The Madison daily leader. [volume] (Madison, S.D.) 1890-current, 1915-11-27
GAME BIRDS fewer
LOCAL HUNTERS GIVE CAUSES
FOR DECREASE-BEST Dogs
ARE OWNED HERE.

To be crack shot and the pos
SCISSOR Of a good working" knowl-
edge of the inward impulses OF the
game they sought. were not, in them
selves, this year sufficient to lend
reasonable assurance that a hunter of
wild fowl would return at night with
a well filled bag.
Men who have hunted successfully
in the Madison district for years, de-
clare that the present open season for
winged game. Of which only three
days remain. has been about the least
productive OF any of which they
know. They unite in asserting that
il was to the man who added the
services of the best hunting dogs to
be had to the various other attri-
butes essential to prairie chicken
hunting, fell a major portion of the
spoils of an unusually lean hunting
period.
Reasons for Scarcity
The prime cause for the dearth in
prairie chickens In the district was
the continued cold. rainy weather
during and following the Matching
season Unreasonable spring weather
robbed numberless eggs Of their fer
tility, and as many more chicks that
were brought into being got wet feet
caught cold and snuffled out before
| they had reached size that would
entitle them to an opportunity tc
match their traits against the accom-
plishments of the hunter and the in
stincts of his dogs
II was this scarcity OF fowl rather
than the wildness of the birds thai
made for poor early season shooting
il Is pointed out II was one reason
why huntsmen who did not have Z
good setter or pointer, as the case
might be, stood in danger of travel
ing all day without getting within
shooting distance of a chicken. Tt
the fact that some of the purest breC
and best trained field dogs In the en-
tire country are owned in Madison ii
attributed the success this fall of 10
cal huntsmen. 1t might be pointed
out that a Llewellyn setter. to trair
which ii had cost upward of $50. was
sold last week by a Madison man fol
$3.50 1t is perhaps not generally
known that more than 500 has been
spent on the training of each of sew.
eral other bird dogs owned here.
Laws insufficient.
With regard TO the hunting of mi
gratory birds, man who has follow
ed that form of recreation here regu-
larly for twenty-four years, told that
there has been for many seasons a
noticeable and steady decrease in the
number of birds that visit this sec
tion. He gave as reasons for this
decline inadequate protection foI
ducks and geese, both with regard tc
the incompleteness of laws and lack
of enforcement of regulations that
are in existence. Another cause ad
vanced for the growing scarcity OF
wild fowl Is the modern forms oi
transportation, which permit of hunt
ers from thickly populated centers oi
the middle west reaching the sparse
ly settled sections in very few
hours.
The big flight" of aquatic fowl
has already passed over this district
although there still remain numbers
habitually remain in the north until
frozen out"
1t Is claimed that hunters in this
section, with It's favorable feeding
and breeding grounds, have beer
more fortunate than have those oi
most other districts. Ii is said thai
in most instances the experienced
hunter who loses out on the "bie
shoot" is the one who waits too Ions
for what is commonly termed the
big flight" To get big bag ol
two, it is necessary to start out early
and keep everlastingly at it. seasoned
hunters explain.
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