Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1911-12-24

| than for many years past: Hunters laying
no claims to turkey lore have been lucky
enough to buy one or more of these Splen-
| did BIRDS but few Of them were killed
| according to the ethics and practices OF
| experienced turkey hunters. The writer
makes no claim Of belonging in the latter
class, but it has been his good fortune in
| times not long past to hunt with
some of the best turkey hunters In the
4, southwest. who were past masters In the
| science, and who would go out at any
time and match tricks successfully with
this king Of the feathered tribes. Very
recently he read an article on turkey
hunting by well known writer: in which
| the caller was made to hide behind log
when calling turkeys This, Of course. Is
| often done, but the writer recalls two
| would call this coarse work. Hunting tur
keys in the early spring. when they are
strutting. with either of these men was
an education in turkey lore.
One of them used the small wing bone
of turkey as call, while the other
| used only blade of grass held between
the hands, but with them they could de-
ceive any gobbler that ever lived. Mel
Their of them thought Of any concealment.
but simply took their seat against a tree
trunk and then began calling. But they
were as rigid as the tree itself Mr.. Cob
| bier was at liberty to inspect him all he
pleased, but he only saw what was APP
parently part of the tree itself. Only
! the lips moved and they were covered by
the hands holding the call. The writer
while sitting within ten feet of the call
| him that he could almost reach out and
| touch him, and all the time both men
were in plain view Of the turkey. But
move a muscle and you lose your game.
On another occasion he was with this
| same man just at sunrise on a spring
| morning in Oklahoma A gobbler an
| swered his call. SO far off that his gobble
could just be heard: For fully half an
| Cd xr-j<H nd
ly all the time he was In plain view. He
] would gobble, then strut awhile, and wind
| up by running a short distance toward
his supposed inamorata- This perform
ance was repeated over and over again.
| The sun rose higher and was shining di-
rectly in the writer's face-in fact. every
| ray seemed to have concentrated right
on his nose, the result being that it be-
| gan to itch. Now, every one knows that
| an itching nose has just got to be
! scratched, and this one was becoming
! unbearable The turkey was about one
hundred yards off when a hand was
| raised slowly upward and at what the
writer thought was favorable moment
! it gave that nose just one little scratch
but that was enough. That turkey saw
the movement and was off like streak
OF lightning. The caller. Of course. had
not seen the by play. but with a look of
disgust he turned and said: What did
you do to him.? Now, the truth
well, he temporized, and it was some time
before he told the facts of the case, and
when he did the expert said: You didn't
fool me. 1 knowed you done something
! hand when he is half a mile off He can
| see you crook your finger quarter of
a mile off, and he will run If you bat
your eye when he is hundred yards
from you" And as he gained experience
the writer learned that every word he
had said was as true as gospel.
The most successful shooting trip we
have heard Of was that of John F. Kill
leen, his son George and Charles Bur-
roughs all Of Georgetown. They were
down in Charles county recently and in
five days bagged $50 quails and thirty
two woodcocks. John Kileen apolog1zed
for the small number of rabbits killed,
saying: I'VE had no rabbit dogs with US.
so we killed only sixty: but We are go
ing down there soon with beagle pack
and expect to kill lots of Them The
woodcocks were killed on Mattawoman
creek and In the same neighborhood
where Ned Derrick and the late Walter
prury some years ago killed sixty-seven
one afternoon, the largest bag the writer
ever heard Of in this section Of the coun-
try.
Byron Richards and Brooke H. Weeks
of the Treasury Department have been
They each promised to bring home tur-
key for Christmas. wild one If they
can. a tame one If they must.
there is anything IN the theory Of hered-
, ity he should be a mighty hunter, for
his first blue grass ancestor was friend
and comrade Of Daniel Boone. Richards
should have carried along with him on
i. his Virginia trip the rifle he Inherited
and which was exhibited at the James
town exposition in the Daniel Boone col
lection" 1t was the rifle his grandfather
b,,nt hahn h1lyof tod
l by the Indians. Mr.. Richards relates a
r chapter of unwritten history in connec-
ton with this rifle. the story and the
rife having come down from father to
son for several generations. The original
s owner and Daniel Boone had rifles exact
= ~ alike, and on one occasion. while
+, hunting together. they saw an immense
b. bear under a beech tree. They fired
n simultaneously and the bear-of course
e dropped dead, and when they dressed II
e they found one bullet hole through the
r heart. Boone gave his companion one
: look, drew his hunting knife and carved
: der this tree Dan'l Boone kilt bar.
4 Now. this Is Richards version Of the
. well known incident and not the writer g.
j The latter knows there are just as good
q The open season on quail woodcock ant
: rabbits closes in most OF the Maryland
e counties on or before Christmas day. /,
a to January 16. In Montgomery, Primo
e Georges and Charles counties the quai
t season is over In Virginia the season o,
d quail. woodcock. turkeys pheasants an
t rabbits does not close until February
>. in counties east Of the Blue Ridge.
4 Dog lovers everywhere will sympathiz
e | with Prof George B. Schadmann Of thi
:, city In the loss Of his good bitch Grail
J, ella 'Graz'' was the dam Of Theodor
y Whitestone, and had recently been bre
. to Uncle Nat at the Titus kennels, Il
Mississippi and the prospective litter wa
entered IN the FuturIty. Graz becarn
e Ill from eating something fed to her by
m Pullman porter, and though Mr. Schad
le mann hurried her back to Washington h
II was unable to save her life.
al It is said that the plan Of a number O.
S, wealthy residents Of Washington to or
Id ganize one of the largest clubs an,
n game preserves in the country is wei
IN under way. BY purchase and lease
is intended to secure extensive lan(
holdings around Quantico and stock thel
Of with all varieties Of game. Being on tn
to Potomac, they will have the advautag
r Of the splendid wild fowl shooting tina
re can always be had there.
n While walking In tho Rock Creek val
Is ley between the Massachusetts, and Con
necticul Avenue bridges the writer So,
q superb white swan floating majesticall
Id downstream. He had presumably CON
mi down from the ZoA