The Press., 1890-01-09
A WILD GOOSE CHASE.

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 Mir. Nj. C. Riser, solemn after the man. ner of amen brethren and scrupulous in statement as the wary witness who testified . that his name was Abraham Jones, or words to that effect" has yet this tale to tell
 He saysi it was told him many years ago by a gentleman of character and reputation for veracity. &'sEs
 "Old man Lundsford was out hunting one $ day when -hesaw eleven turkeys sitting in Q line on rail fence He had loaded his shot gun with turkey shot aud forgotten to pull out the ramrod. When he shot at the near est gobbler the rod enfiladed the turkeys and cut off all their heads, 90 that they dropped forward and fell on the ground. where they lay in a straight row. 'fs'f 4 'sJust at then he heard a noise in the bushes on the other side of the creek, and going over to investigate the cause, he saw blood on the leaves Following this sanguinary trail for couple of hundred yards he came upon wounded stag. The brute was unable to go farther and had sunk to the ground Stick ing through his body and protruding in the other side was the ramrod. Weak as he was fhestag allowed Lundsford topull out the rod After it the life blood gushed, and in mo ment the animal was dead.
 "Wiping the blood carefully from the ram rod he reloaded and returned it to it's place under the gun barrel --.-t --
 ''Then he shouldered the buck and staggered across the creek to the place where the tur keys lay.
 'As he sat down to get his breath and rest from the unusual exertion, he heard the ia miliar 'cronkl cronkp of wild geese away up in the sky. Their keen eyes discovered the creek. and down they came to 8 broad and deep pool made by widening of the channel e hundred yards above ..
 Afraid to go within gunshot for fear of frightening them off, Lundsford sat still and thought the matter over As he did so his eye fell upon stout piece of very large cord, the end of which hung out of his hunting bag . A happy thought struck him and he pulled out the cord to see if it was long enough It was fifteen feet; that was enough and tospa
 'Coiling the cord carefully around his left arm, he crept cautiously to bend of the creek where he was out of sight of the geese Quickly divesting himself of his clothing, he waded slowly up the creek, keeping well under the bank to avoid frightening the geese The bend concealed him from them until he was within about thirty yards.
 Through the overhanging foliage he could just see them sailing, diving and cavorting about the pool They were in high spirits and appeared to be- totally unconscious that they were watched There were fourteen geese and one big gander, who kept aloof and looked on at the sport as if it was little too undignified for him
 "Lundsford had been 8 wonderful diver in his boy days and now he prepared for long swim under the surface Dipping noiselessly in the water, he half swam, half crawled, terrapin fashion, along the bottom of the pool till he got under the geese. They were dis ok S,o .n~. Lundsford slowly rose in the center till the top of his head appeared like moss covered rock above the surface The geese took no notice of this, and he managed to get his nos trils above the surface and talzea long breath.
 '"Theng he sank without making ripple and deftly locped his cord around the feet of one goose after another. The other geese could not understand the queer capers of their neighbors, who seemed suddenly to be at tackled with a fit of the St Vitus dance, until, one by one, they found themselves in the same predicament. Then they all knew they were tied, and their deneanor became sud. denly frantic.
 "But 1t was too late. Lundsford had tied the feet of all fourteen of them and fastened the ends of the cord together. Then he threw caution to the winds and rose suddenly in the middle of circle with his hands stretched out grasping the cord on opposite sides.
 .Alas, for his tefaerityt The old gander who was free set up a terrible 'cronki cronkr The geese answered in notes of despair, but the old fellow seemed not to have lost the courage of leadership, for he lowered within safe distance, and by a series of energetic cronks inspired them with sudden and des perate resolution
 "An at once the gander, with an unearthly <hoxs Had: f0 El,6 kIa wall of the damned, lifted his clumsy body and led the flight With tremendous flop ping and succession of cronks that strangely resembled the 'Heave, hop of the negroes, they rose from the water and sailed away toward the sky, carrying Lundsford with them Before he knew what was going to happen he was fifty feet from the ground, and when he realized his perilous position hs was too high to drop. He was in for the flight. He must migrate whether or no, and up under the edges of the clouds, as the cool winds of the upper air tanned the perspira ton from his brow, he had time to think ,sover the situation. Where would he land, and how fars from homei Would these fool birds drop him in the ocean or3theigulf. In The meantime his position was. exceedingly airlrsoma He had managed to draw the two sides of the circle together, So that he was Sirtualiy standing in the stirrups of his many wingedyteed, bus he waslstanding on his hands and his arms began to tire The geese on his right aud left were So close that } their wings rubbed against his bare sides and rchafed them, r They tickled his ribs, and but 2 for the peril and pain of the situation he , would have been forced into involuntary laughter. zsss s-szr = .ss5a
 as He was many times reminded of the ludi- ; crous aspect of the situation, and repeatedly 5 asked himself whether he was not the biggest E goose in the lot.
 ssJ" All thought of nnirth soon left him. The situation had changed from discomfort to ex- treme peril The muscles of his arms could . not stand 1t much longer. A cold sweat gath. eredaonl his brow, and he began to nerve him. self fors the worst. iHef was resolved to face death like brave man, and he almost con- yhlced himself that he was willing to go, but to die at the hands of . sst of geese was a dis grace to which his lofty spirit would not be reconciled
 WIdl7 STAFFoR0