The Leavenworth weekly times. [volume] (Leavenworth, Kan.) 1870-1880, 1870-10-20
PIGEON SHOOTING.

Good hunters are always good story tellers,
and, when they are also men Of cu'tutc am,
accomplished writers, they make their nj
ventures in the woods very entertaining. We
publish the following Prcttily told story OF
pigem shooting, written by Gopher" q
correspondent. of the TUT Field and Form.
The fire was once more burning brightly
being the only light in the room, except the
pale, ghostly beams Of the moon, that r~s,r-
al in at the windows as she descended to the
horizon. Tie cloth was still on the table
and on il bread and butter, cold meats, with
the remains Of Il pigeon pie. \ stcamin;
tin coffee pot was sending out most odoro,r
fumes, as il steamed and pulled over bed
Of live Goals in the Franklin.
Dispatching our carly breakias: and taking
our guns from the corners, We follow Jol
out Of the house, Juno ut our heels. Tony
came behind ms with an TX of raznr-like
sharpness, and a small crowlnr, together
with s,indry blankets. job had hanging o.,
his arm basket with several dark blu,
pigeons cooing away inside. Over his shoul
der was long pole with three or ioul
shorter ones, piece Of strong string in hi.
pockets distentlesl with variety of articles,
too numerous to mention. We walked brisk
" for some ten minutes, when we found our
selves on top of one Of the numerous hills
encircling the longer one, from which, the
place derives its name. On this crest we go,
about ) a. M, and went instantly To work.
Tony went to little cedar growth at the foo,
Of this hill, and cut down some fifteen Il
twenty cellars, say eight to ten feet in height
These Mel. and myself logged, after much
work, to the crown oi the hill. Tony her,
laid ont square Of some eight feet, AMI,
taking the crowlar, bored holes down ON
these lines about two fee; deep, ami the same
distance little more tlrn that -
apart. job and ourselves then stuck the
cellars in these holes, thus making the wall.
Of house. Over the top was then laid the
balance Of the cellars, forming a SORT oi 4
roof.
On the northern and westerly end We left
an OIening near the ground, sufficiently
large to permit our easy insrcss. job now
iOok his long stick and ran one end near the
house, say some eighteen inches Of, the re-
mainder projecting outside some ten feet,
this end connected by string running
through wooden staple driven in thegrUund
tn the floor Of our house. This long stick
is balanced on a smaller one thrust in the
ground, and works easily up AMI down like
chilfs sca-saw. The end E,rthest from us
rests on small bar supported by two up
rights. On the further end Of the long lar,
is bent piece Of wbalebone, the ends Sc
curely fastened, and the hoop thus formed
covered with piece Of old cloth, and Prolr,-
bly, as large in diameter rs a tea plate.
Job picks out fne-iccling pigeon from
those in the basket, and taking a cambria
needle with the finest Of thread, -ews toseth-
er the birds cyclids, rendering it for the
time bcing, blind. This may seem cruel,
but the iii, being thin, blocdless MEM
brane, it seems to give no pain to the bird.
This pigeon he f,s;ens to the ''tre,l.lle"
formed BY the cloth-covered wnalebone, by
a short string tied 70 both its legs and to the
bar, this cord saw foot long. Another
bird is taken out Of the basket to which is
fastened by the leg stout cord some twenty
feet in length, the other emil tied to cedar on
the eastern side Of our bOugli house. lie i
covered for the time being BY an old basket
lying close under our cedar screen. Several
are placed out and beyond the bird
on the freddie, on which res, cedar poles,
ranging lengthwire with our house, running
say north and south.
1t is now half past ), and going inside
The house we wrapOurselvcs up in blankets
and and take a few moments rest, for we
have been hard at work for two hours anil a
half The wind, whnh, when We went to
bed, WAS blowing from the north, has
hauled around, and it is now blowing good
tiff breeze from the nor'wcst. A cool
breeze it Is, too, for in spite Of our WOODEN
clothing, it seems to be very penetrating, and
We feel chilly, il not cold.
The gray light in the East, which has
gradually grown stronger and stronger,
md has been visible for an hour,
,egins to assume faint blush Of red. This
iDge deepens and broatens in color az the
un approaches the horizon. As he appears
'bOve il, il intensifies still further, max
ng , blood-red ball, from out the centre IF
which dart glaringly flashing rays Of purple,
4 orange, and of scarlet. The atmosphere |
Iuivers for a, moment, and the earth once |
more Is arrayed in superb garment Of light |
md warmth. The shadows If the inter- |
'ening hills and trees seem to shrink as if in |
we of the great luminary, dwarf for an III
tant in size, and then Disappear altogether. |
We sit in silence, watching the magnifi-
ence Of the scene through the chinks If our
edar enclosure, waiting most anxic,sly for
he fight of birds to commence The view
round rs is simply superb. We are perch
d on one of the highest points Of outlook
n southern Westchester.
A half-dooen ponds, which anywhere else
Iould Be digni6ed as lakes, are at our feet. |
he Sound can be seen from Throsg's Neck |
, opposite Norwalk. The higher hills Of
pper Westchester and Putnam stand out in
Old relied, lighted mp by the rays Of the
,orning sun, while the tops Of the Palisades
,om up blue in the cold west. To the
,st the long bony ridges Of Fairfield County,
onn., extending one beyond another, like
lbs Of fsh, with towns and villages be-
scen-the church spire telling Of both-lie
,read before ms Is far as the eye can reach.
[ere, to the east, is where our attention is
4 absorbed, and we watch with <training
res for the black sTecks to appear in the
Inc ether.
'sDown! Down! Here they come. Look,
Ookw
Straight AZ the crow flies they come toward
" hiding place. They can zee nothing
,r~,~rs,. q, that ,,,oep ,,Irf NJ coslaro Hour