The Cheyenne daily leader. [volume] (Cheyenne, Wyo.) 1870-1884, 1883-12-14
IN THE MARSHES.
Dangers of Duck Hunting---PeriIs of
the Swamps of Kankakea


The danger OF duck hunting are manifold
Generally speaking, when q hunter enters
the haunt5 Of the wild ducks he is beyond the
reach of aid, and must = sink or swim, sur
vive or perish" by his own unaided efforts.
Once into the wilds OF the Calumet or the
Kankakeo marshes he is in danger of being
drowned, shot and ost-one and all. First,
as to his danger Of drowning: Bis safety de-
ponds upon bis keeping in his boat and keep
ing his boat whole. This is no easy task.
Many a man who can manage well a boat
with oars in open water is subject to an en-
urely new experience when he attemps to
guide a frail, narrow, -bottomed hunting
skf against the current of q river in the
mazes Of a swamp. In many places be must
stand erect, propelling his skiR by the long
paddle or push pole. As he poles his boat
through the marshes or the river one mo-
ment his pole rests on firm bottom and the
next ho is in deep wator or the polo sinks into
fathomless mud
Should he be unfortunate enough TO lose his
balance and fall in tho chances arc decidedly
against him. He Is heavily clad, with rubber
hip-boots, tho water is cold, aud oven IL tho
water 10 not over bis head there is no bottom.
The fathomless maud Of the marshes, which
holds nan a good gun and the bones OF
many a brave man, affords no footing, and
once In 1t there Is no escape. The treacher-
Gus. clinging grass Of the marsh aud tho river
bank is scarcely less deadly, fastening like the
arms Of the outtleflsh to the limbs of tho
struggling swimmer and dragging him down
to the mud below, from which even his BODY
will probably never DO rescued. II he is
care'ess with his gun and shoots a hole In
his boat his plight Is serious II in deep
water it will sink With him, AMI If in the
marsh he must wait tn5l his ingenuity
can repair it or help arrives. II he shoots
Vvnila in an avgExvaf1i pOeftidu in his hnat
he may 10 tipped over by the recon of his
gun. II he wades into the marshes-this Is
possible in pl~ates-instead of going In a boat,
his danger is almost as great. A single step
may plunge him into a hole from which there
is little chance of his extricntlng himself.
The following recent occurrences, all strictly
true, will illustrate the danger of drown
ing;
A young man from this city, who was
upset recently, wnded into the marsh in the
Calumet swamp after a duck which he had
killed, taking bis paddle with MIN. He step
ped into a mudhole, and would nave disap-
peared from sight never to DO found had ho
not thrown his paddle across two tufts of grass.
His shouts attracted the attention of his
companions, who arrived just as the water
was up to his chin. He was rescual only
by the most intelligent and strenuous
effort, his companions pulling him out OF
his rubber hip-boots, which stuck fast in the
mud.
The danger of being shot is also great
shot by the hunters own carelessness-for it Is
no cbild's play to handle a double barreled
shotgun In a hu~nting-boat, and shot through
the carelessness of other hunters. At certain
seasons the marshes are alive with green
hunters from the cities, who know nothing
about shooting, and who shoot at anything
and everything. Many OF tneIn take along
rifles of large calibre and bang away at
everything within sight. The reporter once
saw n man who was shooting wit q rifle in
the Calumet swamps driven at the muzzle of
half n dozen guns out Of the marsh by
enraged hunters, about whose ears his bullets
had been whistling. When it is remem-
bored that many of these men arc so green
that they will shoot two barrels into a flock
of wooden decoys, even when they see the
hunter who owns them near by, it will be
seen that there is no slight danger from the
careless discharge of firearms IN others
hands. 1t would require too much space to
enumerate a small part of the accidents
which happen every year from tho careless
handling Of guns while hunting In the
marshes. One instance will do. Not long
ago at Calumet a man in getting out of his
boat at evening pulled his gun out Of tho
craft by the amuzzle. Tho hammers caught
and came down on the cartridges, but they
failed to explode. Two days later the same
man did the same thing. This time they
both exploded, tearing a hole through his
breast large enough to put Il hat through.
His identity was never established.
Tho danger of getting lost is not the least
to which the hunter Is subjected. To a man
~unocquainted with the vast marshes of the
Kankakee, for instance, they ara an enigma.
Imagine thousands of acres OF marsh, rom
pos9d of open water, grass and muskrat
lodges Each foot of the marsh is as like the
next foot as two peas. Woe betide the man
who fingers in that marsh till after dark,
u Hess bo knows it as he does the rooms OF his
house. Two or three days ago a stranger to
tne Kankakee swnInps was pushing bis boat
out of a marsh of thousands OF acres In ex-
tent, just as the sun was going down. He
suddenly came upon an old hunter who had
hunted iu these marshes all his life. Hello"
said the old hunter, what are you leaving
for so earlyi The best shooting of the day
is between now and dark" ''Old man. an
swered the stranger, do you take me for a
fooli don't know this marsh, and you bet
your sweet life 1 just get right out into the
river before it gets dark" Great head,n
said the old hunter. 'If l didn't know every
inch Of it by heart, l wouldn't stay hero a
minute. The man who stays in the marsh
over night this weather 10 a dead man,