Middletown transcript., 1875-02-06
Wild Geese in the West.

Much cunning is exhibited BY these
birds in localities where they are fire.
quently disturbed We have often seen
them in the great swamps of the Bureau
Valley along the Illinois come in about
dark, when it was just too late to draw
sight. neiselessly stealing along. SO
as to evade the random shot Of the hun
ter returning to camp after long days
work So attached are they to their
old grounds, and so liable to be pur-
sued at night by reckless adventurers.
that after few warnings they battle
the most intelligent. Should their line
of entry be discovered tonight as they
come across the marsh from the south,
tomorrow night, if you watch, you
may hear the vibration Of their wings
as they pass over the timber to the
north, in their approach to the old
rice pend, or open water of the
big slough. Upon all other ocsa-
sions, and also when disturbed, they
exhibit their usual propensity to in
dulge in gable or goose-talk.
The most prominent among the
varieties in the West is the Canada
goose. The next, and existing in great
numbers, is the white. .fronted or laugh
ing goose. called by many 'brant.' Of
the regular brent-goese we have but
few We killed one cut of q flock in
Illinois River, in 1850, on sand-bar,
and believe it is the only flock We ever
saw in that valley. The brent goose is
about half the size of the Canada vari-
ety.. and is about two-thirds as large as
the white-fronted, mottled, or laughing
goose. But in absence Of the regular
brent-goose, the mottlsd bird known as
the laughing-goose carries the name Of
brant And brant it is, SO far az the
average shooter is informed for few Of
them have ever seen a brent-goose-
and this is the emily bird which, to their
knowledge, ever bore the name. These
same fellows call partridge pheas-
ant, and an English snipe woodcock.
It is amusing to watch flock Of
laughing-geess as they approach IA
verite feeding ground or a resting
place. They come first in the regular
acute.angle line Of fight. Suddenly
they break ranks, and with one accord
the whole flock begins series Of evo-
lutions, tumbling and turning high in
the air, and then descending in the
most comical and irregular manner, to
the amusement of the observer, all the
while indulging in a jabber more re-
sembling the merry laughing Of a bevy
of schoolgirls than any thing else, from
which popularity they receive their
name. As a table bird it is highly
esteemed, and is generally preferred to
the Canada goose. In point Of num-
bers it exceeds the latter in this local
ity, while in other parts the ratio is re-
versed. M
They visit the West in March and
April. on their regular migrations to
the lakes and bays Of Northern Mime
sofa, the British possessions, and Lab
rador. remaining with us sometimes as
late as May in small detachments.
Many are killed before they reach their
northern breeding ground. After rails
ing the usual brood, and replenishing
their thinned ranks. they gather for
the autumnal return fight, and in Oc.
tober we see them vending their way
to their old and favorite haunts, until
the cold weather drives them south
ward to the great marshes Of Arkansas
and the. Lower Mississippi. As they
pass north in March, generally before
a southerly gale, which carries them
along with little apparent effort. their
coming is welcomed as harbinger of
returning spring They come, too. in
large numbers, accompanied BY all the
usual varieties of waterfowl in even
greater profusion. Martin A Howell,
Jr., in Ha,per's Magazine.