The Cambria freeman. [volume] (Ebensburg, Pa.) 1867-1938, 1888-03-02
4 Chapter ON Geese.


flock of geese, and he was eternally
throwing the most hefty kind of Jersey
words at them. Ore day l sat on the
farmers piazza talking with him. The
geese we're placidly cropping grass
down along the road, great big gander
leading them on. Peace, tranquility
and contentment spoke in every move
ment the law des troying 'pipeds made.
There wasn't a cloud in the sky.
The farmers men were working with
out much apparent vim at raking and
loading hay down in a meadow not far
away. Suddenly the old gander poked
up his head, gave voice to peculiar
squawk, lifted his wings and started
off on run as fast as his big webb feet
would let him go. All the geese poked
up their necks at the sound of the gan
der's voice, lifted their wings, and with
a chorus of noises that only a flock OF
geese can produce, started after the
gander as tight as they could wabble.
The gander ran maybe twenty yards,
an then, with a wild shrek, he took
wing and flew in the direction OF a
pond short distance from the road.
The geese raised and flew after him,
6lling the air with their discordant
cries. Gander and geese alighted in
tie pond, where they all gathered in
bunch, held a consultation or congrat-
ulatory confab in subdued chorus of
cackles, and went through all sorts of
maneuyers on the pond for time,
when they sparated and swan about as
placidly as they had been feeding few
minutes before.
''At the first movement Of the gander
when he broke the tranquility OF the
feeding flock, my friend, the farmer,
arose quickly to his feet, and as he
turned toward the meadow, said:
" There's them hands workin' as If
they had all the rest o. the year to get
that hay in, an here we're goin' to be
ketched in tearin' old shower in less'n
an hour, or else there hain'U no use in
keepin' geese
1.-The farmer hurried down to the
meadow, spurred up the men, and lent
a hearty hand himself at the hay. Be-
fore many minutes had passed 1 saw
clouds banking themselves in the hOr-
izon, and presently the mutter Of dis
tant thunder was heard among them.
The farmer was right. In an hours
time one Of the hardest thunder storms
| ever saw was raging over that part OF
New Jersey, and it caught the last load
of .he old mans hay in transit. After
supper that night l questioned my host
on the geese, and found that the reason
he kept them was TO keep him postsG On
the weather.
" They hain't never failed me yet
he aid. When l get up in the morn
in and see them geese out on the pond
a diyin' an dressin' down their feath-
ters as il they was gettin' ready to go TO
some party or other, know shat we're
sure Of clear, warm, dry weather, an l
make my calculations 'cardin'ly. If
they hahn a dressin of themselves,
much, but act kinder as IL it vast o.
keep my eye on 'em. That's waInin'
that we're In danger of a spell O. wealth
er. IL the geese quits the pond an
don't go back much through the day
know the danger holds, an get ready
for set rain of day or so. Ii they
feed along awhile and waddle back to
the pond kinder clipper like, IN 60 10
dress:n' themselves and divIn' then I'm
pooty sartin' that they won't be no set
rain cOmmencin' that day. II the
geese gifts up all Of a suddeEt an tears
around tike ye see 'em this afternoon,
then there's shower comm. an it's
a comm fast, ye can bet
80 you need never wonder why
some farmers keep geese around and
still wish they were in Halifax. They
are their weather prognosticatOr, and
they believe IN 'em as firmly as they do
in the making OF apple jack. This
farmer told me another funny thing
about these geese weather signals. He
said that when they prophesy a storm
The sounds they make are not Ike their
cries at auy other time. Consequently
the farmers are never fooled by the
cries of flock of geese that may rise in
the air from place where they were
out of sight, if the rise has been caused
by any fright the geese may have been
subjected to. An expert reader Of
goose signals can tell the frightened cry
from the prophetic shrek as far as he
car hear il.
Never saw goose pluckiEg, hey i?
Well, IL isn't sight tha: would give
you much pleasure. On the day set for
stripping geese Of their feathers they
are enticed into some alright clubhouse.
The p!ckers, who are always women, 60
among the geese with their heads AMI
faces entirely covered with hoods fas-
tened around the neck with shirr
string. There are holes for the eyes
and also little holes at the nose for
fresh air. From the neck down the
picker is covered with glazed muslin
garment, to which no feathers or down
will adhere. The pickers sit on low
STOOLS around large and perfectly dry
tub. There is generally a man or boy
in the neigh5orhood who is an expert at
getting the goose ready for picking.
Everybody can't do that. The wings
of the goose have 20 be locked together
Gy peculiar arrangement of the two
near the shoulders, and while they are
not tied or fastened in any other way,
the lock is such that no goose can un-
lock it without aid. The feet are tied
together with broad bands Of soft mus
lin. When a goose is thus made help
less it is taken on the picker's lap and