Grand Rapids morning telegram., 1885-08-18
INTELLIGENT BIRDS.
Hunters Holding Their Own with
Anglers.
A Pretty Bit OF fAanehsasenisns-fh The Kind
Of ss.thsrsd froaiKsss rasy Have On
shs f2eifo slope - ftshsrnsa's
LIE. DsabIs Dtseosated.


Isan francisco Gail
s.Dovs shooting viii DO good this sea-
son." said Montgomery street gun-dealer
yesterday. "Ws are selling lots OF ammu-
milton, for the season opened, as l suppose
you are aware, June lst."
''Xoung laFks are pretty good shooting,
too remarked . customer, "and there are
lots Of 'sm Eb0at. l got two do'zel ysster-
day"
'sThe lark is cute bird" said grave
looking gentlsmAn with a scar on his face.
They know mort everything. Now. when
one starts odt after the young birds, the
old ones will 90 ahead Of him, aud sort OF
lure him away. l remember one day ia
particular. was after young larks, and
an old bird came and sat within ten yards
Of me. l waited for him TO rise 20 shoot,
but he would not stir, and let me get close
enough 20 catch him in my hand. l call
that pretty cute. was so ticklei that l
let him 90, aud didn't have the heart 70
shoot another lark that day"
''rhe cock quail viii do pretty much tie
same, /" said the frat speaker. II have had
cock quail go few yards before the dog
and entics him away from the brood, get
tin. him or q few hundred yards before
be rose"
Yes. that's so," assented the man with
the scar; ''ths quail Is q very crafty bird.
l have known 'em do things that one would
scarcely believe unless they saw 'em-
Sometimes am afraid 70 tell them for
fear people would say / was not truthful. /"
"Oh, 20 right ahead,7 said the gum
dealer. "We all know you here, and We
are sure you wouldn't state anything that
was not So"
The man with scar took out match
and whitfield it down to help him along in
his story: al was out one day last year"
he said, ''just at the beginning of the sea-
son Ny breech-loader was out OF gear,
and l was shooting an old percussion gun.
l came on bevy OF quail, and the dog
was ahead, working steadily. They got
up, threw my gun to my shoulder, and
just as / was going to fire dark object
flew between me and the game. 1t dis
composed me for a second, but pulled
trigger all the same. The gun did not go
Oft, and when 1 examined it 1 saw that
there were no caps on the nipples. This
puzzled me, as l had capped them care
fully, and the caps were exact fitin'.
put ON brace Of caps, and moved along.
The dog came again TO point, I flushed the
bevy when the same thing occurred again.
The dark object hew across me, and the
hammers came down without exploding
the piece. Then | knew how il was, and
there was no more astonished man in the
state of California that day, l can tell
YOU" and the raconteur threw aside his
match, picked out a fresh one, and whit
tied away in silence.
"Well, what was it,D asked the gun
dealer. "Why didn't the gun 20 OFF,"
'Just this reason" said the man with
the scar. THAT dark object, sir, was the
cock quail. and as he few across me he
picked the caps Off the nipples of the gun"
and he of the scar gazed defantly at his
auditory. There was painful silence for
a few moments. The gun-dealer trified
nervously with the pistols in the show
case, and a man who was having a gun
rrsighted brought it to his shoulder and
looked at the scar faced person across the
barrels.
"He picked off the caps, did he;" said a
little fellow in a hunting coat "Well, that
was pretty smart, sure enough. 1t re-
minds me OF one day whom l WAS duck
shooting at Bridgeport. The birds few
pretty well in the forenoon, and worked
50 hard that at lunch time was tagged
out. Z took a nap after feeding, and when
l woke up the deuce cartridge but six
was left in the case by my side. Some
fellow has been nipPins my ammunition, l
thought. I'll just sham sleep, and perhaps
I'll catch him l half closed my eyes and in
few minutes l heard something stirring
close alongside me. / threw my arms out
rapidly and caught the thief, and who do
you think IL was? You could not guess il
you were 70 try for a month. Twas an old
mallard drake. sir. He'd nipped the shells
one by one and sunk 'em in pond just
behind me. And the worst of IL was, he'd
mistaken my whisky flask for the powder
horn, and that was gone, too. Now, cali
that pretty clever for mallard,"
"Pm sorry l amt keeping an insane asy
lum," said the gun-dealer; ''you fellows
would be trotted out as the prize lunatics.
but ss l amt and only selling po wder and
shot and guns and fishing tackle for a liv-
Ing, and as / don't want to have my place
mobbed. guess you'd better withdraw,
aud let me attend 70 business. But before
you 90. II you should happen on to any
quail or duck like the ones you've been
telling OF send 'em in to me to stuff, please.
Aud give me notice the next time you
start in on the yarn lay, for III like Co get
some gun rags in my ears. Fisherman 3
lies. iadesdl There amt a fisherman i'm
the State that on fellows can't beat out" !"
aud the man Of guns retired behind his
counter and hammered away viciously at