The Republican journal., 1872-10-10

was before eager and swift on her range
And in good time. Just rs my face show,
outside of the corn, With a ''quack quackn
up spring a dozen mailard, nor eight rods
of | fire, but, taken by surprise, miss
and at the report, a single duck rises or
nv left Him | secure, and his ''thud ;
as he strikes the ground tells OF fat foul
pounds weight. This is all out OF Bess'.
line; but on the word She RECEIVERS the
duck rs she did the grouse, and | start
for the buggy y-glad that the bulky game
is not destined for my back
The little chap in the buggy has marked
With a boys eve. the rise OF the birds anC
their fall and pats my companion on tho
head, rs She takes her place with Us tor a
ride II i, small mercy Ia make 4 DOG
hunt the field aud run the road
Now for long ride over the pralie
in the direction of certain ponds To
aquatic birds water is absolutely essential,
after feeding. High in the all above us a
LONG line OF geese is sailing southwark
utterly beyond reach But we do not re
mo to ourselves the rememb erred
| lines OF Bryant:
WHITTIER midst falling dew,
While glow the heavens with the last set OF day,
Far, through their rosy depths, dOst thou pursue
Thy solitary way
I Seek'st thou the plashy brink
/ OF Weedy lake or margt OF river Wide;
! Or where the wild bllows rise and sink
On the chated oceans side
| In vain the fowler eye
Might mark thy distant flight to do thee wrong;
AS darkly painted ON the crimson sky,
Thy figure floats along"
| But here comes another troop OF a dozen
geese, looming up over the prailin, half a
mile oil; low down, and coming noisily,
| hurriaA!T on, ~ if they had Just g"hhl"l
up one corntield, and were in haste to be
gin on another. They are quite low, but
they pass Us too far ahead, and we philoso-
phize on their ignoble haste and huddlc,
rs compared with that stately spring hight
which lIawc7 sings:
'Hawnkl honkI ana forward, to the norwood, i,
What goose eau lag or feather flag or break the
goodly conel
tiawnk onwards to this cool blue lakes where lie
Our safe love.bOWcrs;
No stop; no drop OF ocean brine, near stool nor
hlur.light tory;
Our trayS ling WachWord is, our mates, our goS-
lings, and our gloryl
symsonia and Labrador for us are crowned with
flowers;
And not breast shall rest, until that
heaven is Oursl ~
But now, as we drive along, come four
others, in SLOW, uncertain light, plainly
ready to alight in the first convenient
pond They are led by primitive patri-
archal gander, who has plainly seen men
and smelt powder before, for, ~ we lay
by our philosophy and take up our gun,
he bears easily or ana passes ns. InSt out
Of range A nosy flock of brant, dying
high over our heads, takes off my eve, for
"A #
Papa. papa, the geese have lighted
down, right ahead of Us; guess there 5
a pond," Sure enough, going u little
farther, there is pond; aud right in the
centre Of it, on a little mld-bed, stands
the leader, with The other geese sitting
around him ltis Just the thing they are
rs good as in our hand. ,JoS>y. turn out,
and drive INTO the PRAIRIE tar enough not
10 scare them The old gander will watch
you and Pete; but III slip out and crawl
up behind that bunch OF weeds at the edge
of the pond, and Wen oct them =
Soon the little fellow drives away and
stops, iuSt at the right distance. A horse
seems rather IN attraction than IN object
of fear to Il goose at any rate the sentl-
mel has missed no one from the buggy,
and pronounces matters all right. am
ON my hands and knees. slowly and quietly
making my way to the clump of weeds.
reach it safely, and peerlng through! the
tops, see the birds at SIN rods from me !;
the three sitting, having turned over the
watch to the leader and he watching in
tcntly the boy and horse, Withdraw
ing my cartridges of No. I shot-a privi-
lege which is one of the chief beauties of
ech-loaGcr--i inserted those OF BIB,
and cautiously raise myself up to shoot.
But now comes vcXation.
The wind has been growing TO 4 gale.
As raise. the tall rushes and flags are
blown down on my gun-harrels and held
with SO much force that cannot lift them.
STOPPING again, draw them back to clear
the weeds; but ',honk honll y the old
fellow has taken the alarm. and, with 4
bound ana flap. swings Off with two Of
the others, on the wind. Tie fourth rises
to his feet fire With a single out
stretch Of his great wings, he falls on the
bar, dead Vexed, ! fire, intellectually,
at the rctreating three, and watch them
til they fade in the distance. Such are
the chances, even in shooting. One
minute before, would have thanked no
man for three of those geese for they
were standing. literally touching each
other; now, [ am forced to be content
with one.
Bess, meantime, is having her trouble.
She had difficulty in making her way to
the game through the soft, tenacious mud :;
to get it TO land bothers her still more.
Lit that twelve pounds she can't; and to
drag it settles her in the mud so that she
cannot move. Were it water, that she
| i,rbt ,n ..ln
| AS it is she can neither lift, drag, nor
swim. She looks wisttnlly at me, There
is no help for it though not palmaled I
am at least broader-tooted than She is :;
and trying the wade, | am pleased to find
the mud not over my boot-tops. A truly
noble bird, as | lay it on the grass -
young, for its under mandible WI break
with its weight; fat for it is fl from
the cornhelds; and desirable n":tn eco
nomicai light; tor, like Patrick pig, lit
raised hisself."s The little boy is on hand
for the prize; and as deposit it under
the seat remarks, Z! tel YOU. that'il make
a grand dinner" How this gasronomv
crowds itself upon all things human
| We have lust seated ourselves, when n
fine mallard swirls down over US, and
alights at the border of the pond A cart
| fluSe OF NO. 4 now snort creep IN the
grass an inglorious shot at the sitting bird,
and he is ours. Had raised him he would
have fallen in the mud and water. out Of
reach. AsI lay the fine bird, with its deep
green hetN andneck, and canvas back. by
The side of the goose, the little chap can
hold in no longer. II tell yon what. papa,
this is business we're lust Dlore'n going
for them, this morning. y With this explo-
sion he takes up the reins, and subsidies.
He has been but three years in the West,
and he has the whole lingo there is no
stopping it. Great is Young America, and
will prevail!
For u mile, now, nothing appears We
are making u stretch directly across the
prairie to other ponds and fields, and soon
seem riding right out into spacc, for the
horizon lies, but u little way before us,
without house, tree, fence or field to break
in on the outline. But it is nowhere level
ground to any great extent for gentle
undulations, and occasional elevations
with corresponding descent, vary the mo-
notony OF the scene and ofthe ride. "See
see ~ the little fellow cries out and there