Union County courier. [volume] (Elk Point, Union County, D.T. [S.D.]) 187?-1913, 1878-04-03
.. L RrsrDENTER."
story Of IN Old Gun.

A story Of an Old Gun.
You couldn't call him a sportsman by
any strain on your imagination, and yet
he was by 10 means q loafer, though he
did talk with a drawl which indicated
that he didn't regard time as a very val
liable commodity. He sat on the fence
A the train came up to Seigfried's bridge
with the three Easton fancy gunners
aboard. whom he was to pilot across the
country after quail. His gun, having
the lock tied on with a string, reposed
across his knees, and his dog, looking
lie the ghost Of starvation, reposed at
h;s feet. The EastOn men came up to
him. 80,
ado O know Abe Hertzog?"
"Y-a.a-s, l knew him."
"Where can We find him."
"R-i-g.h-t hyar, l guess"
care you Mr.. Hertzog!"
"Y-a-a-s. that's what I'm taxed for
anyway"
"Jimminy!" said one ofthe party, soto
roce, scan this be the man that Cap told
us was personally acquainted with every
quail family in Allen township"
"You fellers want to go after some
quails, eh?"
"That's what we come for. Do you
know anything about them?"
"W-a-a-l, yaas; l can tell one when l
see it."
"What kind of a gun have you got
there?"
"Wa-a-ll, we see, mister, that guns an
old residenter; bin into our family ever
since the first old Hertzog moved hyar.
That guns a rifle, mister, an she shoots
mighty quick. Handle her a little care
full, mister" he continued, as he handed
the old thing over for inspection; she
has a way of tumblin' apart if she's used
rough like"
The old rifle had a barrel about as long
as a fence rail, with iron enough in it fol
a young Calling gun, and a bore not
larger than a healthy rye straw, while all
| the stock it had was absorbed in a brass
trap door leading into a cellar smelling
of verdigris, and filled with grease and
little pieces of rags.
Glow do you kill anything with this;
knock it down"
"W-a-all, yes! sometimes. That's the
way / busted the stock thar whar the
rawhide bandage air, a knockin' a fellow
down what made fun of it,"
At this point the investigator sud
denly lost interest in the gun, and the
party moved of into the country. Al
they climbed the fifteenth fence the ole
man paused on the top rail and wavet
his hand indefinitely over the fields be
fore them.
"Gents, there's quails all about hyar
and over yander-yass, an thar's n OF
'em, now" he added, as he drew up OLE
Residenter and knocked it over where j
sat.
"What! do you shoot a bird on tn
ground? Why, old man, that's inferna
potting."
"'S'that so?" inquired the old man
humbly, as he picked up a piece o
his gun-stock that mad been Jared off b,
the shot.
Just then a small covey of the bird
took wing, and the man who scorne,
pot-hunting blazed away with both bar
rels of a costly breech-loader and missed
"Whar! whar do you shoot 'em, mis-
teri" inquired the old man quietly, a
he put his patch and bullet on the muz
zle of his rifle, which he held between hi
legs while he rammed the charge home
and then as a stray bird flew overhead h
raised and dropped it. els that ar tn
way you want it done, mister?"
The obiector said nothing, and tn
cunning proceeded; but it o becam
evident that the sportsmen were doin
the cunning and the old man was doin
the shooting. The lock tumbled off hi
gun occasionally, and the barrel had
loose habit of parting company with tn
stock; but the old man had a pocket full
of strings, and as fast as it gave out b
tied it up and made ready to shoe
whenever a bird showed, and he occa.
ionally varied the monotony of the pre-
ceedings by coolly blazing into th
bushes, whereupon his mean-looking do
would rush in and drag out a dead raj
bit.
The Easton party hunted faithfully
according to their lights, and shot upo
the most scientific principles; bu'
somehow, the old man got the game, a
, the count showed FIVE quail and
, pheasant among the three for the day
work, while Mr.. Hertzog toddled alon
T under twenty-five quail and four raj
bits; and as they sat on the broad pill
T at the depot bargaining for the oil
! mans lot, he remarked:
aye see, gents, Old Residenter bear
much of a gun to look at. She ain
, purity nor handsome 81 all, but / tell 20
she's mighty OF the shoot. All you'sgt
t to do is jest to grease the patch rigl
!. well, and ram the ball down close, an
| then if you pint her at a bird and pull
l that birds got to stop. Leastwise,
! alters find it 50. We see, gents, where
man has SIGH al awfully purity gun h.
8 '%tention's kinder taken up admirin' of
l like, and the bird goes away after /
shoots. Leastwise, l alters find it So"
l just then the lock dropped off " Res
denter'' for the eleventh time, and
, the old nan wasn't going to shoot an
more that day, he put it in his pock'
! along with his game money, saying:
"Thankee, gents, thankee. Come U
soon again, and I'll take Old Resident.
out any time; we'll be purity sure to 2,
something" And he meanders off in,
, the Indian summer haze.-Easton Fr