Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1889-12-28
DUCKS AND GHOSTS.
A Yarn Told a Star Reporter by an
Old Potomac River Hunter.

Talking bout ducks" said a well-known
hunter to STAR reporter few days ago."
there are more ducks on the lower Potomac at
present than there have been in twenty year.
Now, when say ducks" he continued, Il don't
mean dippers, black heads and sech, there's
millions of them, but L mean real old genuine
ducks, such as canvass backs, red heads. and
mailards. l remember" he went on as he
shifted his quid of tobacco, when this river
was full of ducks all the time and it was con-
sidered a small days sport when one didn't
bag twenty or thirty brace. In those DAYS we
do mt bother after trash ducks; there was no
sech thing as trappin' ducks; big gunners was
scarce and the pesky steam lanches was
unknown; things has changed since then" he
| said with remorseless shake of his head
"les things has changed considerably. The
poor ducks don't have a chance to feed now
ana when they does light the steam lanches is
upon EN-, drlvin them from place to place.
and what's the result? Why. allowin' that there
is more ducks in the river than there has been
IN twenty years the markets is SLIM cause the
ducks are wilder than they used to be, and it
takes durn good stool of decoys to get them
to dart nowadays, and a creeper must
be an old hand to get within shootin' range"
bill AND ME-"
'Speakin' of old times" continued the
hunter, brushing away stray tear as it coursed
its way through the burrows of his weather.
beaten face, poor Bill was alive then and me
and him has had many an experience together
after ducks. But bout the funniest of 'em all
happened away back thar in the COS on a strip
OF shore bout three miles below Marshall Hall.
1t happened In this wise: We a sittin' IN
this hyar very shanty one cold, frosty evenin'
In December cleaning our guns and making
active preparations for a wild turkey hunt the
Ia " al h.
| on meditatively. He was sittin' in that chair
| yonder, ollin' his gun, when all of a sumner
like up he jumps and says, Look hyar, How
ard, hear geese" Quicker'n scat we was at
the door, Shore 'nuf Bill was right, for over
yonder against the sky, which was lit up like by
the moon We could see big flock of the crit
tiers honking away for dear lite. tell you, sir,
every honk them geese made kinder stirred
me up and made me feel nervous like, for we
had had an open winter thus far and a pros
pect of goose hunt filed Us with Joy. SO arter
a while we decided to let the turkey hunt go for
the present and make an early start for the geese
the next mornin'. Now the huntin' ground as
have said before, or the place where the geese
used to feed, was just off little piece of wood
land, bout mile an a half from here. The
woods was tangled and matted with heavy I'M
derbrush and 1t was simply impossible for one to
git through it. To make it tougher it was pow
erful marshy.
STERRITT AND HIS CREW.
"Well, there was a legend connected with
this place which made the darkies leery of it
and it was only when the geese was thick that
we ever ventured near it, for Bill was supersti-
tious and warnt far from it. The legend was
that away back there in the good Lord Balti-
mores day some of his crew under the COM
mand OF a man named Sterritt followed the Po-
tomac from St. Mary's City to look at the
country The party got as far as them woods
was talkin' about, when they was struck by
mall L.,
'em a comm and they had no sooner struck
shore than they was nabbed and killed. They
say that the lnjuns cut every head of them
fellers off, and every mornin' jest as it gifts
light the ghosts of old Cap'n Sterritt and his
gang wander around through the bushes hold
ing high carnival But L am wanderin' away
from the sperret of the story" said the hunter
as he chuckled to himself. AT any rate me
and Bill was i'll that strip of woods the next
mornln and 1t was jest gittin' light when
Bill sighted an old goose and brought him
down by good shot he was a passin' over
our heads. l was jest congratulating myself
on havln that one goose when L heered Bill
let out yell. Lookin' up thar stood Bill
whitern a ghost starin' into the woods. Fol-
lerin' the direction of his eyes, the Lord save
the queen, saw a sight" Here the old hunter
relighted his pipe and, taking a few vigorous
pulls, resumed.
THE SIGHT HE SAW.
eyes, sir; saw a sight that drove my heart
chock up to the roof of my mouth and made
my blood run colder than the river, and the
water thar was young ice water, for there in
the gray mist stood old Cap'n Sterritt and his
gang, with nary head on any of 'em and all a
pintin at Bill. To tell the truth, L was rooted
to the spot and couldn't move. Bill he swayed
like saplin' for a moment and then, collecting
himself, raised his gun and fired at the sperrets
l amt lynn mister, said the hunter deliber-
ately, when 1 tell you that them hammers on
the gun let themselves down easy when he
pulled the triggers and the gun in course
wouldn't go off. Man, it was time to move from
them woods then. Bill made bee line for the
water and the last seed Of him he was up to
his neck and still wadin' deeper. l made for
the skiff and it warnt no time before was a
paddlin' for home like the old boy was arter
me. Well, to make a long story short, got
home all right and had built rousin' big fire
when Bill came in, wet to the skin and his
clothes q frozen to him tighter'n wax. He was
clean skeered out of his wits, too, and the only
remark he made before gittin' drunk was,
Good Lord, old man, did you see EN-
1--WE often talked over the matter. but nothin'