Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1889-04-20
A SPORISMAN,a YARN.
A Wild Goose That was Too Honest To
Steal.

You see," he began, cit is mighty
lonesome here in the middle of winter,
when it is so cussed cold that none of you
fellows care to come out and see body
! Well, one morning my brother, who lives
inst back up the road, came over and said
George, let's go on fox hunt Now, |
would rather go hunting foxes than to a
funeral any day, except one, and that is a
fellow down the lake; when they plant
him I'll go 10 his funeral if | am not
dead. Well, we filled our pockets with
doughnuts and other grub, took our guns
and dog and cut across the pond to the
lake shore. By and by the pup started a
track and lit ont up the beach ways and
then swung inland. Now, said |, L know
| Just where the little crittsr will strike the
bank again, so we legged it off for a couple
of miles. All at once we both stopped. for
we saw close against the bank three wild
geese roosting in the snow. | agreed to
60 around and come on them over the
bank while my brother was to walk slowly
along the beach and shoot if they tried to
fly away. | crawled through the snow for
laundering long ways, and at last looked
down on them from the top of the bluff
But they did not stir or even wink. | did
not know what to make of it. They warn't
dead, and it puzzled me because they did
not scare away. Well, | had the gun lust
ready for them, so we went up and took
them IN our arms and made up our minds
they were about froze and hungry. Bv
and by they thawed out and we allowed
they were about starved the way they
slowed the doughnuts, and so we sat and
vic with ho 49,
feet got real cold Then we were puzzled
how 10 get them home. We finally con-
cluded to carry them, and slung the guns
across our backs and started. On the first
send-off L carried the two geese while my
brother carried the gander. Then we
would change off. / tell you, after we had
waded through the snow for mile with
them it became mighty hard work. At
length, coming to smooth strip where
the snow had blown off | stopped to rest
and put the gander down. l guess nv
body and the doughnuts had warmed him
up, for he walked off cleverenough on his
pins. So we put them all down and found
we could drive them along ahead of us
until we came to deep snow, when we would
carry them over to the smooth places and
set them down again. Well now, didn't
we have fun, ard didn't we Just talk and
brag about the flock of decoys we would
have next season out of these birds. Well,
as the geese began to warm up they trot-
ted along, so we had to step pretty lively
to keep up, and then We got to laying bets
on their racing. The gander seemed to be
little spryer than the other two, and |
thought he needed weighing down little,
sc | took fur collar | had in my pocket
and slipped it over his neck, which slowed
him up some. We were Just having a gay
old time and had got down the shore to
just across the pond there, and had one
little smooth strip to run over before we
turned in to come across, so we started
them up again, and they put out right
smart, and they kept going faster till we
had run to keep up, and they tapped their
wings which helped them along all the
faster, and just as they came opposite the
house over there were we wanted to turn
in, would you believe it hut the ungrateful
! cusses just sang out honk honk and went
flying away and we a couple of blamed
fools stood and watched them until they
went out of sight down past the station.
Then | turned to my brother and said,
Well, Pll be burned p and he said, Yes,
you be durn', why didn't you shoot p
Now, seeing both our guns were tied on
our backs, that wasn't possible, but | do
believe if we had had the guns in our
hands we were too paralyzed to shoot
And then there went my fur muller,
brand new one too, and one my wife made
me present of, which did not reduce the
expense any. Well, wejust came plodding
home here across the ice, and made hot
| tod, and sat and cussed our fools luck.
About an hour afterward and while we
| were trying to wonder how it all came
about we heard a racket among the fowls
at the barn. got up and went out to see
what was the matter, and hope to die if
| didn't see that same old gander flying
away, and there right on the hitching post
| hung my fur muller. The cuss was too
honest to steal and had brought it back"
As he concluded the story a silence fell
! upon the party which was oppressive
Some one whistled few bars of plant
| i've air, then some one asked, "George,
what became of the pup and fox :" "Ohw
he said, the pup got mad because we left
him and went to Woodville and hired out
to friend of mine, where he is yet. But
say, mebby you don't believe that story :?
| Well, can show you the muller, and you
can ask my brother when he comes over to-
morrow, so what more proof do you want?"
| Forest and Stream.