by Anita Coffin Dammin

30

Shooting Notes from Tuckernuck and Muskeget

by Anita Coffin Dammin

IN THE SPRING and fall of the year, large flocks of waterfowl make their migration. At these times, years ago, sportsmen gunners came on Island to shoot birds. George Edward Coffin, my grandfather, put up many of these gunners in his Tuckernuck family home and in his Muskeget gunning shack. His relative, Isaac Dunham, of the North Head house, also put up sportsmen gunners. One who stayed with Uncle Isaac was George Mackay who kept extensive records of his shooting trips to Nantucket, Tuckernuck and Muskeget.

My grandfather George E. Coffin was an honored member of the U.S. Life Saving Service as well as a gunner, carver of decoys, and a seaf a r in g m a n wh o m a d e s e v e r a l n o t a b le v o y ag es o n t h e wh a l e sh ip E r a . He was a good shot and enjoyed putting up the off-island gunners and shooting with them. Other island gunners of the late 1800's and early 1900's of Tuckernuck and Muskeget who put up off-islanders or in other ways cared for them, were Alfred Byron Coffin, George W. Coffin, Charles Snow, Everett Chapel, Marcus Dunham, Robert Dunham, Herbert Smith and Dewey Sandsbury. Sportsmen gunners who came to shoot included Drinker, Nye, Means, Shattuck, Cobb, Mixter, Mackay, Meigs, Brooks and others, most of them physicians from Boston, and others from parts of New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania.

Besides the shooting at Tuckernuck and Muskeget, there was also a lot of gunning for birds on Nantucket, in and on the outskirts of town, before dawn, after sunset, and on moonless nights. It was not possible to retrieve many birds on such nights, so scarcely any cripples were saved.

Among the birds shot in the 1800's and early 1900's were Brant, Scoter, Coot, Black Duck, Broadbill, Sanderling, Greenheads, Beetleheads, Doughbirds, Golden Plover, Canvasback, Eider, Oldsquaw, Snipe, Knot, Merganser, Scaup, Hudsonian Curlew, Sandpipers, Whistlers, Yellowlegs, Turnstones, Goldeneyes, Widgeon and Canada Goose.

My father, Edward Brooks Coffin, told me of the practice of burning over the pastures. His explanation was that Plover enjoyed eating the roasted bayberries. He reached this conclusion from finding the seeds in the bird's gut. Plover and Canada Geese, in particular, could be shot easily since they "bunched up" and made good targets. On the water, according to old records, there were fantastic numbers of Scoters as far as the eye could see off the West Nantucket jetties - some estimated as high as half a million birds! In the late 1800's, Brant were seen numbering in the thousands in the Muskeget lagoon. During the first half of the 19th century, all species of Tern thrived in great abundance on Muskeget.

In the early times of gunning, many made their own decoys. Few were

SHOOTING NOTES 31

sold. There was little preoccupation with the preservation of working decoys. Many a bird was pitched into the stove to make a quick fire. More were left out on the shore, in the sand dunes, or carelessly abandoned to the weather. New heads were sometimes added to old birds. Few decoys were branded. Herbert Smith was known to put his "H.S." on a bird that he carved.

The live bird was the model for the most effective birds carved. Cedar and pine were the chosen woods. Paints used by some of the Tuckernuck men were most often ordinary house paint and white lead paint, together with some green, umber, ochre, and varying shades of gray. Gray is a favorite Nantucket paint color for most outside work. The heads of duck decoys were made separately and sunk by dowel into the body. When needed, one type of bird was often repainted to resemble another. I recently went through five layers of paint on an old Scoter.

The metal tools used to carve decoys were made by the blacksmith. Tools included draw-knives, jack-knives, hatchets, axes, augers, chisels and mallots. When attempting to establish an unmistakable style of carving, everything used may be helpful. Thus patterns, tools and records hold the key when no brand is found. The bird itself is another clue. The paint work in the mixing and colors used is one more step in identification. Even the type of ballast weight should be considered for its origin of manufacture, as well as its characteristics.

The first book of significance relating to the history of decoys and shooting was published by Alexander Wilson in 1801. Throughout the 19th century, famous ornithologists (some were gunners) visited Nantucket and her outer islands to record species and collect bird specimens. Hunters during that period also kept journals of their activities and observations on the islands. The aforementioned "Shooting Journal of George Henry Mackay, 1865-1922" is perhaps the best known on Nantucket.

The market for wild fowl was established in the middle of the 19th century by the development of the breechloading gun. Game for the tables of restaurants and hotels, and plumage for the millinery trade, became the objectives of many gunners. In 1909, however, came the ending of the spring gunning season. Bag limits further reduced the numbers of birds shot. The sale of all migrating wild fowl was made illegal in 1918, thus affording considerably more protection for the declining bird population. In 1935, the use of live decoys was outlawed.

Other organizations that assist today in wildlife management are the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Soil Conservation Service, and numerous private organizations such as "Ducks Unlimited", dedicated primarily to the interests of the duck hunters. This last group spends a large portion of its funds for restoring and maintaining breeding grounds.

George Edward Coffin continued to shoot for his table until his death, just short of his ninetieth birthday. He died on November 26,1920 at his home on Nantucket.