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 Contents   vii

Population 192
Historical Inequality Based on Sexuality 193
Inequality Based on Sexuality Today 197
Public Opinion 201
LGB People as Status Groups 204
The Law and Sexual Orientation 205
Globalization and Sexuality 209
Summary 210 • Critical Thinking 211 •
Web Connections 211 • Film Suggestions 211

Chapter 10 Racial and Ethnic Inequality 212

The Meaning and Creation of Race 212
U.S. Racial and Ethnic Relations: An Historical Sketch 215
Racial and Ethnic Inequality Today 220
Mobility 228
Class, Color, and Race 229
Theories of Racial and Ethnic Inequality 230
Summary 235 • Critical Thinking 235 •
Web Connections 235 • Film Suggestions 236

Chapter 11 Immigration, Place, and Religion 237

Immigration and Inequality 238
Religion and Inequality 247
Place and Inequality 252
Summary 257 • Critical Thinking 257 •
Web Connections 257 • Film Suggestions 258

PART 4 Consequences of Social Inequality

Chapter 12 Inequality, Health, and the Environment 261
Physical Health 261
Psychological Health 266
Social Inequality and Environmental Equity 273
Summary 279 • Critical Thinking 280 •
Web Connections 280 • Film Suggestions 280

Chapter 13 Inequality, Crime, and Criminal Justice 281

Perspectives on Crime and the Law 281
The Measurement of Crime 282
Criminality 283
The Criminal Justice System 289
Mass Incarceration 296
Summary 299 • Critical Thinking 300 •
Web Connections 300 • Film Suggestions 300
viii   Contents

PART 5 Social Change

Chapter 14 Social Inequality and Social Movements 303

When Do Social Movements Arise? 303
The Labor Movement 305
The Civil Rights Movement 312
The Women’s Movement 321
Summary 328 • Critical Thinking 328 •
Web Connections 329 • Film Suggestions 329

Chapter 15 Policy Alternatives 330

Redistributive Policies 331
Developing the Capacity for Self-­Sufficiency 334
Addressing Spatial Inequalities 336
Expanding and Guaranteeing Political Representation 337
Summary 338 • Critical Thinking 338 •
Web Connections 338 • Film Suggestions 338

Glossary of Basic Terms 339

References 345
Index 407
 PREFACE

Like past editions, this tenth edition of Social Inequality: Forms, Causes, and Consequences is
a user-­friendly introduction to the study of social inequality. This book conveys the pervasive-
ness and extensiveness of social inequality in the United States with an intersectional per-
spective, to show how inequality occurs, how it affects all of us, and what is being done
about it.
This edition benefits from a variety of changes that have significantly strengthened the
text. We pay increased attention to disability, intersectionality, immigration, religion, and place.
We also spotlight crime and the criminal justice system as well as health and the environment.
The tenth edition includes a new chapter on policy alternatives and venues for social change.
In sum:

1. We have added a new chapter called “Policy Alternatives” (Chapter 15) at the end of the
text. This chapter is designed to provide students with an awareness of potential altern-
atives to our current systems, and to imagine ways that we might bring about change.
2. Intersectionality was introduced in the last edition, but we have augmented the discussion
and infused it throughout the text.
3. We have reworked the theory chapters and moved them earlier in the book, providing a
better framing for students’ analyses in later chapters. We also added an elaboration of
intersectionality in Chapter 7, “Contemporary Explanations of Inequality.” Chapter 6,
“Classical Explanations of Inequality” now features a section on W.E.B. Du Bois in place
of Herbert Spencer.
4. While the last edition contained some information about immigration and religion, recent
political events have made both of these topics crucially important to an understanding of
inequality in the United States. We have created a new chapter called “Immigration, Place,
and Religion” (Chapter 11) that looks at how exclusion and discrimination by citizenship,
religion, and region contribute to inequality.
5. Chapters 12 and 13 provide students with an in-­depth look at how health, the environment,
and crime/criminal justice both are produced by and cause inequality. These chapters are
written from an intersectional perspective.

The tenth edition is divided into five major parts. Part 1 examines the scope of inequality, with
a focus on issues such as income, wealth, status, and power. Part 2 outlines general explana-
tions of inequality. The classical arguments included are those of Marx, Weber, Durkheim, and
Du Bois, while the contemporary theories discuss how inequalities become durable and persist-
ent. Specifically, we look at functionalist and labor market theories, and then outline how
material and symbolic resources are hoarded. Finally, we address the importance of micro-­level
processes, such as identities and interactions. The chapters in Part 3 asks who benefits and who
loses by inequality: Chapters 8–11 discuss gender, sexuality, race, and include a chapter com-
bining immigration, religion, and place. Part 4 includes two chapters of intersectional case
studies on inequality: the first focuses on health and the environment, and the second on crime
and the criminal justice system. Finally, Part 5 addresses processes of change and stability in
the structure of social inequality through discussions of social movements and potential policy
alternatives. The book concludes with a glossary of many of the basic terms used in the text.

ix
 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Although any shortcomings in the book are our own responsibility, any improvements in this
edition are due in large part to others. These include our friend and colleague Thomas Tierney
at the College of Wooster, plus our three outstanding research assistants, Olivia Proe, Taylor
Thomas, and Andrew White. We would like to give special thanks to Kimberly Lauffer for her
extremely helpful guidance on Chapter 4. Thanks also to Samantha Barbaro at Taylor and
Francis for guiding us kindly and wisely through the publication process.
We would like readers to know that this book was originally written by Charles Hurst,
and he was the sole author for the first eight editions. Two new authors were added in the last
edition, but they can only be credited with building off the incredibly strong foundation Chuck
created. We value not only Chuck’s sociological wisdom, but also his friendship and sense of
social justice.
We are all indebted to our families for their support during this project. Chuck’s wife,
Mary Ellen Hurst, has been there for all eight editions of the book. From the Fitz Gibbon
family, we thank Stewart, Andrew, and Thomas, and from the Nurse/Thompson family, we are
grateful to John, Alexander, Jacob, and Gabriel.

x
 CHAPTER 1

An Introduction
to the Study of
Social Inequality
Fernando was brought into the U.S. illegally by his mother when he was 5 years old. He is now
29 and works as a lab technician in the San Francisco Bay Area. A recipient of DACA (Delayed
Action for Childhood Arrivals, a program that allows people like Fernando to stay in the
country and work legally), he is currently consumed with anxiety because of attempts by the
federal government to end the DACA program. If he loses his DACA status, he would have to
return to Mexico, a country he barely remembers. He told a reporter:

I have no clue what they would do … Would they come knocking on my door, putting me in
detainment facilities, put me on a plane and have someone else take care of my stuff?
Would they round everyone up? I would be afraid of losing everything, losing my friends,
having to start over again in a place I barely know. I can still speak Spanish, but as far as
living a life there, it wouldn’t be mine.
(Sanchez, 2018)

Heather is a small business owner in the Midwest. She was interviewed about why she voted for
President Trump. She said:

Trump understands and supports the American dream; no matter what you have now, if
you work hard you can better yourself and positively shape your wealth and future. Clinton
made it known that she would continue Obama’s agenda of redistribution. What dream is
there in working to see your future gains chopped up by taxation and welfare? Under
Clinton I would have just held out my hand and stopped dreaming. Under Trump the Amer-
ican Dream is revived!
(Fishwick, 2016)

Sarah is the founder of a sports media company. She is concerned about barriers women and
people of color face in starting businesses. Citing data from a large-­scale study of venture
capital, she comments,
1
2 Chapter 1 • Introduction: Social Inequality

“The average black female founder with a (Fox, 2018). For many of us, including Fernando,
company raises $36,000.” In comparison, Heather, and Sarah profiled above, this characteri-
the average amount raised by white men zation sounds disturbingly familiar. The share of
who later had their businesses fail was $1.3 the income that that 1 percent controls is now as
million. She said that, as a Black female high as it was in the gilded age (see Figure 1.1),
entrepreneur, “You’re constantly walking and inequality is present and affects us at all stages
this tightrope. Just acknowledging that and of our lives. Think of your own experiences. Even
then figuring out how to optimize that is when young, we hear of people as being from a
important.” “bad neighborhood,” as not being “our kind,” as
(O’Connor, 2017) being “above” or “below” us. We hear epithets
aimed at persons because of their race, ethnicity,
The stories above are all real stories drawn from gender, or sexual orientation. As youths, we notice
recent news reports. Fernando, Heather, and Sarah that because of the way they dress, where they
are all worried about the impact of inequality in live, and who their parents are, some children are
their own lives and in society more generally, but treated differently and have more or fewer oppor-
the particular focus of their concerns differs, tunities than others. We are also smart enough to
depending on their individual identities, experi- see that there are class differences associated with
ences, and backgrounds. What issues of inequality different schools and even churches. These eco-
worry you? You might be thinking about the nomic differences show no sign of disappearing,
student loans you have taken out to pay for your and in fact they are at a record high.
education. Or perhaps you are concerned that Economically, the gap between the top and
American society has gone too far in granting the bottom has increased and class mobility has
rights to particular minority groups. The aim of stagnated in the last few decades. The middle
this book is to give you tools to be able to think class has been particularly hard-­hit, with the per-
about these kinds of issues in a larger context. centage of adults in the U.S. living in middle-­
What is inequality? Why does it exist? Is it good income households just over 50 percent in 2016,
or bad? This chapter begins with an introduction dropping from a high of 61 percent in 1971
to the topic of inequality and is followed by the (Kochhar, 2018). This apparent decline of the
terms and concepts you will need throughout the middle class has significant ramifications for a
text. We then turn to some key questions involv- democracy. Scholars as far back as Aristotle have
ing how we perceive inequality, the level of stressed the importance of a large and prosperous
inequality in the U.S. compared to other countries, middle class for the stability, cohesiveness, and
and whether inequality is inevitable. productivity of a society (Pressman, 2007). Yet
throughout the United States, the number of
middle-­class neighborhoods has declined, while
THINKING ABOUT SOCIAL
both poor and rich neighborhoods have grown.
INEQUALITY
Additionally, the middle class has declined most
You need not look far to find articles in the precipitously in cities with high levels of income
popular press decrying the rise of inequality in inequality (Bischoff and Reardon, 2013). “With
the United States and around the world. Many a median income nationally of $78,056 in 2000
have likened this era to the famous gilded age of and only $78,442 in 2016, the middle class has
the late nineteenth century. Justin Fox in Bloomb- gained no ground over the past several years”
erg described the gilded age as an era of (Kochhar, 2018). Leicht and Fitzgerald put the
“exploding economic inequality, stagnant living matter bluntly: “Middle-­class prosperity in the
standards, growing concern about monopolies, late twentieth and early twenty-­first centuries is
devastating financial crises … brazen political an illusion” (2006, p. 4, italics in original).
corruption, frequent pronouncements that the As we see in Figure 1.1, the share of
American republic was doomed, and seemingly income controlled by the richest members of our
unending turmoil over race and national identity” society dropped from the early part of the century
 Chapter 1 • Introduction: Social Inequality 3

FIGURE 1.1   Share of Income in the U.S. for the Top 1% and Top .1%, 1913–2017
Source: Amended from data from Saez (2018). Data accessed from https://eml.berkeley.edu/~saez/
TabFig2017prel.xls.

to the 1950s, then stayed relatively flat until the trolling most of the resources. Economic
1970s. Since that time, the overall trend has been inequality thrives in the United States.
one of rapid growth. This phenomenon of increas- Among those especially affected by
ing income inequality is not unique to the United inequality are blue-­collar workers whose manu-
States. Nicholas Bloom, a professor at Stanford, facturing plants have moved or shut down. In
who was quoted in the New York Times, said, 2018, for example, General Motors announced
“This is a truly global phenomenon, and I don’t that several North American plants will be idled,
know any serious economist who would deny with 3,300 immediate layoffs and the threat of as
inequality has gone up. The debate is over the many as 14,000 in the long run. This happened, at
magnitude, not the direction” (Schwartz, 2016). least in part, because of imports of cheap Chinese
Despite a record low level of unemploy- steel. GM employee Nanette Senters stated:
ment, poverty levels still persist at over 12
percent. While this is the third year that poverty To just say, “You’re done,” is wrong. Yes, a
has declined, the percentage of families and chil- company is supposed to make money. But
dren in poverty remains higher than it was in they did get all kinds of money from those
2000 (Edwards, 2018). And while in 2017 the tax cuts, and they are still doing this. I am so
median household income in the United States disappointed. They always take things out
was $61,372, once we control for inflation, this on workers.
increase only brings incomes up to 1999 levels (Campbell, 2018)
(Fontenot, Semega, and Kollar, 2018). Further,
the 2016 compensation of chief executive offi- Despite the layoffs in the auto industry, the
cers (CEOs) in the top 500 U.S. corporations was national unemployment rate has been decreasing
271 times that of the average worker (Mishel and since 2010. This is good news for many workers
Schieder, 2017). As we will see in Chapter 2, who suffered spells of unemployment during the
wealth is even more highly polarized than income financial downturn. At the same time, many of
in the United States, with a small percentage con- the available jobs today are part-­time or have
4 Chapter 1 • Introduction: Social Inequality

erratic schedules. This is problematic for people promising development in gender relations in
who need or want consistent full-­time work. For that more women have been willing to come
example, Melody Pabon is having trouble sup- forward to report abuse and harassment, it has
porting her child on her part-­time salary: also made it clear that the problem of gender-­based
inequalities continues to persist in our society.
I’ve been working at Zara, a women’s cloth- The statistics and stories above demon-
ing store in Manhattan, as a cashier and on strate the persistence of inequalities, but they also
the sales floor for about four years. I also show their complexity. Let’s look back at the
just started school to become a medical three stories presented at the beginning of this
assistant. I used to be scheduled to close the chapter. All three of these individuals express
store a lot. On those nights I got home to insecurity and fear in our current environment of
Brooklyn after Mason, my four-­year-old, rampant inequality. But their fears are different,
was already asleep. I wanted to be able to depending on their identities and backgrounds.
spend time with him in the evening, so I For Fernando, his ethnic background and citizen-
asked for an earlier shift. But at my job, ship status are central to his concerns. Heather
anyone who is not available 24/7 always expresses the concerns of the working class, and
seems to get their hours cut. And that is what Sarah worries about possibilities for women of
happened to me. I went from working 35 color. These stories tell us that inequalities are
hours to 25 over the course of a few weeks. located in a complex matrix of identities—race,
That’s almost a third of my paycheck. class, gender, nationality, sexuality (among
(National Women’s Law Center, 2015) others) are all statuses that individually and in
combination intersect to bring about different
The injurious impact of inequality is not confined experiences of inequality. This idea, called inter-
to the working class and the poor. In recent years, sectionality (defined briefly below and more
as companies downsize to meet competition and extensively in Chapter 7) is a central and guiding
maintain profits, the effects of social and concept for this text.
­economic forces pushing people into different
economic circumstances have been increasingly
KEY TERMS AND CONCEPTS
felt by those in the white-­collar ranks. Many of
the jobs lost at General Motors will be white-­
Social Inequality and
collar jobs (Boudette, 2018).
Stratification
At the same time that many people are
experiencing downward mobility, advances in As we use it in this text, “inequality” refers to
computer and information technologies have situations where people have different amounts
created opportunities for others to become phe- of something valuable. That could be a material
nomenally rich. Five years ago, nobody had thing such as food or income, or it could be invis-
heard of Evan Speigel. Yet in 2015, the 25-year-­ ible like prestige or education. Inequality is not
old creator of the application Snapchat was necessarily problematic if most people agree that
among the richest Americans, with wealth well it is fair. For example, in surveys conducted all
in excess of a billion dollars (Wang, 2015). over the world (including the U.S.), about three-­
Inequalities extend beyond economic quarters of respondents say performance and
issues, however. For the third consecutive year, effort are legitimate determinants of pay differ-
hate crimes have increased, up 16 percent since ences (Evans, Kelley, and Peoples, 2010). In
2016 (Eligon, 2018). While some of this increase other situations, however, we do not think
is likely due to increased reporting and aware- inequality is fair—for example, if we started dis-
ness, it is also clear that we are currently experi- tributing income based on people’s height, we
encing an era of increased racial tension and might hear some protest.
rhetoric. Similarly, though the #MeToo move- Social stratification is related to inequality,
ment, focused on sexual harassment, represents a but it refers to a “rare form of disparity that
 Chapter 1 • Introduction: Social Inequality 5

c­ lusters social units by layers, or strata, which related areas. Unemployment, inflation, farm and
are homogenous with respect to a wide range of food prices, rent control, feminism, racism, and
goods (both autonomous and relative) and which welfare are all areas that involve income-­
occupy a single, well-­defined rank order” (Tilly, differential issues. In your own case, think about
1998, p. 27). In simpler terms, social stratifica- the number of ways that income is implicated in
tion refers to a situation where people have different areas of your life. Income, then, at least
unequal access to various resources based on the at first glance, would appear to be a more than
group they belong to, including material goods, adequate measure of economic inequality.
power, symbolic goods, and social status. If the However, when interpreting income statis-
inequality is due to a person’s membership in a tics, several limitations should be kept in mind.
particular group rather than individual character- First, income is only a partial measure of a fami-
istics, this is stratification, not simply inequality ly’s or individual’s economic well-­being. It does
(McLeod and Nonnemaker, 1999, p. 321). In this not include the value of stocks, real estate, or
text, we are using “social inequality” and “strati- other noncash economic assets, and, second, if it
fication” interchangeably. is current income, it does not take into account
the income trajectory an individual may be on if,
for example, they are just beginning in a lucra-
Quintiles
tive career. Third, some of the estimates of
In order to describe the level of inequality in our income are based on pooled findings from several
society, we have to have a way to divide up the government studies that are not always identical
population. Like many other social scientists, we in methodology or measures of income. Finally,
have chosen to use quintiles. A quintile is simply and most significantly, the Internal Revenue
a fifth (20 percent) of the population. The top Service contends that income is underreported
quintile of income earners, for example, are the and not all persons who are required to file
20 percent of people who earn the most (80 income tax returns do so. The majority of under-
percent of the population earns less than they reported income is from businesses or self-­
do). The “middle quintile” would be the people employment because these are sources that are
who earn more than 40 percent of people in the hard for the IRS to track (I.R.S., 2016). Related
population, but less than the top 40 percent of to this, high-­income earners are more likely to
income earners. underreport income than low-­income earners
(Johns and Slemrod, 2010).
While income provides important informa-
Income and Wealth
tion about people’s life circumstances, wealth
In many parts of this text we discuss how income gives us a more complete measure of a family’s
and wealth are distributed in society. Thus, it is economic power, since it consists of the value of
important that we have a good understanding of all the family’s assets minus its debts. Thus,
what the terms mean. Money income, as defined wealth includes the value of homes, automobiles,
by the Census Bureau, includes money from vir- businesses, savings, and investments. Even this
tually all sources, including wages or salaries, measure, however, does not fully reflect the
Social Security, welfare, pensions, and others. access of the wealthy to a greater number of
There are some advantages to using total money financial tools that serve to enhance their eco-
income when assessing the extent of economic nomic opportunities and market situation. For
inequality. In the first place, it is certainly more example, ownership of a great deal of stock in a
immediately quantifiable than many other meas- corporation that is interlocked or directly con-
ures, such as real estate. Second, income is nected with other corporations may give an indi-
highly valued in U.S. society and serves as a vidual indirect influence over the economic
basis on which people are evaluated by others. behavior of the latter organizations. Like poverty,
Third, income inequalities saturate and are wealth has economic implications beyond the
reflected in a number of other economically actual size of the holdings. Economic opportunities
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6 Chapter 1 • Introduction: Social Inequality

are at least in part a function of the economic of the middle of the distribution generally stays
tools a person has at their disposal. stable. In other words, increases or decreases in
There is not a lot of consensus on how to inequality are driven by the top and bottom of the
measure the distribution of wealth, for several distribution. The Gini Index is also criticized
reasons. First, information about wealth is diffi- because it is unable to specify where changes in
cult to obtain. Virtually all data about it come the distribution occur. For example, if the Gini
from various field surveys and administrative Index goes down, it is impossible to know who
records (such as tax records). Often, individuals the winners and losers are. Finally, when you see
are hesitant to be interviewed, and this is espe- a Gini Coefficient, it is important to ask if it was
cially true of the wealthy who, for several calculated before or after taxes and transfers
reasons, may be sensitive about their wealth. (transfers include non-­earned income like welfare
Sherman (2017) conducted in-­depth interviews payments or financial aid). Inequality in societies
with New Yorkers in their thirties and forties is usually less after taxes and transfers.
who had a household income of over $250,000.
She commented:
Palma Ratio
In the interviews, most people described Concerns about the Gini Index led to the devel-
themselves as reluctant to talk about money opment of the Palma ratio. This is a ratio of
in any detail with anyone except their part- the income of the top 10 percent divided by that
ners and sometimes other close family of the bottom 40 percent. The interpretation of
members. They described money as deeply the Palma ratio is more intuitive than the Gini
private—‘more private than sex,’ in the Index. For example, if a country has a Palma
words of one psychotherapist I interviewed. ratio of 5, the top 10 percent receive five times
(p. 18) the income of the bottom 40 percent (Pizzigati,
2014). Joseph Stiglitz, a Nobel Prize-­winning
Sherman found that her interviewees were very economist, and Michael Doyle, former Assist-
concerned about anonymity and they felt deeply ant Secretary-­General of the United Nations,
ambivalent about their wealth, making them argue that all nations should set as a goal a
unwilling to be honest about the true extent of Palma ratio of less than 1 (Doyle and Stiglitz,
their holdings or spending. As a result, it is likely 2014).
that what wealthy people report on surveys may
not be accurate.
Globalization
Another term that is central to understanding
Gini Index
inequality is globalization. Globalization has
The Gini Index (often called the “Gini Coeffi- been defined in two basic ways, one which is nar-
cient’) is a popular way to assess the level of rowly economic and another which incorporates
inequality in a society. It measures the extent a variety of dimensions and is sometimes referred
of difference between the actual distribution of to as the “grand” theory of globalization. In this
income and a hypothetical situation in which latter view,
everyone receives the same percentage of
income. The ratio has a possible value range of Globalization refers to a multidimensional
0 to 1; 0 indicates complete equality, and 1 indi- set of social processes that create, multiply,
cates complete inequality. Some researchers crit- stretch, and intensify worldwide social inter-
icize the Gini Index because it is very sensitive dependencies and exchanges while at the
to the economic situation of people in the middle same time fostering in people a growing
of the distribution and it takes less account of the awareness of deepening connections between
extremes. This is important because research the local and the distant.
suggests that, across countries and time, the share (Myers Jr, 2014, p. 45)
 Chapter 1 • Introduction: Social Inequality 7

This definition includes not only increasing eco- theorists who argued that inequality functions to
nomic ties between countries but also closer cul- ensure that there are incentives for the best
tural and social ties. A narrower conceptualization people to take the most important jobs in society.
of globalization views it as a strictly economic When people are well matched to jobs, society
phenomenon, involving the increase in direct functions effectively and everyone benefits.
investment, flow of workers, and free trade
between countries. It is primarily this latter defi-
Inequality in the U.S. in Global
nition that we will use in our assessment of glo-
Context
balization’s impact on inequality among nations
and within the United States. As we will explore further in Chapter 2, the
United States has notably high levels of
inequality. In Table 1.1 you can see how we rank
Intersectionality
against other large industrial countries.
First coined by Kimberlé Crenshaw (1989), the Remember that the Gini Index would be “0” in a
term intersectionality refers to the idea that situation of complete equality. Our number is
people experience inequality differently, depend- .39. The Palma Ratio shows that the top 10
ing on their particular status. Thus, while gender percent of earners has 1.8 times the income of
inequalities are certainly consequential, Black the entire bottom 40 percent. Looking more
women face very different discrimination than do
White women. Inequalities represent a “matrix of TABLE 1.1 Income and Inequality among
domination” (Collins and Bilge, 2016), whereby Households within Selected Rich
intersecting statuses and identities combine to Industrial Countries: 2017
create a system of exploitation and domination. Country Gini Palma Ratio
To fully understand the lived experiences of Coefficient
inequality, we need to understand how the com-
bination and intersection of statuses affect our Australia .34 1.3
lives. Austria .28 1.0
Belgium .27 0.9
Canada .31 1.2
Marxist vs. Functionalist Perspective
Denmark .26 0.9
on Inequality
Finland .26 0.9
Starting in Chapter 2, we introduce two of France .29 1.1
several important perspectives on inequality. The Germany .29 1.1
“Marxist” perspective is based on the work of Greece .34 1.3
Karl Marx, a German classical theorist, who Ireland .30 1.1
wrote in the middle of the nineteenth century. Italy .30 1.3
You will read about his life and theories in detail Netherlands .28 1.0
in Chapter 6. In brief, however, a “Marxist” New Zealand .35 1.4
framework traces our current level of inequality Norway .27 1.0
to capitalism. Because capitalism is a zero-­sum Sweden .28 1.0
game, there will always be winners and losers. Switzerland .30 1.1
The winners work hard to maintain and increase United States .39 1.8
their advantage. One way that large business
Source: https://data.oecd.org/inequality/income-
owners seek to increase their profits, for example,
inequality.htm.
is by reducing the wages of workers. A function-
alist perspective on inequality is quite different Note: In Chapter 4, you will notice that we give a
different Gini Coefficient for the U.S. This is because
from a “Marxist” view. It sees inequality as the OECD calculates Gini using post-tax and transfer
having many benefits for society. In Chapter 7, income whereas many other organizations use
we introduce the ideas of Davis and Moore, two pre-tax and transfer.
8 Chapter 1 • Introduction: Social Inequality

broadly around the world, generally countries Is Inequality Desirable or

lower in living standards by United Nations Undesirable?
measures have inequality levels that exceed those
in industrial nations. In terms of regions of the Some scholars think of inequality as a source of
world, Europe is the least unequal and the Middle integration in society. The functionalist view, for
East the most unequal (Alvaredo, Chancel, example, argues that inequality in rewards is a
Piketty, Saez, and Zucman, 2018). way of making sure that critical occupations are
filled with the most qualified persons. That is,
since rewards provide motivation to do certain
American Perceptions of Inequality tasks, the structure of inequality is really an
Now we have a little bit of information about the incentive system that helps the whole society
level of inequality in the U.S. Were you sur- survive. Other analysts contend that economic
prised? It turns out that most Americans have and other kinds of inequality create divisiveness
significant misperceptions about inequality, between the haves and the have-­nots, men and
income, and wealth. In fact, in a recent survey, women, minorities and majorities. This is in large
respondents from 40 countries were asked about part because these groups are not equally likely
the distribution of wealth and income in their to believe that the system of inequality is fair.
society. They were given five diagrams from Nor do they agree that inequality works to the
which to choose. One diagram, for example, was benefit of the entire society rather than only a
shaped like a diamond (with a large middle class few select groups. Because of this, inequality is
and small upper and lower classes). Another more likely to instigate conflict than it is to
diagram was a pyramid, with a wide base (indi- strengthen cohesion between groups and in
cating lots of poor people) and few people at the society in general.
top. Only 29 percent of Americans were able to In some ways, Americans are attracted to
accurately identify the model that represents the equality; in other ways, they view inequality as
United States. Looking at the scores from the justified. Part of the problem here is that people
other countries, the U.S. ranked about the middle think about different things when they think
in terms of our knowledge of inequality (Gimpel- about inequality, and people feel differently
son and Treisman, 2018). about the various kinds of equality/inequality;
Conventional wisdom, and some research, thus, the meaning of equality/inequality is not
suggest that Americans tend to understate self-­evident. For example, Bryan Turner (1986)
inequality. For example, a study by Norton and identified four basic kinds of equality: (1) equal-
Ariely (2011) found that Americans estimate that ity of human beings—that is, the notion that basi-
the top 20 percent hold just about 60 percent of cally we are all the same and equally worthy as
the wealth. This is compared to the close to 85 persons; (2) equality of opportunity—the idea
percent they actually held. One recent study, that access to valued ends is open to all; (3)
however, looked at income instead of wealth and equality of condition—that is, that people all start
found that Americans may actually overestimate from the same position; and (4) equality of
income inequality as well as the incomes of the results or outcome, or equality of income. The
richest 1 percent (Chambers, Swan, and Hee- latter is the most radical of the four and the one
sacker, 2014). More research will need to be most likely to incite controversy.
done on this topic to understand the differences Americans feel quite differently about
between the studies and the differences in per- equality of opportunity than they do about equal-
ceptions of wealth and income. What is important ity of income, and groups feel differently about
to note at this point, however, is that mispercep- the fairness of the system. A national poll con-
tions about inequality are widespread. ducted by the Pew Research Center (2012a)
found that 70 percent of Americans feel that the
government should adopt policies to enhance
equality of opportunity but less than half support
 Chapter 1 • Introduction: Social Inequality 9

policies that directly redistribute income. This U.S. has a particularly large gap. For example,
shows that they feel any fair distribution of goods CEOs earn 357 times the salary of the lowest
should be based more on equality of opportunity wage worker (Kiatpongsan and Norton, 2014).
rather than equality of result. In sum, a majority of Americans appear to
Perceptions of economic inequality are support the principle of income inequality as being
generally viewed differently and separately from fair, but they do not see the present system as
views of racial and gender inequality. With racial necessarily equitable. They also underestimate the
and gender inequality, inequalities of outcome extent of economic inequality in the country, and
are seen as evidence of inequalities of oppor- they are decidedly split on whether the government
tunity. That is, if we find that there are differ- should do something about income inequality. It is
ences in outcome by race, it is a fair assumption clear that Americans’ attitudes about inequality are
that there are unfair obstacles in the way of some, complex and often contradictory.
and thus the inequality is seen as unjust. With
economic inequality, however, inequality of
Is Inequality Inevitable?
outcome coexists with inequality of opportu-
nity—and inequality of outcome may be due to Perhaps the most basic issue relates to the inevi-
differences in efforts or skills rather than oppor- tability of inequality. It is important to clarify
tunity. Thus, as McCall suggests, an intersec- that reference is being made here to institutional-
tional model of income inequality should ask: ized rather than individual inequality (i.e., struc-
tured inequality between categories of individuals
How are perceptions of rising class that are systematically created, reproduced, legit-
inequality affected: by perceptions of trends imated by sets of ideas, and relatively stable). We
in racial and gender inequality? by racial and would not be studying this phenomenon if it were
gender differences in education, wealth, not a prominent feature of contemporary society
poverty, employment, and residential with significant consequences. To ask whether it
segregation? by racial and gender identities? is inevitable is to address the origins of inequality
and by intersections of these with social (i.e., whether it is caused by natural or artificial
class identities and social movements? factors). If social inequality is directly linked to
(2014, p. 30) conditions inherent in the nature of groups of
individuals or society, then little might be
Regardless of whether Americans support the expected to eliminate it. On the other hand, if
general idea of inequality, most agree that we such inequality arises because of the conscious,
have too much of it today. About two-­thirds think intentional, and freely-­willed actions of indi-
that the current amount of income inequality is viduals or the structures they create in society,
too large, and 63 percent believe wealth and then perhaps it can be altered.
income should be more equally distributed One side argues that inequality is always
(Newport, 2015). Most Americans—as well as going to be present because of personal differ-
residents of other countries—believe there should ences among individuals either in the form of
be a limit on the amount of inequality. An inter- basic differences in their own makeups or differ-
national survey of forty countries, including the ences in the amount of effort they expend. A
United States, showed that citizens feel that those large majority of Americans would appear to
in the highest-­ranking occupations should be agree. A recent poll, for example, found that 43
paid, on average, 4.6 times the salary of those in percent of Americans think that the rich got that
the lowest-­ranking positions. This ratio varies way because they worked harder than other
across countries with a low of 2:1 in Denmark to people (42 percent said it was due to advantages
a high of 20:1 in Taiwan. Respondents in the U.S. they had been given) (Dunn, 2018). If there is an
said that the ideal gap is 7:1. Actual income gaps open society and if people vary in their talents
are much higher (on average there was a 10:1 and motivations, then this would suggest that
ratio across all the countries in the study) but the inequality is inevitable, a simple fact of society.
10 Chapter 1 • Introduction: Social Inequality

“Some inequalities come about as a result of Levels of Analysis

unavoidable biological inequalities of physical
The study of social inequality is concerned with
skill, mental capacity, and traits of personality,”
argued Cauthen (1987, p. 8) in his treatise on both individuals and groups, personal positions as
equality. Some early philosophers also argued well as structural arrangements. Thus, analysis pro-
that there are “natural” differences between indi- ceeds on several levels. For example, we are inter-
viduals; in fact, some people still maintain that ested in how an individual’s class-­related
differences of this type separate the sexes, result- characteristics affect the probability of that person
ing in the inevitability of inequality. Aristotle being arrested, but we are also interested in how
took the position that “the male is by nature the structure of inequality itself affects the crime
superior, the female, inferior; and the one rules, rate for the society as a whole. We are interested in
and the other is ruled” (in Kriesberg, 1979, the process by which individuals attain higher or
p. 12). These and other explanations of inequality lower status positions, but we are also interested in
will be discussed in detail later. how class structures shift in society and how
Other theorists have argued that inequality changes in occupational structures affect rates of
is inevitable because as long as certain kinds of social mobility. We will look not only at how an
tasks are more necessary for the survival of the individual’s race or sex affects their income but
society than others, and as long as those who are also at how institutionalized discrimination affects
able to perform those tasks are rare, social the overall structure of inequality between the races
inequality of rewards among individuals is and sexes. Many of the chapters to follow take into
needed to motivate the best people to perform the account these important methodological issues.
most difficult tasks. Under these conditions, the
argument goes, inequality cannot be eradicated ORGANIZATION OF THE BOOK
without endangering the society.
On the other side of the fence are those who The text is divided into four major parts. Part 1
argue that economic inequality is not inevitable addresses the extent of inequality in its various
and is largely the by-­product of a system’s struc- forms. Chapters 2–5 focus on specific forms of
ture and not the result of major differences in indi- inequality that concern resource outcomes (i.e.,
vidual or group talents, characteristics, and income/wealth, poverty, social status, and power)
motivations. Rousseau, for example, linked the which are distributed unequally among indi-
origins of inequality to the creation of private viduals and groups in the United States. Part 2
property (Dahrendorf, 1970, p. 10). It is the char- presents the major general explanations for social
acteristics of the political economy and the firms inequality, with Chapter 6 including information
and labor markets within it that are primary deter- about how the classical theorists, Marx, Weber,
minants of differences in income and wealth. Durkheim, and Du Bois, understand inequality.
Where a person works and in what industry have Chapter 7 analyzes more contemporary explana-
major effects on income. Certainly, the job tions, ranging from functionalist theories, to
changes resulting from downsizing would suggest social reproduction and constructionist theories,
this. Essentially, then, this argument states that it to intersectional theories of inequality. In Part 3,
is not human nature and individual differences but we look at significant categories according to
rather structural conditions that determine where which we distribute resources. These include
an individual winds up on the ladder of economic gender, sexual orientation, race/ethnicity, immi-
inequality. Discrimination is another of those con- gration status, place, and religion. All of these
ditions. If the conditions that generate social categories (discussed in Chapters 8–11), affect
inequality are artificial creations of human actions, the distribution of wealth, status, and power in
then they can be changed, and economic inequality our society.
is not inevitable, nor is it necessarily beneficial for Having discussed the extent and explana-
the society and all its members. We will examine tions of inequality in the first three parts of the
this controversy more thoroughly in later chapters. book, we then turn to the pervasive consequences
 Chapter 1 • Introduction: Social Inequality 11

of inequality for individuals and society. Chapter Each chapter ends with a short set of ques-
12 looks at how health and the environment have tions and film suggestions, addressing some critical
a profound impact on the outcomes of individual issues raised by the chapter. They are aimed at
people and communities. In Chapter 13, we forcing you to come to grips with central problems
examine crime and the criminal justice system. in inequality, often by looking at inequality in your
We ask how categories including socioeconomic own life. The Web Connections sections suggest
position, race, and gender affect the steps in the various websites where you can get more informa-
criminal justice process from the chances of tion and which you can use as bases for course
being arrested to the likelihood of being given a exercises. These should broaden and deepen your
long sentence. Street crimes, white-­collar crimes, understanding of inequality. Many chapters also
and hate crimes are each discussed. We also contain a brief Nutshell covering a topical issue
show how inequality plays a role in determining from the popular press or a Mini-­Case addressing a
who commits a crime in the first place. specific issue to be analyzed. Each issue is intro-
Part 5 of the book explores the possibility duced to serve as a point of departure for class-
for change. In Chapter 14, we examine how room discussion. Finally, a Glossary of Basic
social movements—both current and historical— Terms used in the text follows the last chapter.
have changed inequality. These movements The lines separating the social sciences are
include the labor, civil rights, and women’s often vague, the result being that discussions in
movements as well as #metoo and #blacklives- the book often will draw on the work of econo-
matter. All of these movements can be viewed as mists, anthropologists, as well as sociologists,
reactions to inequalities that were perceived as and others. In addition, there is material from
unjust. Chapter 15 is a chance to think about other countries. These inclusions, hopefully,
alternatives to our current system and ways that result in a more thorough and well-­rounded per-
you might be able to become involved in chang- spective on the structure and process of social
ing how goods are distributed in society. inequality in the United States.

Summary

So far, we have learned that inequality is a pared to its industrial counterparts, the United
central topic in society that affects many areas of States ranks at the top in terms of its income and
our lives. As in the United States, there are signi- wealth inequality. Research tells us that Ameri-
ficant differences in economic inequality among cans hold significant misperceptions about the
nations. Generally, economic inequality is greater level of inequality in society but that, in general,
in poorer countries, although there are major they would prefer to see a more equitable distri-
variations among industrial nations. When com- bution of wealth and income.

Critical Thinking
1. Try to think of a personal relationship you have problem of those living below the middle class?
with someone who is unequal to you in some way, Explain your answer.
and yet the inequality appears to have few negative 3. Is it possible for equality in political power to exist
effects on you or your relationship. What character- alongside economic inequality?
istics lessen the impact of the inequality in this rela- 4. Gazing into your crystal ball, do you think the
tionship? Discuss some lessons from this long-­run impact of increasing relationships among
relationship that might be used to diminish the neg- peoples around the world will lead to a leveling of
ative effects of inequality in society as a whole. inequalities among them, or will it solidify or
2. Is social inequality a problem that demands the increase existing inequalities?
full attention of society, or is it merely a personal
12 Chapter 1 • Introduction: Social Inequality

Web Connections
Several of the following chapters use information and representative of the whole population? (3)
obtained from national polls, many of which are Were any important groups excluded from the
published on the Internet. The National Council on poll? (4) Was the technique used in the interview
Public Polls suggests that among the questions you likely to affect the answers received? (5) Was the
should consider before accepting poll results are wording of the questions neutral or biased in some
the following: (1) Who sponsored and who con- way? (6) Are the survey results still valid or are
ducted the poll? (2) Is the sample large enough they out-­of-date? (Carr, 2005).
 PART 1

Extent and Forms of

Social Inequality
 CHAPTER 2

Class, Income, and

Wealth
In the next several chapters, we will be considering different forms of inequality: economic,
status, gender, sexuality, racial, and political inequalities. We start here with economic
inequality in the form of social class and income/wealth differences. It makes sense to begin
here because other aspects of inequality are often strongly related to economic or class
inequality in a society. As we will see in later chapters, economic position has a significant
impact on the prestige, power, and life chances that individuals possess. Consequently, a dis-
cussion of social class and economic inequality is critical for a full understanding of other forms
of inequality.

THE EVERYDAY REALITY OF CLASS

In general, Americans do not like to talk about class:

Class is not discussed or debated in public because class identity has been stripped from
popular culture. The institutions that shape mass culture and define the parameters of public
debate have avoided class issues … [F]ormulating issues in terms of class is unacceptable,
perhaps even un-­American.
(Mantsios, 2004, p. 193)

But their reluctance to discuss class does not mean that Americans do not think about it. The
meaning of class for the public is rooted in their everyday experiences and relationships.
Awareness of class differences begins early; even preschool children categorize individuals as
rich or poor and make judgments about them on that basis (Horwitz, Shutts, and Olson, 2014).
By elementary school, children can reliably identify social class location, and they have definite
ideas about behavioral and social differences between groups (Mistry, Brown, White, Chow,
and Gillen-­O’Neel, 2015).
Class structure is also a subjective reality for adults. When asked about it, people in the
United States are much more likely to agree on and have clear images of the top and bottom of
the class structure than they are of the middle classes, which are seen as more amorphous and
heterogeneous. The perceived distinctiveness of the top, for example, is based not only on their
wealth, but also on the social and cultural boundaries that are seen as separating them from
15
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Other documents randomly have
different content
throat, white; neck and breast yellowish-grey, with longitudinal marks of
dusky on the former, pointed spots of the same color on the latter; abdomen,
dull yellowish-white; flanks, barred with brown; lower tail coverts the same
as the abdomen; tail and upper tail coverts barred with pale reddish-brown
and dusky, tipped with yellowish-white; upper parts brownish, the feathers
tipped with pale reddish-brown, the scapulars margined and tipped with
lighter; primaries, dark-brown, margined internally with lighter—the first
shaft white, with the tip dusky—the rest brown. Length, fourteen inches and
a half; wing, eight.”—Giraud.
 CHAPTER VI.

MONTAUK POINT.

The eastern end of Long Island, that extremity which seems to stretch out
like the hand of welcome towards the nations of the old world, beckoning
their inhabitants to our hospitable shores, is divided into two long points
like the tines of a fork. The upper point shuts in Long Island Sound, and
protects our inland commerce from the violence of the “Great Deep;” while
the lower prong, which is kissed on the one side by the blue waters of the
Peconic Bay, and on the other is buffeted by the billows of the great
Atlantic, is known as Montauk Point. The heaving ocean seems here to have
solidified itself into a sandy soil, which rises and swells and rolls, much
after the manner of its mighty prototype, except that a scanty garment of
tawny grass clothes the outlines of the billowy waste. “Cattle on a thousand
hills” here roam in a state of, at least, semi-independence, which they
occasionally assert by charging upon the intruding sportsman in a manner
which may be intended as playful, but which looks somewhat serious. For a
dozen miles or so only four houses break the monotony of the dreary
expanse, and it is to one of these, distant some nine miles from the extreme
point, that I am about to carry the reader, for here alone can plover-shooting
be enjoyed in its fullest perfection.
There are numerous kinds of plover that make their migratory passages
along our coasts; but the one to which I refer, while to the epicure it ranks
almost, if not absolutely, the first upon the list, and affords, by the swiftness
of its flight and the eccentricity of its habits, a prize not unworthy of the
highest efforts of the sportsman, has been the victim of many a misnomer,
but is correctly known by the appellation American Golden Plover,
Charadrius pluvialis (P.). The Plover-family is large and of high
respectability; but, when “upon his native heath,” no one of its clans is
entitled to wear a loftier crest than that which we now have under
discussion. His near relative, the Bartramian Sandpiper or Grey Plover, is
perhaps more aristocratically delicate in his figure, and is welcomed as
heartily at the table of the epicure. But he is less social in his habits, and
rarely affords any but single shots. He does not fraternize with wooden
counterfeits, and his mellow whistle, as he rises at an impracticable
distance, rarely responds to even the most seductive efforts of his pursuer.
But our Golden friend, notwithstanding his auriferous title, his superior
beauty of plumage, his swiftness and strength, and the savory reputation
which he enjoys among the knowing-ones, is possessed of gregarious
habits, of a singularly frank and unsuspicious nature, and is generally ready
to stop and have a chat with anything which bears the faintest resemblance
to a bird and a brother. It is well for his admirers that such is his nature; and
although the wide appreciation of his merits certainly causes great
destruction among his ranks, still the vast flocks which, sometimes for days
together, fly past, within sight of the stands, unshot at, seem to warrant the
hope that the hour of the final extinction of his race is very far distant.
Taking the Long Island railroad to Greenport in the early part of
September, and having encountered and overcome the ordinary delay and
difficulty of obtaining a sailboat to further prosecute our voyage, we find
ourselves at last gliding on the waves of the beautiful bay, past Shelter and
Gardiner’s islands, and approaching the long low line of the Nepeague
beach. With a favorable breeze we may expect to be landed on the smooth
sand in a little cove, about one mile from our destination, in two hours from
our time of departure; but if the wind is adverse and the fates unpropitious,
we may have to follow the path to Lester’s in the dark, which will require
our best instincts, aided by the guidance of the distant booming of the surf,
and the assistance of our especial guardian angel.
Once there, however, and we will be repaid for our sufferings; we may
find a table covered with “South-side” delicacies, and bearing in the centre
a huge dish of beautiful, odorous, melting plover, cooked to a turn, and we
will undoubtedly meet kindred spirits and generous sportsmen who are on
the same errand as ourselves. As we dispose of the former, the latter will
pour into our sympathetic ears wonderful accounts of their sport, and rival
one another in recounting the long shots and the good shots they have
made, the numbers of birds they have killed, and the pounds of bass they
have caught.
Under the influences of a delicious supper and moderate “nightcap,” we
seek our couch with fond visions of the great flocks, and hopeful dreams
that we will do as well on the morrow. At earliest dawn we spring from our
bed, and rushing to the primitive little casement have only time to rejoice in
the promise of a fine day, ere we note the welcome cry of our noble prey
hurrying westward over the beach.
To don our shooting costume, to grasp our gun and ammunition, to load
ourselves with the basket containing decoys and incidentals, and to emerge
into the cool air of the September morning, require but a few minutes; we
hasten across the sandy hillocks to our appointed spot, marked by a hollow
scooped out for the concealment of former visitants, and by the quantity of
feathers and cigar-stumps lying loosely around; and with hands trembling
with impatience, we distribute the stools in what seems to us to be the most
artistic and seductive manner,—for the birds are now beginning to fly just
within a tantalizing yet impracticable range, and we long for action.
How wild, how glorious is the hour and the scene! The heavy boom of
the ocean, which rolls almost at our feet, is relieved by the soft, mellow
notes of the sea-birds which float through the air in varied yet harmonious
cadence, and by the low of distant cattle, just shaking off their slothful
dreams. Hardly have we disposed our body to the requisite flatness, when a
chattering chorus of melody makes our heart leap with eagerness, and our
eyes strain with impatience to discern its source. Aha, we have them now!
that small, erratic cloud to the eastward, bearing directly before the wind
towards our covert, sends a thrill through our being, which the whole
“spacious firmament on high,” even on the loveliest of nights, has, we
honestly confess it, never succeeded in imparting. On they come, nearer,
nearer, nearer. We pucker up our lips to greet their approach, but the saucy
gale renders our rude efforts futile, and we commit our trust to Providence
and our painted counterfeits. Now they are within easy range, but somewhat
scattered; with a violent effort at self-command, worthy of a higher cause,
we remain motionless, for there are evident indications of a social spirit in
that joyous group. They pause, they swerve, they wheel upon their tracks,
and with motionless wings and a sweet low-murmured greeting, they
approach the fatal stools. How rash the confidence! How foul the treachery!
But, we must also confess, how intense the excitement, as we pull the right
trigger at the critical moment, and then, as the deluded victims scatter
wildly, with an outburst of appeal against man’s cruelty, give them the left
barrel, and add three more to the list of feathered martyrs. With lightning
speed, their thinned ranks vanish beyond the neighboring sand-hills, and
reloading our gun, we hasten to gather up the slain.
 Six with the right and three with the left barrel, are pretty well for a
beginning; but we had better have remained at our post, for while we are
chasing up one of the wounded birds, two more flocks pass within easy
range of our hiding-place. Hurriedly twisting the neck of the fugitive, we
resume our lonely watch, and before the breakfast-hour of eight, which our
unwontedly early exertions have made a somewhat serious epoch, we have
had two more double shots, and increased our score to twenty-one.
Beautiful, “beautiful exceedingly” is the burden of game which we proudly
carry back to our inn, leaving our stools as they stand.
A hearty breakfast makes us feel like a new man, and, after a fair
discussion of its merits, lighting our pipe, we again wend our way to the
scene of our triumph. The cry is still they come; flock after flock presents
its compliments, and leaves mementoes of its presence; but towards noon
the hot sun disposes the birds to listless inactivity, the flight diminishes, and
finally stops. Returning to the house with a bag larger by only three birds
than that of the morning, we kill the hours before dinner by a few casts into
the breakers, and land a ten-pound bass.
With sharpened appetite, we welcome the savory dinner, and are quite
contented to rest and let our prey rest till five o’clock, when fifteen more
birds reward our post-prandial exertions, and make up a total for the day of
sixty plover and one bass. We sink to sleep that night with the proud
consciousness that our first day’s plover-shooting has been a great success;
our heart prays silently for a continuance of our good fortune, and we
indulge in sweet thoughts of home, and the pleasure our return laden with
spoils will cause, when our friends greet us and them at the social board.
The next day is as delightful; the sweet, thrilling music again fills the air
at short intervals; again our trusty breech-loader sends its charge into the
thickest of the “brown,” or cuts down the straggler looking for “former
companions all vanished and gone.” Again we call the swift-travelling flock
from the very zenith, or whistle our lips into a blister, endeavoring to attract
the wary knowing ones that pause to look, only to flee the faster; and the
night finds us with a still larger bag, but without a bass. So eager have we
become, so fearful that we should lose a shot, and judging by the
accumulating clouds in the east that on the morrow it may storm, that we
stay out all day, except the necessary moments for our meals, and give no
thought to the monsters of the deep.
 Nor were we mistaken; the morrow comes, the gathering storm has
broken, and no creature of mortal mould can face its fury—at least no bird,
with any pretensions to common sense or respectability, would imperil his
plumes by an unnecessary exposure to such an ordeal. So with forced
patience, we get through the live-long day as best we can; and on the
following day, hail a sky as cloudless as the most ardent sportsman could
desire. But alas! the flight has gone by, scared away perhaps by the storm,
or retreating before the advancing fall; and when we take our seat at the
breakfast-table, we are obliged to admit that only nine birds have fallen to
our gun.
But the irrepressible and inextinguishable Lester rises triumphant in this
emergency. He boldly suggests that there must be some sluggards, who
have tarried, spell-bound by the attractions of such a terrestrial, or, rather
ornithological, paradise; and accordingly, he hitches up a venerable
specimen of the genus “Equus,” and we start for an excursion “over the
hills and far away.” Before we have advanced a couple of miles we have
bagged a half dozen solitary specimens of Bartram’s Sandpiper or Grey
Plover, so dear to the sportsman and the gourmand, but have seen no trace
of the object of our pursuit. When, suddenly, as we surmount one of the
swelling eminences which are the prevailing feature of this district of
country, we come upon a sight such as, perhaps, but few sportsmen have
ever beheld. A gentle hollow spreads before us, for several acres, literally
covered with the ranks of the much-desired, the matchless Golden Plover.
As they stand in serried legions, the white mark on their heads gives a
strange chequered weirdness to the phalanx: and we involuntarily pause,
spell-bound by the novelty of the spectacle. Lester himself, though an old
hand, owns that he has never before gazed on such a sight. There they stand
with heads erect, and bodies motionless, just out of gunshot. Their number
is computed by our companion to be not less than three thousand, closely
packed, and apparently awaiting our onset. What is to be done? Delay may
be fatal, but precipitancy would be equally so: and our pulses stop beating
under the stress of the emergency. Our horse also stops, obedient to an
involuntary pull of the reins. We accept the omen, and cautiously descend
from our vehicle; warily crawling to within seventy yards, we halt as we see
unmistakable evidences of uneasiness and suspicion among the crowded
ranks. They stoop, they run, they rise with “a sounding roar,” to which the
united report of our four barrels savagely responds. Away, away with
headlong speed, scatters and dissolves that multitudinous host, and we
hasten to secure our spoils.
But, seventy yards make a long range for plover-shooting, and we are
somewhat chagrined to find that only six dead and seven wounded birds
remain as proofs of the accuracy of our aim, and the efficiency of our
weapons. Hurriedly we plant our stools, hoping for the return of at least a
considerable portion of the vanished forces; but they have apparently had
enough of our society, and, after two hours spent in ambush, with only an
occasional shot at single stragglers or small flocks, we wend our way back
to the house.
On the morrow we kill a dozen birds over the stools, before breakfast,
among which are two specimens of the beautiful Esquimaux Curlew or
Fute, as he is commonly called, and which seems to be on terms of the
closest intimacy with our Golden friend. We find him to be a heavier bird,
equally inclined to obesity, and, as future experiments satisfy us, nearly as
perfect in delicate richness of flavor.
At nine o’clock Dobbin is again harnessed, and we start for the scene of
yesterday’s exploit. But the sighing wind now sweeps over only a deserted
moor, and we direct our course towards Stratton’s, to make an inspection of
Great Pond. Here, by good luck and management, we bag five teal and a
black duck, as well as three passing plover. A few large flocks of the latter
are seen, but they are wary and unapproachable; and after several fruitless
efforts, we abandon their pursuit and start for dinner.
Having rendered full justice to the merits of a bountiful repast, which, if
it is made prominent in this account, was still more prominent in our hungry
thoughts, we stroll to the ocean-side and make a dozen casts for bass, but
our luck seems to be on the turn and we decide to leave on the morrow for
Greenport. About an hour before sunset, a few birds are on the wing, and
we again seek the field of our first success. Here we make our final effort,
and are rewarded with five noble victims, killed singly at long shots, and we
restore our breech-loader to its case. We have no reason to be dissatisfied
with our four-days’ sport, and it is with a certain reluctance, and a sincere
resolve to renew our visit at an early date, that we pack our valise in
anticipation of a start on the morrow.
Our team is at the door; we bid adieu to some ladies of the household (of
whom while writing these lines we have thought much, though we have,
until now, said nothing), and, mounting by Lester’s side, we trot merrily
over the hills, till we reach the deep sandy desert of the Nepeague beach.
“A long pull, and a strong pull” for an hour, brings us to “terra firma” again,
and rattling through the quaint old town of Easthampton, after a charming
drive, we reach Sag Harbor, where a most absurdly diminutive steamer, of
just seven-horse power, awaits to convey us to Greenport. We part from our
host with sincere gratitude for the genial kindness which he has shown to us
during our visit, and step on the narrow deck of the tiny craft. A voyage of
thirteen miles, made under a full head of steam in just two hours and a
quarter, brings us once more to the beautiful village of Greenport, where the
cars are awaiting us.
We return with a bag full of game, and the following general conclusions
and precepts impressed upon our mind: In plover shooting use No. 6 shot in
the left barrel, for the birds are of wonderful strength and require to be hit
hard, or they will fly an immense distance even if “sick unto death,” and if
crippled, will sneak, and hide, and run, and cause much loss of time that is
precious indeed. Do not fire too soon; as the flock will generally “double” if
allowed sufficient time, and then is the chance to “rake ’em down.” Be
patient, keep cool, aim ahead of the birds, and keep wide awake.
On almost any day, from the 25th of August to the 10th of September,
there are sport and pleasure to be had among the wild sand-hills of
Montauk; and if there has been a north-easterly storm, with pitchforks full
of rain and caps full of wind, there will be such an abundance of birds as
only experience can conceive of or appreciate. That is an event that most of
us have yet to wait for. Reader, I wish I were sufficiently unselfish to say
honestly—may you enjoy it first.
 CHAPTER VII.

RAIL SHOOTING.

Success in this delightful sport depends as much upon the proper

accessories, together with experience in minor matters, as in the great art of
properly handling the gun. The best shot, badly equipped, will be surpassed
by an inferior marksman accustomed to the business, and thoroughly fitted
out for it. The shooting is done among high reeds, and from small, light, and
unstable skiffs, which are poled over muddy shallows with an unsteady
motion that puts an end to skill which is not founded on long practice. The
sport lasts only during the few hours of high water, when the entire day’s
bag must be made, and requires, after the bird has been killed, a sharp eye
to retrieve him amid the weeds and floating grass.
The number bagged, however, is sometimes prodigious; and although we
rarely now hear of hundreds killed “in a tide,” as was formerly not unusual,
the shots are still frequently rapid, and the result satisfactory. The bird rises
heavily, its long legs hanging down behind; flying slowly, it presents an
easy mark to any one upon terra firma, and if not shot at, will alight after
proceeding thirty or forty yards.
It comes on from the north during the early part of September, and
disappears so instantaneously with the first heavy frost, that our
superstitious baymen imagine it retires into the mud. It can, however, fly
strongly, as I have occasionally had unpleasant evidence under peculiar
circumstances, and in wild, windy weather. During low water, when it can
run upon the muddy bottom among the thick stalks, which it does rapidly, it
can hardly be flushed by any but the strongest and toughest dog, and is not
frequently pursued; although many persons enjoy the hard walking and
exposure of this plan, preferring to tramp over the quaking surface of our
broad salt meadows, and flushing the rail from amid some tuft of reeds, kill
him with the aid of their loved fellow-playmate, a high-strung setter or
untiring water spaniel.
As the tide rises, however, and covers the bottom with a few inches of
water, the rail, caught feeding among its favorite wild oats, or on the grains
of the high reeds, and alarmed at the advancing boat, is forced to take wing
and present an easy mark to its destroyer. But if missed, although marked
down to an inch, it rarely rises a second time, having probably escaped by
swimming—a thorough knowledge of which is among its numerous
accomplishments. The rail has a long, thin, and soft body, which it appears
to have the faculty of compressing; as it can glide amid the thick stems of
reeds and grass with wonderful rapidity; and if wounded, it will dive and
swim under water, leaving its bill only projecting, so as to bid defiance to
pursuit.
The first necessity of equipment for this sport is a breech-loading gun,
which not only enables the sportsman to kill double the number of birds,
but will occasionally give him the benefit, by a rapid change in the charge,
of a favorable presentation of a chance flock of ducks. But as many persons,
out of a want of knowledge or of funds, still cling to the old muzzle-loader,
it may be well briefly to mention the articles that tend to modify its
inferiority.
Of course, as the shooting occupies but a few hours, and in good days
the birds are perpetually on the wing, it is essential to load rapidly; and to
do this the sportsman places on a thwart before him a tin box divided into
compartments for powder, shot, caps, and wads, or, as I prefer, two boxes,
one filled with powder and the other with the other materials. For many
reasons there should be a lid over the powder—to prevent its being ignited
by a chance spark or blown away by a strong wind—and the ordinary flask
is frequently used in spite of the consequent delay. A double scoop, made of
tin or brass, and regulated to the precise load, is placed among the powder
and the shot, and a solid loading-stick lies near at hand.
By these means the rapidity of loading is more than doubled; the powder
is dropped into both barrels at once by means of the double scoop, wads are
driven home by a single blow of the rod, both barrels are charged with shot
at once in the same manner, the caps are within easy reach, and the gun is
loaded in less than half the time consumed in the ordinary process. The shot
may be made into cartridges of paper with a wad at the upper end, and thus
a few additional of the precious seconds saved. Both barrels are discharged
before either is reloaded, and the birds are retrieved immediately.
The sportsman stands erect, without any support to modify the
unsteadiness consequent upon the irregular motion of the boat, and requires
practice, not merely to enable him to take aim, but even to retain his
footing. Where the water is low and the reeds strong, this difficulty is
augmented, as the boat entirely loses its way after every push, and advances
by jerks that utterly confound a novice. Experience, however, being
acquired in loading rapidly and in retaining his balance, the sportsman’s
labors are easy; but the punter requires many different qualities, and upon
his excellence mainly depends the final result.
He must possess judgment to select the best ground, strength to urge on
the boat unflaggingly, and an inordinate development of the bump of
locality to mark the dead birds. The bird once killed and the sportsman part
ended, then the punter displays his ability; and if thoroughly versed in his
craft will push the boat through tall reeds, and matted weeds, and fallen oat-
stalks, and drifted grass, with wonderful accuracy to the very spot, and
peering down amid the roots, will distinguish the brown feathers almost
covered with water and hidden by the vegetable growth.
In order to retrieve quickly, a wide-meshed scapnet is a great
convenience; but to mark well, a man must be endowed by nature with that
peculiar gift. Among the vast mass of undistinguishable marine plants that
spring from the muddy bottom and rise a few inches or many feet above the
surface, it would seem impossible to determine, within an approach to
accuracy, where some bird, visible only for a moment and cut down when
just topping the reeds, has fallen; and when another bird rises to meet the
same fate, and perhaps a dozen are down before the first is retrieved,
successful marking becomes a miracle. With some punters on the Delaware,
where their names are famous, so wonderful is the precision that every bird,
if killed outright, will be recovered, and even a poor marksman will make a
respectable return; but when the gentleman shoots badly and the man marks
worse, rail-shooting is unprofitable.
For this sport, thus followed, it will be seen that a punter is
indispensable, and it is made the business of a large class of men along the
salt marshes where the rail most do congregate; and wherever a punter
cannot be obtained, as in the wilder portions of our country, rail-shooting
cannot be had.
From the necessity for rapid firing, the immense advantage of a breech-
loader must be apparent; the tide rarely serves for over two or three hours,
and to kill more than a hundred birds in that time with a muzzle-loader is a
remarkable feat, as it requires almost the entire time for the mere loading
and firing of the gun; but the breech-loader may be charged in an instant,
and enables the sportsman to improve the lucky chance of coming upon a
goodly collection of birds, and make the most of the scanty time permitted
to him.
None of those vexatious mistakes that occasionally happen to the best
sportsmen can befall him; the shot cannot get into the wrong barrel, nor the
cap be forgotten; the powder is not exposed to ashes from a careless man’s
cigar; and there being no hurry, there is more probability of steady nerves
and a true aim.
The charge should be light—three-quarters of an ounce of shot and two
drachms of powder being abundant to kill the soft and gentle rail—and
pellets at least as fine as No. 9 are preferable to coarser sizes. Old
cartridges, that have been split and mended by gumming a piece of paper
over the crack, may be used in the breech-loader, provided the sportsman
desires to indulge in praiseworthy economy, or is deficient in a supply.
The sport is extremely exciting: the boat is forced along with
considerable rustling and breaking of stems and stalks; the bright sun
streams down upon the yellow reeds and lights up the variegated foliage of
the distant shore; the waves of the bay or river, rising apparently to a level
with the eye, sparkle in the gentle breeze that bends the sedge grass in
successive waves; neighboring boats come and go, approach and recede; the
rapid reports are heard in all directions, like fireworks on the Fourth of July;
the sportsman stands erect, and eager with delirious excitement, near the
bow; the punter balances himself, and wields his long pole dexterously on a
small platform at the stern.
Silently a bird, rising close to the boat, wings its way, with pendent legs
and feeble strokes, towards some one of its numerous hiding-places;
instantly the punter plants his pole firmly in the bottom, holding the skiff
stationary, the sportsman brings up his piece, and, with deliberate aim,
sends the charge straight after the doomed rail, which pitches headlong out
of sight. The punter has marked him by that single wild rice-stalk with the
broken top, and heads the boat at once towards the place; but ere he has
advanced a dozen feet, another bird starts and offers to the expectant
sportsman, who has his gun still “at a ready,” another favorable chance,
and, meeting the same fate, falls into that low bunch of matted wild oats.
The breech-loader opens, the charges are extracted and others inserted, just
in time to make sure of two rail that rise simultaneously, still ere the first
has been reached, and which are both tumbled over and marked down—
one, however, wing-tipped, and never to be seen by mortal eye again.
Thus have I experienced it on the Delaware, at Hackensack, and, in
former days, among the tributaries of Jamaica Bay, and at many other
places where more or less success has attended me. Although never having
enjoyed great luck, never having advanced beyond the first hundred, and
claiming to be no such marksman as several of my friends, I have had
wondrous sport. Of a good day, when the tide is favorable and the game
plenty, the excitement is continuous, and increased by a sense of
competition.
Other sportsmen are on the same ground, stopping probably at the same
hotel and shooting in close proximity—occasionally too close, if they are
thoughtless or careless. Not only will a charge of mustard seed sometimes
rattle against the boat, but is apt, now and then, to pierce the clothes and
penetrate the skin, followed by an irritation of mind and body; but when the
tide has fallen, and the sport is over, a comparison of the bag made by each
sportsman is inevitable, and no general assertions of round numbers will
answer, but the birds must be produced. It is vain to claim what cannot be
exhibited, and more than useless to talk of the immense quantities that were
killed but not retrieved; such excuses are answered by ridicule, and if the
poor shot would avoid being a butt, he must be modest and submissive.
There is danger too, at times, although an upset in the weeds can result
in nothing worse than a wetting of oneself and one’s ammunition, and the
ruin of the day’s enjoyment; but I was once on the Delaware, opposite
Chester, when a fierce north-wester was blowing, which had driven much of
the water out of the bay and river. The tide, of course, was poor, having
difficulty to rise at all against the gale, which kept on increasing every
moment, and the birds were scarce and difficult to flush. The work of
poling was laborious; the boats stopped after every push, and the heavy
swell from the broad river, rolling in a long distance among the reeds, added
a new motion to their natural unsteadiness.
Of course the sport was not encouraging, and the accidents were
numerous; several sportsmen fell overboard, one upset his boat, and my
man came so near it—his pole slipping at the moment he was exerting his
utmost strength upon it—that his efforts to recover his balance reminded me
of dancing the hornpipe in a state of frenzy. He kicked up more capers, and
indulged in more contortions on the little platform, scarcely a foot square,
which he occupied, than I supposed possible without dislocation of a limb;
but he managed, however, to regain his equilibrium, and neither fell
overboard nor upset the skiff.
These little incidents, and the shooting, such as it was, kept the party,
which was numerous, interested until the time came for recrossing the river
to our hotel. There was no stopping-place on our present side of the river,
which presented one apparently endless view of waving reeds; and the
alternative was simply to cross the open river, or pass the night in our boats.
The swell had increased into high waves capped with snowy foam, and
threatened destruction to our low-sided, short, and narrow boats. Many
were the consultations between the various punters, and grave were the
doubts expressed of a safe crossing; but as there was no help for it, the trial
had to be made.
Selections were chosen of favorable starting-points, and most of the
party put out at about the same time—the sportsman lying on the bottom at
full length in the stern, and the oarsman timing his strokes to the violence of
the sea. The waves broke over us continually; it was necessary to bail every
few minutes, and several had to put back when they met with some more
than usually heavy wave, and take a fresh start, after emptying the
superfluous water. Of course we were drenched to the skin, but found a
species of consolation in knowing that no one had the advantage of another.
Had any of our boats upset, although we might have clung to them and
drifted back among the reeds, we could have effected a landing nowhere,
and would probably have terminated our career then and there; had this
happened to a certain little skiff that held two men and very few rail, this
account would probably never have been written. However, fate ordained
otherwise, and we reached our destination in safety.
The best locality for rail-shooting is along the marshy shores of the
Delaware River, above and below Philadelphia; many birds are also killed
on the Hackensack and the Connecticut; they are abundant on the James
River, and doubtless further south, but are not shot there; and they are found
scattered over the fresh as well as the salt marshes throughout the entire
country. I have killed them in the corn-fields of Illinois while in pursuit of
the prairie chicken, and have bagged several and heard many among the
wild rice of the drowned shores of Lake Erie. They are a migratory bird,
and pass to the southward in the early fall rather in advance of the English
snipe, and alight at any damp spots for a temporary rest wherever the
growth of plants promises nutriment.
They are often flushed by the snipe-shooter, together with the larger
fresh-water rail, rallus elegans, and their curious cry resounds along the
reedy marshes where the wild-fowler pursues the early ducks. Nevertheless,
they are difficult to flush and kill where there is no tide to drive them from
their muddy retreats, and where the ground is too heavy for a dog; and,
comparatively speaking, on fresh water, unless the wind shall have caused a
temporary rise, they are safe from injury.
Their voices reply with the guttural “krek-krek-krek” to the noise of the
boat, and tauntingly boast of their abundance and their security. Moreover,
in a new country, where larger game is still plentiful, the excellences of the
tender but diminutive rail are lost sight of by comparison with his more
profitable compeers; and except along the Atlantic coast, he is known as a
game-bird neither to the sportsman nor the cook.
From the fact that he is rarely seen in the spring, and does not at that
season give his enemies a chance to prevent his reaching his nesting-places
at the far north—but only visits us during a few short weeks in the fall, and
then is not much exposed, except in certain localities—his race will be
preserved in undiminished numbers for many generations; the light skiffs
will carry the eager city sportsman along the shores of the Delaware, the
Hackensack, and the cove on the Connecticut, and the rapid reports will
continue to reverberate over the reedy marshes.
There are two varieties, the short-billed or sora-rail, rallus Carolinus;
and the long-billed, or Virginia rail, rallus Virginianus, which are easily
distinguished by this peculiarity, and differ, also, slightly in plumage. The
sora-rail are by far the most numerous, especially along the sea-coast, and
are usually referred to as “the rail,” but both are shot and eaten
indiscriminately. Their habits, mode of flight, and gastronomic qualities,
appear to be identical, but I think the Virginia rail are proportionally more
numerous at the West, having a slight preference, perhaps, for the fresh
water. Their food must be, however, essentially different; for while the sora,
on account of its short bill, must be confined to the seeds of its favorite
reed, zimosa, or the grains of the wild oats, the Virginia rail, with its longer
bill, also draws much of its nourishment from snails and aquatic insects,
and is considered by some less delicate in flavor than the former variety.
About the fifth of September, before the English snipe are numerous,
although their taunting “scaip” may be occasionally heard on their broad,
open feeding-grounds; ere the ducks have marshalled their legions in retreat
from the chilly blasts of the north, after the bay-birds, with the exception of
the “short-neck,” shall have mainly passed to the southward, and before the
quail are large enough to kill—the sportsman arms himself with his breech-
loader, and driving to Hackensack or taking steamboat from Philadelphia,
embarks in the slight skiff usually called a “rail-boat,” and practises his
hand—possibly out of exercise since the woodcock days of early July—
upon the tame and languid rail.
His cartridges are prepared for the occasion; as he does not intend to
devote more than a day or two to the amusement, he takes with him a light
suit, appropriate to the boat and the weather, gaiter shoes, flannel pants and
shirt, and his waterproof, to meet a temporary shower, and he lays in
sufficient liquid for himself and his man, knowing that salt air produces
thirst and country inns bad liquor. Thus armed and equipped, if he is
fortunate enough to have high tides, he is almost sure to enjoy fine sport,
and bring home a bag of game that will furnish forth his table right
handsomely to a goodly company, or go far and spread much satisfaction
among his friends who may be the fortunate recipients. The heats of the
summer solstice are over, the birds will keep several days with care, and the
sportsman has not to dread either the burning sun of August or the freezing
blasts of winter.
Many double shots present themselves in rail-shooting; and upon the
manner in which these are turned to account, and the brilliancy with which
a bird that rises while the sportsman is in the act of loading, is covered with
the hastily charged barrel and cut down, depends the superiority of one
marksman over another. In the days of the muzzle-loader, I have killed
many a bird with one barrel while the ramrod was still in the other, and
have shot several with the barrels resting on my arm, when they had slipped
from my hand in bringing the gun up hurriedly to my shoulder. Every single
rise should be secured as matter-of-course, and most of the double ones,
care being taken in the latter to obey that great rule, of always killing the
more difficult shot first; if you shoot right-handed, as the majority of
persons do, and one bird flies to the right and the other to the left, shoot first
at the former, and you will have less difficulty in bringing back the gun
towards the latter.
Never relax your vigilance, as the birds rise silently, without the warning
whistle of the woodcock or whirr of the quail, at the least expected moment;
and if the punter attempts to direct your attention, the chances are ten to one
that you look in the wrong quarter.
The rail, while being a pleasant bird to shoot, is also a pleasant bird to
eat. There is no variety of our wild game, large or small, that is more
delicious; its flavor is excellent, and its tenderness beyond comparison; it
may not have the rich full flavor of that noblest of them all, the big-eyed
woodcock, nor the savory raciness of the full-breasted quail, nor the strong
game taste of the stylish ruffed grouse, nor the unequalled richness of the
kingly canvas-back—but in tender, melting delicacy it is hardly surpassed.
If cooked in perfection, it drops to pieces in the mouth, leaving only a
delightful residuum of enjoyment. It should be floated in rosy wine, and
washed down with the ruby claret, and accompanied by fried potatoes, thin
and crisp as a new bank note. It may be preceded by the pièce de resistance,
and should be followed only by salad, which may in fact be eaten with it, if
dressed with sufficient purity.
Kill your rail handsomely in the field, missing not more than one in
twenty, present him properly and with due appreciation on the table, and eat
him with the gratitude that he deserves.
 CHAPTER VIII.

WILD-FOWL SHOOTING.

It is not proposed to give any extended account of wild-fowl shooting as

practised on the waters of Long Island, or in the neighborhood of the great
Northern cities; the unsportsmanlike modes of proceeding which are there
in vogue, and which, while contravening all true ideas of sport, insult
common sense by the ruthless injury they inflict, have been fully set forth
by other writers.
In stationing a battery—that imitation coffin, which should be a veritable
one, if justice had its way, to every man who enters it—and in lying prone
in it through the cold days of winter, the market-man may find his
pecuniary profit, but the gentleman can receive no pleasure; while the
permanent injury inflicted by driving away the ducks from their feeding-
grounds, and making them timorous of stopping at all in waters from any
and all portions of which unseen foes may arise, is ten times as great as the
temporary advantage gained; and as for calling that sport, which is merely
the wearisome endurance of cold and tedium to obtain game that might be
killed more handsomely, and in the long run more abundantly, by other
methods, is an entire misapplication of the word.
So long as the shooter confines himself to points of land or sedge,
whether he uses decoys or awaits the accidental passage of the birds, he not
only permits himself a change of position and sufficient motion to keep his
blood in circulation, but he allows the frightened flocks that have already
lost several of their number in running the gauntlet, a secure retreat in the
open waters, and undisturbed rest at meal time. And so long as this is
granted them they will tarry, and trust to their sharp eyes and quick ears to
save their lives; but when they cannot feed in peace, and when they can find
no haven of safety in the broad expanse of water, they will inevitably
continue their migration, and seek more hospitable quarters.
Wild-fowl shooting, as pursued at the West, or even at the South, is
glorious and exhilarating; there the sportsman has exercise, or the assistance
of his faithful and intelligent retriever, and is required to bring into play the
higher powers of his nature. He manages his own boat, or he stands
securely upon the firm ground, and if he has not a canine companion,
chases his crippled birds and retrieves the dead ones by his own unaided
efforts.
At the West, although the vast numbers do not collect that congregate in
the Chesapeake Bay and Currituck Inlet, there is an independence in the
mode of pursuit that has a peculiar charm; and from the facilities afforded
by the nature of the ground, the excellent cover furnished by the high reeds,
and the immense number of single shots, the average success is as great as
in the more open waters of the Southern coast.
The employment of retrievers is not general in our country, which is, by
the character of its marshes and growth of plants, better suited for the full
display of their capacities than any other. There are certain objections to the
use of a dog in wild-fowl shooting, which, although entirely overbalanced
in the writer’s opinion by the corresponding advantages, are unquestionably
serious. The season for duck-shooting is mainly late and cold, when it is
essential to the shooter’s comfort that his boat should be dry; but the dog,
with every retrieved bird, comes back dripping with wet, and if he does not
let it drain into the bottom of the skiff, where it “swashes” about over
clothes and boots, shakes himself in a way to deluge with a mimic cataract
every person and thing within yards of him.
It is unreasonable to ask of the intelligent and devoted but shivering
creature, that he should remain standing in the freezing water or upon the
damp sedge; and if the master is as little of a brute as his companion, and
has a spare coat, the dog will have it for a bed, regardless of the
consequences.
Nor is this the only difficulty; for unless the animal has instinctive
judgment as well as careful training, he may in open water upset the frail
skiff, by either jumping out of it, or clambering into it injudiciously. A
thoughtful creature maybe taught to make his entry and exit over the stern,
but unfortunately, some of the most enthusiastic and serviceable dogs have
little discretion or forethought; and unless he is trained to perfect quiet, and
broken to entire immobility at the most exciting moments, he is apt to
interfere sadly with the sport.
In spite of these inconveniences, however, the loss of many of his birds
—amounting, amid the dense reeds of the western lakes, to nearly one-half
of the whole number—will satisfy the sportsman that the retriever, with his
devoted and wonderful sagacity, to say nothing of his delightful
companionship, is a most desirable acquisition. Where the sportsman is
forced to pursue his calling solitary and alone, so far as human associates
are concerned, he will find the presence of his four-footed friend a great
satisfaction, and, amid the solitary and unemployed midday hours, a
pleasant resource.
The dog is the natural companion of the sportsman—the partaker of his
pleasures, the coadjutor of his triumphs; and whenever his peculiar gifts can
be used to advantage, it is a gratification to both to call upon him. The
knowledge that he will acquire in time is truly marvellous. Not only does he
possess the power of smell, but his eyesight and hearing far surpass those of
man; he will often discern a flock long before it is visible to human eyes,
and his motions will warn his master of its approach.
His training can be carried on beyond limit; his knowledge increases
daily, and his devotion is unbounded. Of all the race, the retriever is
probably the most intelligent; as, in fact, intelligence is one of his necessary
qualifications. For this work no breed has the slightest value unless the
individuals possess rare sagacity and almost human judgment. Some of the
most valuable English dogs have been from an accidental cross; and a pure
cur with a heavy coat is often as good as any other.
There is in England a strain of dogs known as retrievers; they are mostly
used in connexion with upland shooting, as English pointers and setters are
not broken to fetch; but the favorite animals for wild-fowl shooting, which
have made their name notorious in connexion with this specialty, have
generally come from parents neither of which possesses the true retriever
blood.
In this country the best breed will have some of the Newfoundland
strain; the animal must be clothed with a dense coat of thick hair to endure
the severe exposure to which he is subjected, and must be endowed with a
natural aptitude and passion for swimming. The usual color is dark, which,
in the writer’s judgment, is a great mistake; and the only really distinct
breed of retrievers is known as that of Baltimore.
In the Southern States the dog, as an assistant in wild-fowl shooting, has
always been in far greater repute than at the North; although the inland
lakes of the latter, the extensive marshes closely grown up with tall zimosas,
matted wild oats, and thick weeds, make his services far more desirable. At
the South alone has any intelligent attention been given to raising a superior
strain of retrievers; and whether we seek an animal that by his curious
motions will toll ducks up to the stand, or by his natural intelligence will aid
the punt-shooter in recovering his game, it is at the South alone that we can
find any admitted pedigree.
In the Northern States, however, the “native,” as he is called at the West
—probably from the fact that he is invariably a foreigner—selects any
promising pup, and by means of much flogging and steady work trains him
to a faint knowledge of his duties. A young dog loves to fetch, and will take
pleasure in chasing a ball thrown for him round the room, and if he is a
water-dog, naturally brings from the water a stick cast into it, so that the
routine part is easily impressed upon him; but an animal with this
proficiency alone is scarcely worth keeping.
A good dog must have intuitive quickness of thought and judgment; he
must know enough to lie perfectly motionless when a flock is approaching;
he must understand how to retrieve his birds judiciously, bringing the
cripples first; he must have perseverance, endurance, and great personal
vigor. A duck is cunning, and to outwit its many artifices and evasions the
retriever must have greater shrewdness; it can skulk, and hide, and swim,
and sneak, and he must have the patience to follow it, and the strength to
capture it. Wonderful stories are told of the many exhibitions of what seems
much like human reason, evinced by some of the celebrated retrievers.
But probably the rarest quality for a dog or man to possess, and the most
necessary to both, if they would excel in field sports, is the power of self-
restraint. To ask an animal, trembling all over with delirious excitement, to
lie down and remain perfectly motionless during those most trying
moments when the ducks are approaching and being killed, is to demand of
him a self-control greater than would be often found in his master. Yet upon
this quality in the dog depends the entire question of his value or
worthlessness; if he makes the slightest motion, the quick eyes of the birds
are sure to discern it; and if he bounces up at the first discharge, he will
certainly destroy his master’s chance of using his second barrel, and
perhaps upset him over the side of the boat.
It is to avoid the sharp eyes of the ducks that a black color for the dog
has been condemned. Amid the yellow and brown reeds of the marshes, or
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