The Evening statesman. [volume] (Walla Walla, Wash.) 1903-1910, 1909-08-12
GROUSE SHOOTING
OPENS IN ENGLAND
Every Englishman With Gun and the
Price Of a Ticket, Betakes Him
self to the Moors to Shoot
Birds Today.

LONDON, Aug. 12.-ENery LOndOner
with a gun. the price of a ticket to the
moor and sporting blood in his veins
which description applies to a large
part of the population of the metrop-
olis-set forth today to celebrate the
the grouse shooting season. Many
Americans took part in the exodus to
| the mCors, which is the great annual
event among the gunners of Merrie
England.
H. p. Whitney. who has Lewis S.
Thompson as his guest. goes every
summer to one Of the best game pre-
serves i'm England, which his father
left him. Andrew Carnegie has d
moor near Skibo, but he prefers golf
to grouse. but the Burdens. Winans
and Bradley and Martins maintain
shooting boxes. Grouse is especially
abundant in the northern counties of
! England, in Derbyshire and IN parts
Of Wales and Ireland. while some of
the best sport is over the bleak Scotch
mOors Thompson, who is Whitney's
guest each year, was formerly cham
picn amateur pigeon shot of Ameri
ca.
The season for grouse shooting be-
gins August ~ and is open until De-
cember 10. The red grouse is confined
to the British Isles. although the
American partridge is branch of the
family The shooting is almost entire
the world The owners of the great
preserves are gun jealous" and eager
to announce a great bag by their open
ing of the season party Consequently
! only those receive invitations who are
known to be clever and reliable shots
A party of five or six guns will ac-
count for 200 to 500 brace day at an
English preserve, but the record is
much higher.
few are used fer the table. the
remainder being sent to market. Even
the richest landlords sell off their sur
The selling value of the game is estl-
mated on in fixing the rental of
grouse moor.
The guns are placed in couples with
m the shelters. or butts. of turf which
are about so yards apart, and the
gamelleepers and beaters drive the
grouse to those in ambush. Possibly 90
men will be in the driving party ana
the fight of the grouse over the butts
is fast and continuous. but the BIRDS
come alone ." in couples. not in a
flock. This compels quick work by
o.? iull of excitement. There Is
loader m each butt to refill the guns
with the paper shells. and all the
sportsmen have to do is to bag their
birds This is not 50 easy as IL might
anepar. for some come rocketing high
in the air. others scarcely skim the
ground. and some with the wind back
of them. scud as quick as a flash OF
lightning.
In Scotland as in bird shooting III
America. the grouse are hunted WIN
settlers or pointers. for the moors are
f|a
a few holdings. To walk moor over
hill and dale is the best exercise but
too severe for all but trained ana
hardened muscles An aggregate bag
of so to 60 brace is all that five or six
guns may hope for in Scotland under
the best conditions for it is more ardu-
Gus work than to knock over the grouse
from a shelter. In England the only
grouse shooting with gun and dog 10
be had is in the royal forests ard OLD
chases.
Americans also find sport in shoot
ing cartridges and pheasants. the ag-
gregate bag of party of them be-
ing a vast number of birds, for on
wells stocked preserve they are as thick
ss flies on a. sugar barrel. The shoot
ers walk forward in line, while the
heaters and dogs work the birds TO-
ward the guns Rabbits or hares are
also popped over on such drives ne
law will not be up for cartridges I'M
til Sept l. and on pheasants uhlil
month later The British definition Oh
game includes also woOdcock. snlpe'
black game, landrail and deer water
fowl coming under a different law.
There is no law in Great Britain 10
prevent the carrying of game from
point to point, nor is there a limit 10
tha kill of q gun But no one may ShOOt