Virginia Coast Grounds

Editor Forest and Stream:

The cackle of the mud hen, marsh hen, American rail -- all the same bird but passing under different aliases, up and down the Atlantic coast -- has begun sounding her familiar note in the night time. As tradition has it: "Coming out of the clouds," alighting upon our meadows to give us, through May, countless numbers of her delicious eggs. Soon to follow we will have the yellowleg, brownback, black-breast, robin snipe, curlew, with all the other sorts of coast birds. These will make their appearance about May 15, and remain along our shores about thirty days, affording to sportsmen shooting second perhaps to none in this country.

The chief difficulty that we find sportsmen labor under in visiting our coast is an unusual degree of impatience. They don't seem to want to wait long enough to realize what our country really presents in the direction of the object for which they come to see us. One day or so, and if not a full bag of birds, they are up and gone. The fact that tides, weather and the curious way that coast birds have of not frequenting the same feeding ground every day does not seem to present itself to them as a matter of fact.

Near our place lies the pretty little stream known as Machapongo Creek, running north and south for a distance of ten miles, bordered on each side by broad meadows, interspread by smaller creeks, as well with mudbanks, that abound with insect life, affording fine food for the birds, and acting as an attraction to draw them, by the aid of decoys, almost to alight upon the muzzle of the breechloader. Machapongo Creek has as well fine hiding places in the tall grass growing on the points of marsh, which are naturally formed by the windings of the stream. Here the sportsman may secrete himself for hours, and if a lucky day, get fine shooting. The birds are almost constantly passing on the wing, up and down the stream, coming most frequently in easy range.

If at any time the sportsman should tire of shooting, he would have but to push his boat out in the stream and get the best of fishing, May being the month that trout fish abound in our waters in great quantities.

Again, that most rational of all amusements, fox hunting, can be had within a radius of a mile from where I am now writing. In this amusement there need not exist a fear of disappointment in getting up a fox. The dogs are as sure to raise the fox as the steak is for one's breakfast put on the ice over night. Within ten minutes' walk from this moment, with a dozen or even half dozen good dogs, our neighborhood would be ringing with the sweet sound of a pack in full cry.

There is no need of horses in hunting in our county. The country is as level as a billiard table. No streams to obstruct the speed of the dogs, nor stone nor rail fences. February being about whelping time, the young ones remain near to or in the dens to May 15, consequently the old foxes will not run a great way from home, but circle around the den, through fields and swamps, giving the huntsmen very frequent sight of the fox, with dogs running by sight, and if good ones -- due to the soft, level soil -- with amazing speed. The writer has seen horses of good speed lost to sight in crossing field of a couple of miles in following a good pack of dogs.

Since the construction of the New York, Philadelphia & Norfolk Railroad through our county, its accessibility is as convenient as could be desired. Eight hours from New York and six from Philadelphia, with fast express trains each way three times a day.

S. A. E.

MAPPSBURG STATION, Va., April 7, 1886.