The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1882-11-23
HUNTING DUCKS WITH A
BAD BOY TO CARRY
THE GAME.
milwaukee sum-

"Since pa quit drinking" said the bad
boy to the grOceTyman, "he Is little
nervous and the doctor said he ought to
! 90 out somewhere and get bizness OFT
| his mind, and hunt ducks, and row a
/ boat, and gat strength, and pa said
shooting ducks was just in his hand,
| and for me to go and borrow gun, ana
| [ could go along and carry game. SO
| got gun at the gun store and some
| cartridges, and we went away out west
on the cars more than fifty miles and
| STAYED two days. You ought TO see pa.
| He was Just like boy that was sick and
| couldn't 90 to school. When we got by
the lake ne jumped mp and cracked his
| heels together an. yelled. | thought he
was crazy, but he was only cunning.
Well, after shooting twenty or thirty
times at ducks without killing one, |
heard some wild geese squawking, and
tlen pa heard them, and then he was
excited. He said you lay down behind
musk at house and | will get goose.
told him he 60 ldu't kill goose with
fine shot, and | gave him large cart
ridge the gun store man loaded for ntr,
with handful of powder in, aud told
pa it was a goose cartridge, and pa pun
it in the gun. The geese came along,
about a mile high, squawking, and pa
aimed at a dark cloud and fired. Well, /
L 1
him. The gun juSt reared up and come
down on his jaw, and on his shoulder
and everywhere, and he went over log
and struck on his shoulder, and the gun
flew out of his hands, and pa he laid
there on his neck, with his feet over the
log, and that was the first time he
didn't ScOld me since he got relldgln. |
| felt Offal sorry and got some dirty water
in my hat and poured 1t down his neck
and laid him out, and pretty soon hC
opened his eyes and asked If any OF the
passengers got ashore alive. Then his
| eye SWellet out so that ii looked like a
| blue door mob, and pa felt of his jaw
aud asked if the engineer and fireman
| jumped off, or if they went down with
| the engine. He seemed dazed, and then
| he saw the gun, and he said take the
dam thing away, it is going to kick me
again. Then he come TO his senses and
| wanted TO know if he killed a goose.
and l told him no, but he nearly broke
ones jaw, ami then he said the gun
kicked him when it went off, and kept
kicking him more than twenty times,
when he was trying to sleep. We went
back to the tavern where we were stop
ping. We told the tavern keeper that
he fell over a wire fence; but think he
began to suspect, after he spit the loose
teeth out, that the gun was loaded for
bear"
"Has your pa talked much about it
since you got back?" asked the grocery
man.
"NOt much. He can't talk much with
ont breaking his jaw But he was able
to throw chair at me. You see !
thought I would joke him a little,
cause when anybody feels bad a joke
kind of liyens 'em up, 80 we were talk
ing ABOUT pas liver and ma said he
seemed to be better since his liver had
become active, and | said: Pa, when you
was rolling over with the gun chasing
you, and kicking you every round, y0,r
liver was active enough, cause ii VA
on top half of the tlme.' Then pa
DhrOWed the chair al me. He says he
believes thut | knew That cartridge Was
loaded. But You ought to seen Jne fan
wheu an old she deacon of pas church
called 10 collect some money TO send TO
the hpHiupus. Ma wasn't in, so pa Wrat
to the parlOr to stand her off, aud when
she seen that pas face was tied up, ami
his eye was black, and his jaw cracked,
she held up her hands and said: oh, my
dear brother, you have been drunk
again. You have backslid. You will
have to go back and commence your
probation all over again And pa said:
'DamfnO,' and the old she deacon
screamed and went off without getting
enough money to buy a deck of round
cOrnered cards for the heathens."