Daily Yellowstone journal., 1889-04-27
FLIGHT or WILD BUCKS.


Eighty Miles an Hour.
While a reporter talked to promi-
gm1 memberof the Wawaset Gun club
<ke other day, the conversation turned
"a the speed of wild ducks, a subject
u which the gunners Of this city seem
p~1E5jcplprly interested, and one on
which there IS some diversity of opin-
N The member said:
i have held my watch on several
kinds Of ducks and geese, but the main
PIT OF what / ap going TO tell you
oDmes from severA old hunters who
Dhnve favored me with their expert
mces, and one Of these old timers in a
sslter says: i can tell you Just about
Sxty-third part of a dart how
any one of them a get
o snei il sp su HON. There is ; not co.S E rail i
I'D tpia that Gan hola N S;os''
aide OF the slowest duck thar 49,
1.-THE oanyasback can distance the
whole duck family, II il lays itself out
10 do il When this duck is taking
things easy, enjoying a little run
around the block, as it were, 1t goes
sl-orch the air at the rate OF about
s;cbiy miles an aevE i i has ,b bus,-
$500 ~" has
fbhs two miles back Of it every min.
ute, and does it easily. II you don't
believe this, just fire square at the
leader in a string of ca~nvasbacks that
r out on a business cruise some time.
Duck shot travels pretty fast but if
YOU happen to hit one, you see If it is
not the fifth or sixth one back of the
drake or leader. A drake does not al
ways lead, bat it generally does II
there is one in the flock; If there are
more they will seldom take the lead.
II you wish TO bring down the leader
you must aim at a space of at least
eight feet ahead OF him, and If hefalls
you will find him a long distance,
probably two or three squares off.
THE mallard isa slow one; it is all
he can do to make a mile a minute,
but he can do it if he wants to. His
regular rate Is about forty five miles
per hour.
1.-The black duck is a slow coach.
He is about as good as the piallard, and
fhe hntail widgeon and wood duck
csmnot do much better. The red head
can go easily and make ninety mile:
IN hour as long as he likes, all day il
necessary. The blue winged teal and
- beautiful cousin, the green wingeC
fal, can fly side by side for a hundreC
miles in an hour and take it easy.
The gadwale, you see them her
very seldom, though well known fur
ther west on the Allegheny river an,
st Kishammock, though looking ik'
tho mallard, is a smarter duck ant
harder 10 shoot. II can make ninety
miles in an hour and not try hard.
maybe you think a goose can't fly
Why, il can double the speed OF th'
fastest trains OF any of our railroads
o. course | meal a wild goose. Well
Il has a biz corporation, but il can &c
from feeding ground TO feedin!
ground so suddenly that it fools on
bcst wing shots.
If you see a flock of honkers NOV
ing along so high up that they seen
70 be scraping the sky with thei
backs, you would not think that the.
we're making close on a hundred mile
IN hour, but they are. The wild COOS
d not much ON foot, but itmeans bust
nnB every time.
ssThe broad bill goose comes next Il
The canvasback duck in speed. Pu'
fhe two together and in IN hour tn,
broad bill would not be more than tel
miles behind.
1sThis information has been derive,
from experience and correspondence
with life long gunners, and any gun
n1r will tell you that what / have sal,
hits the mark very close. WHINING
49, Mare