The Bossier banner. [volume] (Bellevue, Bossier Parish, La.) 1859-1952, 1888-01-19
OWLS AND THEIR WAYS.
A Hunter Discourses of a Curious
Kind of Game.

kA@ : 9-TSEs q.
a was hunting partridge among the
Pennsylvania mountains" said we'll
known sportsnaH, .'and was passing
cautiously along an old road leading
through deserted and grown-up clear
Ing, when suddenly the report of gun,
unpleasantly near, came from the brush
on one side Of the road. A great rush
Of fauttering wings followed the report,
and the next instant a horned owl. OF
boot owl, fell dead almost at my feet.
moment later tall, gaunt, rough
clad, but intelligent-looking man made
his way through the brush, and stepped
out into the road. After recovering
frcmthe surprise at. seeing me there SO
Unexpectedly, and apologizing for shoot
ingfns such dangerous proximity to me.
he picked up the owl, examined it crit
ically and said:
"'An unusually fine specimen, and
one for which some, collector will have
topsy well before he gets it.
ANY one who has tramped much
through the woods knows how seldom
tits that he sees an owl of any descrip-
don, and how equally rare it is to get
sshot at. a hawk, although many may
be seen. Imagine my surprise, there-
fore, when the backwoodsman informed
me that he never went out cunning
without bagging three or four owls and
asmany hawks.
"'But, then, there Is reason for it,
said the stranger. 4 hunt nothing but
owls and hawks, and, besides the profit
thereis in it, strange rs it may seem to
you as a hunter of more approved
game, there is no sport more exciting.
There has been for many years a great
demand for hawks and owls, regular
craze seeming to exist, until within a
year o.. two past, for collecting speci-
mems OF these birds for mounting, and
the consequence has been that wise
hunters took up the business of supply
ing this demand, and am one of them.
"'There are two good, reasons why
the everyday hunter seldom if ever
sees an owl in his tramps. One reason
Is that some owls can not see by day,
ana therefore select hiding places
which render their discovery next to
impossihleas a person passes casually
through the woods. The other reason
s that there are some owls that.see by
uas as well as by night. These double
sighted birds discover the intruder on
Their haunts long before he can possibly
see them, and they lose no time in seek
1hg places OF greater safety. 1t may be
news TO you that there are owls whose
eyeslght does not depend on darkness
% oe OF use, butit is fact nevertheless.
ipelleVe that the screech owl, the long
sareu owl and one or two other species
'nat do not just now recall, are the
unly u1y members of the family that are
unaaea or partially blinded by the
agns OF day. The others, among them
'ne moot owl, the snowy owl, the hawk
owl and the short-eared owl, are all
.a.afp-sghted, both by day and by
algnt' When you know how to hunt
u"is 1t is no trouble to find them, for
,ney are to be found almost everywhere.
.ne snort-eared owl is a great field
r'0ase D. hunter in wheat or rye stubble.
:. is among the first of the family of
s sln,er owls that come down from the
a0t'n TO forage in this latitude. Of all
sn.. au Owls ne gives the most sport to the
y" an,ef' There is piece of wheat stub
NJ a beyond this old clearing. am al
a 0ss certain to flush a flock or two of
;asse : BIRDS there, for they always hunt
7 nocks, and dom think that stubble
IL. H. oeea M disturbed by any hunter yet
sa my 'ali' II you would like to enjoy a
NJ, ss sensation = in hunting, walk along
Ia, !, me and help me beat the stubble.'
j, ~. WAS only too glad to be initiated
AMI n,s entirely new branch of cunning,
m. a went with the talkative woods
ss an lhe field was. but short dis
~ aace away. The owl hunter stationed
: " one side of the field.
., Aeep your dog by you.' said he,
il II wv, We don't want any dog to help us
d, ,rsul-huating. Keep sharp eye out,
NJ VI you will be startled and surprised
sa.a l yon see how q short-eared owl
s,llas as hunter, with his gun ready.
p,sssac psa cautiously aboutin the stubble.