In 1863 the birds nested in Pennsylvania. We had some fine sport at
Smith Port and at Sheffield. We located at Cherry Grove, six miles from
Sheffield. The birds fed on hemlock mast. There were other nestings
in Pennsylvania at the same time. In 1864, at St. Charles, Minn., we
had some fine sport, but our freights were high to New York, so we
came to Leon, Wis. A heavy body was nesting in the Kickapoo woods, and
several companies of hunters located here. In 1865 a heavy nesting was
in Canada, near Georgian Bay. We were at Angus Station on the Northern
Railroad, and the snow was two feet under the nesting. We next went
to Wisconsin, where a heavy snowstorm broke up the roosts. We were at
Afton, Brandon and Appleton. We then went to Rochester, Minn., the end
of the railroad. At that time birds nested in the Chatfield timber. We
then went to Marquette in the Upper Peninsula and camped on Dead River.
A heavy body had got through nesting, but worlds of birds were feeding
on blueberries.
This was the year the _Pewabic_ sunk. Mr. George Snook had 1,400
barrels of trout and whitefish on her. We went up on the _Old Traveler_
and came down on the _Meteor_. In 1866 the birds nested in a heavy body
near Martinsville, Ind. We caught some birds at Cartersburg. After we
closed up in Indiana we went to Pennsylvania. There was a heavy nesting
near Wilcox, at Highlands. In gathering squabs five of us got a barrel
apiece, which netted us $75 to $100 per barrel in New York. They struck
a bare market.
In July we had a big time with young birds at Fort Gratiot, near Port
Huron, from the Forestville nesting. Mr. H. T. Phillips of Detroit was
chief of a party which had fine shooting on a Mr. Palmer's place. In
six days I shipped thirteen barrels to Tremain & Summer, New York, and
received a check for over $400. They returned me about one-half what
they sold for.
In 1867 we were in Ohio, Wisconsin and Minnesota, and caught more or
less birds on bait. The birds were broken up by shooting and deep
snow. In 1868 there was a large nesting near Manistee, and we did
some big catching, shipped by steamer to Grand Haven, then via rail.
In April and May was also at Mackinac and North Port and in June did
some catching at Cheboygan, and here I made our crates of split cedar
and floated the birds down the river six miles on two canoes lashed
together, and had to transfer over the dam before reaching the little
steamer to Mackinac, twelve miles, and then transferred to the Detroit
boat. The birds were shipped to H. T. Phillips & Co. At Cheboygan I fed
over one hundred bushels of corn and wheat for bait.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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