Barbour County index. [volume] (Medicine Lodge, Kan.) 1880-current, 1889-05-01
ADIRONDACK NIMRODS.
Funny Yarns About Queer Elk
periences In the Woods.
How Old Harry Mullen Killed Fox by Ac-
cident-A Deer with "a Charmed Life
An Easy Way of Procuring Feath-
ers-Sim Martins Luck.

An Easy Way of Procuring Feath-
ers-Sim Martins Luck.
There is nothing like an old guides' ex-
perience meeting to pass away an autumn
evening in an Adirondack hunting-camp.
Tor all the old woodsmen are full of inter.
esting tales and they know how to tell
them. Sitting before a blazing fire in a log
cabin near Jayvllle, N. Y, a short time ago.
IN company with four old-timers, New
York World correspondent listened to
stories Of some remarkable shots at game.
The occasion for telling a half dozen queer
incidents happening in the woods was the
remark made by Harry Mullin, veteran
guide, as he dressed rabbit for supper,
that he had never shot one of the innocent
things in his life without breaking his neck
and all four of his legs, no matter where he
hit him.
''It's burned queer thing" said Harry,
''and can't explain it. Here's this rabbit
that shot to-day, he's bored right through
the body with a rifle ball and he wasn't
touched anywhere else, but his legs are
broken, every one of them. Now, there's
only just one way that 1 can explain this
thing. l reckon the critters run so fast
that when a rifle ball stops them kinder
suddenly 1t snaps their legs off. Anyway,
you shoot rabbit on the run and you won't
find whole leg on his body when you pick
him up, nine times out of ten. The queer
est shot l ever made, though, was about
three years ago, down near Bonaparte lake.
A party Of us were out rabbit hunting and
had strayed off in the brush by myself
Rabbits were pretty thick around there
and as i was standing ON q little knoll
looking around 1 saw one coming straight
towards me. pulled on him and brought
dotvn AZ I
thing red like fox's tail, flip up in the
brush as much as ten rods beyond the rab-
bit, and l slipped In another cartridge quick,
TO give the fox a shot, but he didn't show
up. Wen, when went TO pick up the rab-
bit had shot went q little further to see
about the fox, and what do you suppose
foundl Instead of the fox's tracks found
the fox himself, deader than a smelt, with a
bullet-hole in his neck. He happened to DO
in range Of the bullet that killed the rabbit
and it knocked him over / made up my
nlind that the fox was chasing the rabbit
when / killed him by accident Any way, it
was the queerest shot ever made"
"That was q queer shot," SAID Will Sui
Ivan, after listening TO Harry's story, " but
would think it a great deal queerer if
had not seen two or three queer shots up in
these woods myself It's just queer how a
gun will act in a mans hands sometimes
You may have a good chance to kill some
thing, and when you pull up your gun to do
1t you think it's just like letting drive at the
side OF a barn, but you don't hit any thing
just the same. l remember two years ago
last August was over on Number Four
with fellow from New York and we went
out one night TO float for deer. For a city
chap that man was the best shot ever saw.
The bow Of the boat was about twenty feet
ay,e, 1,,-
fellow discovered the game. He let off both
barrels Of his gun mighty quick, and as the
buck stood broadside to him no one would
have thought of such q thing as his miss
ing. Well, when he fired that buck bounded
out of the water and was off into the woods
in no time. You never saw man more
asConished in your life than that fellow
from the city was just then. reckon that
deer has charmed life and that no one can
kill him.
"But speaking about killing fox and a
rabbit at the same time reminds me of a
shot made about four years ago while
watching o runway over on Beaver river.
A party of us were out running deer, and
was posted on q spruce ridge about mile
from the stream. Pretty soon a big deer
came tearing down over the ridge. drew
on him and pulled the trigger, but he kept
right ahead and got out of sight before l
could try it again. A few seconds after
fired at the deer was looking in the direc-
ton had shot, when l saw something fall
from the top of a small spruce tree that
stood in range, down on the hill side. l
went to see what it was, and found that
while had missed the buck 1 had accident
ally brought down the biggest hedgehog l
had ever laid eyes On"
"That story about the fellow shooting at
NJ, fa
but it don't come up to the experience that
had a few years ago." remarked Andrew
McKenna, who had quietly listened to tho
yarns of Mullln and Sullivan. Il have got
to get back q little to the time when wild
pigeons were thick up this way to match it,
but / can beat that or any other queer shot
ever made in this part of the country. They
were so thick in many places, and particu-
larly in my buckwheat patch, that you could
knock them down with club, and have
heard Of lots of them being killed in that
way. One day l fixed up brush cover in
corner of the fence about four rods from
big tree full Of the birds 80 that could
get a shot at the pigeons. They seemed to
sit one on top of another, and some OF the
limbs broke under their weight. To look at
the tree it appeared to be one solid blue
bunch of pigeons. had double-barrel
shotgun heavily loaded with No. 6 shot,
and l could not think of killing less than
fifty birds in two shots at that tree. Well,
fired both barrels and did not bring down
q single pigeon, and l do not know that
even wounded one But talk about feathers
The ground under the beech tree was COW
cred almost an inch deep. l never saw any
thing to equal it."
Then old "Sim" Martin, who had been
living back on a bunch Of hemlock boughs
calmly smoking his pipe, spoke up %
'eThem's purity queer stories you've been
telliui," said old Sim, 'but I've heerd just
SIGH before. Over on Upper Lake, one
time. q Teller told me he killed two deer at
one shot when he was out floating one
night, an the deer Was standin' two rods
apart at that He had a rife that was q
nowerful shooter, an reckon he wasn't
living about it. You. all know Bill Reach,
who used 10 guide up on Beaver river. Biz
killed an old bear and cub at one shot, and
ketched cub number two and took 1T home
with him. But jest to see how luck runs,
want to tell YOU about my shooting at flocl
of nipeons over in Montague the time they
were so thick there years ago. had an ole
fint-lock then that used to belong TO my
grandfather, but 1t was great shooter
well. a big flock of pigeons came and light
Cd in n tree close by the house one day, anC
got down the old musket to give EN-
shot. The old thing was loaded to kill, ant
wasn't more than i've rods from the tre'
when 1 pulled the trigger. Now boys
what do you suppose brought down VIII
that one shotl'
.'From my experience 1 should think 20,
might have got half bushel of feathers,
said the skeptical McKenna.
"Wen, II did," said old Bill, II got tn
pigeons with them. picked up thirty-seve'
dead pigeons under that tree, and reckon
as many as half dozen new away ant
dronnod down into the woods where
couldn't find them"
Tough on the census
Not a single babe has been born In Lioer
", KY, for thirteen years Liberty mas
population Of 400.