch. resolving that If 1 ever
owned a gun ike his /, too, would be
mighty hunter and kill as big string
as that, "and bigger"
Many years nave passed since that
episOde-the old NimTOd has long since
gone 70 the happy hunting grounds; the
writer owns better gun than the old
man ever thought OF owning, but is glad
10 say, has never made that enormous
bag resolved upon when a bare-footed
boy of thirteen.
Squirrel shooting is one Of the chief
delights Of autumn spot. II takes one
into the woods at the most gorgeous time
Of the year when the whole face Of na-
tor
for its long period Of rest, and when on
can learn many things not written in
books.
Washington is surrounded by excellent
I localities FOR squirrel hunting, and one
doesn't have to get very Tar away from
the city either. 10 enjoy a fair tdste Of
this most enjoyable sport Electric lines
radiate from the city in every direction,
like the spOkes Of wheel, and a few
miles into the country on any one Of them
will bring the shooter 20 a place where
game is 20 be found in sufficient album
dance TO be worth while Chevy Chase.
/ Cabin John. Great Falls. Falls Church,
Mount Vernon. Forest Glen-anywheIa Q.
| IN fact, where nut trees are found-Will
I yield a greater or less harvest according
1 70 locality and according to your skill
/ in this particular kind of sport. Skill ii
4 takes. and of a high degree at that for
I a gray squirrel can put up more tricks
and lodges than can be enumerated. then
more tricks tricks again. and then some,
and the man who hunts them for the first
T time and contemplates something easy
/ is going 20 encounter surprises by the
/ score-and incidentally bring back little
game.
Unlike any other sport known 70 the
writer squirrel shooting fits all classes
Of sportsmen. The heavyweight and the
/ lazy man can both find enjoyment and
a bag in proportion 10 their energy, and
/ the semi-invalid. whose strength viii not
/ permit him 10 stalk turkeys or tread the
stubble for quail can ind amusement 10y
/ the hour and a health-giving pasdme
that beats the summer resorts and the
/ sanatoriums 20 a frazzIe.
/ Without any question squirrel hunting
/ is a science and an art. The merest tyro
/ can probably show three or four for a
days outing. but 70 get all the pleasure
/ there is in il. and have something worth
/ showing means far more than that Il
/ means studying your quarry thoroughly
and they are the most cunning Of animals
and beating them AT their own game
/ And therein consists the mans pleasure
/ Of the chase-matching your own cunning
against the cunning Of the brute IN
/ spite Of the fact that your intelligence is
/ supposed 10 be Of a higher order, the
/ chances are more than even that you
! will lose out
( To begin with, you want your twelve
/ guage-the old stand-by-and NJ. shot
/ for it is surprising how thick and tough
la squirrels skin is, and you viii often
I be surprised, IN skinning the game. to
! find how many pellets have merely pene-
/ trated the skin without doing any dam
/ age This explains why SO many that are
/ shot at scamper away. apparently un-
/ touched when in reality they have been
hit but not hard enough. A squirrel has
got to be hit hard in order 10 get him.
/ They are dead game too, and many
/ n one with both hind legs broken and
/ otherwise injured viii crawl slowly and
/ laboriously 10 a nearby hole, only 10 die
I out of reach
/ The best time Of all for hunting is early
/ in the morning and up to or 10 o'clock.
/ You can hunt all day, too, of course,
with good success, but in the early hours
/ the little animals are after their break
/ fast. and II in a good locality the trees
are full Of them.
/ Walk quietly through the woods. max
/ ing as little disturbance as possible-pick
out "a tree where they are feeding and
-. a.,--- Tr ,.1.. I,.r-. chs. t-sa "a n riol-a1
/ out beforehand and are there at daylight
so much the better. for YOU can probably
pick a half dozen out Of II In the course
Of an hour without moving. When you
/ have shot one, don't make the mistake
/ of running To pick him up-let him lie
/ There are others nearby. and while the
report of the gun viii startle them for
d moment, any moving on your part viii
spoil the sport for a couple OF hours
/ Learn to mark down as they drop, and
then, after the fun is over, pick all up at
once and move to another spot
These feed trees are easily found, too
at this season, for the squirrels are cut
! ting"-that is, opening the nut shucks
and If you viii keep your eyes and ears
open you will find the little droppings
Of refuse on the ground underneath the
trees where they are at work, and If the
( air is still you can hear them pattering
down through the leaves.
Now strain your eyes upward to find
the place where one is cutting Did
you see that bunch Of leaves shake,
! There, again-thats where he is. Now
cut loose, right into the bunch Of leaves
and down he comes-thump. If there
are any more In that tree they will lie
mighty low for the next five minutes, bat
if you keep quiet you may get another
I shot
Another way of hunting is with squir-
rel dog; good ones are scarce, but any