PREFACE.
In preparing this work, after I had written the account of Florida, which, as a sporting country, had never been fully described, and was to occupy the principal part of my attention, and when I came to the second division, that relating to the game-birds of our waters and coasts generally, I found so much in a book on a kindred subject, which I had written years ago, that I concluded I could do no better than quote from it freely. The directions therein given are as correct now as then, the information as well founded, and I hope the reader will find the stories of sporting excursions as interesting.
My main purpose is to call the attention of my brother sportsmen to that paradise of the devotee of the rod and gun, the Southern Peninsula of our Atlantic States. Game is disappearing from our home country; woodcock and ruffed grouse have almost been exterminated; ducks are less plentiful; bay snipe now make many of their flights directly at sea without passing over the land; and if we are to obtain satisfactory shooting, we must go some distance for it. Many persons who are fond of outdoor life cannot stand exposure to cold weather, and still more, to keep up their interest, must have the chance of making a larger bag than they can count on at the North. Yachtsmen are in the habit of laying up their craft during the best season of the year for the enjoyment of sailing. They have looked upon the South either as an uninteresting or a dangerous country, a land merely of alligators or of hurricanes. They will be as surprised as pleased to learn that there is no better sailing ground, and that the Southern waters in winter are as safe as Northern waters in summer; so much so that small vessels and open boats have braved their terrors, while their sporting advantages are not to be surpassed, if they are to be equalled, by any in the world.
While not absolutely the pioneer in this exploration, I happen to be nearly so, for no completed work or continued record has been published which covers the ground described, or conveys the information contained in these pages. No more delightful excursion can be conceived than that to Florida during the winter, and no man can so thoroughly enjoy it as the yachtsman. Thousands of tourists have been going there for years, and their number is augmenting every season. But such persons merely rummage a country; they do not possess it; they rush along sight-seeing and curiosity-purchasing. Let the sportsman or the invalid go to remain during the inclement winter weather, and they will never regret the excursion.
The Author.
PART I.
F L O R I D A.
CONTENTS.
| [PART I.—FLORIDA.] | |
|---|---|
| PAGE | |
| [Chapter I.]—Florida.—The Inland Passage | [9] |
| [Chapter II.]—In Florida | [59] |
| [Chapter III.]—Currituck Marshes | [116] |
| [PART II.—THE GAME WATER-BIRDS.] | |
| [Chapter I.]—Game of Ancient and Modern Days.—Its Protection andImportance.—The proper Shooting Seasons.—The Impolicy ofUsing Batteries and Pivot-Guns | [139] |
| [Chapter II.]—Guns and Gunnery.—Breech-loaders compared withMuzzle-loaders.—All the Late Improvements in Breech-loaders.—HammerlessGuns | [159] |
| [Chapter III.]—Bay-snipe Shooting.—The Birds, their Habits, Peculiarities,and places of Resort.—Stools and Whistles.—Dress andImplements appropriate to their pursuit.—Their Names andMode of Capture | [185] |
| [Chapter IV.]—The New Jersey Coast.—Jersey Girls and theirpleasant ways.—The peculiarities of Bay-snipe further elucidated.—Mosquitoesrampant.—Good Shooting and “Fancy”Sport.—Shipwrecks and Ghosts | [219] |
| [Chapter V.]—Bay-Birds.—Particular Descriptions and ScientificCharacteristics.—A Complete Account of each Variety | [261] |
| [Chapter VI.]—Montauk Point.—American Golden Plover or Frost-Bird.—ATrue Story of Three Thousand in a Flock.—Lester’sTavern.—Good Eating, Fine Fishing, and Splendid Shooting.—TheNepeague Beach | [301] |
| [Chapter VII.]—Rail and Rail-Shooting.—Seasons, Localities, andIncidents of Sport.—Use of Breech-loader or Muzzle-loader.—Equipment | [313] |
| [Chapter VIII.]—Wild-Fowl Shooting.—General Directions, fromBoats, Blinds, or Batteries.—Retrievers from Baltimore andNewfoundland.—Western Sport.—Equipment | [328] |
| [Chapter IX.]—Duck-Shooting on the Inland Lakes.—The ClubHouse.—Practical Views of Practical Men.—Moral Tales.—ADay’s Fishing.—The Closing Scenes | [344] |
| [Chapter X.]—Suggestions to Sportsmen.—A Definition of the Term.—CrackShots.—The Art of Shooting.—The Art of not Shooting | [398] |
| [Chapter XI.]—Directions for Building a Battery | [415] |