Sacramento daily record-union., 1882-01-25
KILLING DUCKS BY STRATEGY.

It has recently been published in the in
terest of hunters that mallard ducks can be
attracted and killed by the score by simply
using two tame ducks as decoys. for which
purpose they are to be tied apart short dis
tance, SO that they cannot see each other, and
in which position it was said that they will
keep up an incessant call for each other, and
thus bring down in innumerable numbers
the tempting game.
Joe Kane and Horatio Hurd have recently
tried this new dodge on the feathered tribe,
and pronounce it failure, and desire to have it
stated that others may not be swindled by the
new.fangled method. Having seen the pub
| lished statement, they proposed to keep the
matter quiet-in fact, secret from the re-
mainder of the sporting fraternity, and sur
prise the most lucky members by bringing in
wagon load apiece of fine mallards on the
first trip out, and with an agreement between
them to keep the method of their great sue
cess profound secret.
With purposes and plans fully matured,
they set out in quest of q couple of the loudest
tame ducks, for stockholders, they could find.
A gentleman kindly directed them to the
yard of George Cooper, on K street, where,
they were informed, was flock of tame
ducks that disturbed the entire neighbor-
hood. They went to the yard pointed out,
and after driving the hock around awhile,
by clubbing, chasing, and stepping on their
toes to see which were the
loudest quackers, they selected their pair.
which they believed could take the cake"
for volume of tone, hight of pitch, and for
general purposes. Thus provided they pro-
ceeded, with several guns, and three or four
wagons to bring back their game, to Grape
vine lake. fourteen miles below the city.
Here they proceeded, with careful en-
gineeriug skill, to lay out their grounds on the
edge of tule, where they could with their
several guns bring down from four to twenty
dozen at single operation, and also obsery-
ing as TO favorable place for gathering their
victims and loading them into the wagons.
Finally, having disposed of this part of the
campaign, they went forth and anchored one
of the tame decoys in the tule, by string at
tached at one end to its hind leg, and the
other end around a brick which they drove
into the tule mud. Then they proceeded to
plant the other duck in similar manner,
just out of sight OF the first one, according to
directions. Before doing so, they got their
guns in readiness and laid them down in the
bottom of the boat, at full cock, so as to take
in the cloud Of ducks that should come at the
first quack of the new patent kind OF decoys:
At this point the fates appeared, for by i'll
luck, before they had got the second duck
anchored it made sudden effort, and, getting
loose, flew away to parts unknown, Leaving
them with only one POOR, tame duck on hand,
which lay like Moses. meekly and quietly IN
ths bullrushes, and never peeped.
After brief consultation upon the embar-
RAISING situation, it was decided that Joe. who
brides himself upon his power of initiating
the quack of the duck family to such per-
feet degree that the most experienced drake
can't detect the counterfeit, should hide him
self in the tules near the duck which re-
mained, and do some Of his best work as
decoy. Meantime he exacted the most posi-
tive assurance from Hurd that the latter
would not loose his head over the showers OF
duck that came down and shoot into the tules
where Joe was to sit. All matters satisfac.
torily arranged, Joe got down into the mud
and tulegrass, about two rods away from
the other duck, and played that
he had his leg tied to o brick, and
commenced quacking in the most
approved manner. This he continued for
long time, but no ducks came, and the other
duck, without making any reply, sat there so
meekly, with its head turned to ore side and
looking out of the cerLer of its eye, as much
as to say. No. you don't come any such
quack on me; that's Joe Kane" After 1t
became evident thab y oe nad over raCeu nlul-
self in his powers of deceiving the duck family
a cabinet meeting was held between the two
nonplussed hunters, and although nothing is
known of what transpired at that council Of
state to prevent the misfortune of the occa-
sion becoming known to their fellow sports
men in this city, they Immediately made
present of the remaining duck to a raDcher in
the vicinity and returned to town just at
evening, declaring that they sat all day
watching the two ducks anchored in the tule
according to the published directions; that
the ducks never offered quack during the
entire day, and that the man who published
the new method was an unmitigated swiadler
from the ground up,