The record-union., 1891-10-24

alluringly, but I had tolerably well
learned the art and had my little flock of
nine gracefully disposed at different
angles, all feeding, save two, who, posted
on little rise, served as sentinels.
depressing strong desire to smoke
scanned the horizon eagerly, the deepen
ing flush in the east giving evidence that
| Old Sol would soon put in an appearance.
| / had not long to wait. From the hidden
river a short distance away, where long
bar lay exposed, came the clamorouS
sounds of a flock of snow geese the COM
monest variety, perhaps, in California.
They are beautiful birds, being of pure
White, shading in some specimens to a
delicate ecru upon the breast, the feathers
of the last joint Of the wing being raven
| black
! ] had shot many of these birds in
| Dakota and had found them the most
vociferous of the goose family, their
flight being characterized by constant
and IF close at hand) almost deafening
| gabble. Unlike the Canada goose, rare
! in California in my experience, they are
rather poor as a table bird, their flesh,
though gamey, being dry and very dark.
They are tough birds, too, and although
decoying more readily than other varie-
| ties, they will at the same time carry of
much shot. / have seen the blood follow
the impact of the shot upon their white
! breasts frequently, only to pick up my
game many yards away from the firing
point. Following the noisy outburst Of
sounds from the bar, white cloud of
/ birds rose above the line of the high
river bank, outlining themselves clear
the distant Coast Range. There must
have been a hundred of them, and more,
for it is a rare thing for these birds to
move unless in large docks. They were
! headed down stream, and the long line of
! birds-not as yet striking their flight
wavered up and down as though unde-
| cided as to their course.
Though a fair ''honker," / cannot sue
cessfully initiate the constantly varying
note OF the snow goose, and l knew that
| if they were not determined on the field
where / lay, or failed to catch sight of
their downy brethren Il had three white
| decoys set OUT, they were gone geese for
| me.
But fate had destined that I should dip
into that flock, and as the leader veered q
little eastward toward the wind the bal
ance of the flock swung well around him
| in the teeth of the breeze. That settled
| the business, for now they had seen the
decoys, and with renewed burst of cries,
! as though rejoicing over prospective re-
union, they came straight toward me,
setting their wings as they came. By
! this time | was well down in my blind,
watching through the close-growing
stalks of grain the approaching game,
with my right forefnger nervously toy
| ing with the trigger.
| On they came, and knew I must take
my shot pretty soon, since it has been a
rare thing in my experience to have
birds actually come into and alight
among profiles. The deception, on close
approach, is too glaring for that and is
! generally detected in time to sheer off,
/ but not until-if the decoys are well
/ placed-the concealed gunner gets a fair
shot. In this case the birds came near
enough to drop their legs preparatory to
/ alighting-Whether they would have
/ alighted or not will never be known.
! This was good enough opportunity for
/ me, and raising just above the Stubble |
poured right and left into the struggling
mass, and as the birds rose wildly into the
alr-Strangely silent noW-l quickly
! transferred a shell from my mouth to the
| gun, and knocked down another with a
! broken wing. Three dead birds lay
among the decoys, while two, including
the one last shot, waddled awkwardly
off, dragging and tripping over their
! broken wings. Quickly securing and
| killing the wounded, and setting out
those that showed the least blood by the
aid of forked sticks, re-entered my pit
and yielded to the temptation to light my
/ pipe.
While bending over hands which shell
/ tered the glowing match, "whif, wifi,
wit" right over Iny head, and there go a
! flock Of seven gray geese, the large and
| Irregular spots upon their breasts plainly
! showing. To drop match and pipe and
make wild grab for the gun was the
work of a second-but a second too late.
! However, those geese do not propose
! leaving the field, and though plainly un-
! attracted by the decoys, over which they
! had passed, they turn and in a wide
circle commence their inspection. These
birds, very different from the last are
/ silent, save for ''peer wekes'' now and
then from the leader. The circle grows a
little narrower, and now / see | must
risk a shot, else they will alight hum
dred yards from me. AS the leader
swings into the winds eye to the west
! ward OF me, a full seventy-fye yards
away, l cover him, move we'll ahead and
| draw the trigger of the left barrel, which
is heavily choked. All! see him climb
and tower. That means head shot, and
! even as you gaze he comes down tail first
with a thump upon the ground.
Once more / crouched down in my
/ buTrow, and by the time my watch in
! dicated o'clock / added five more to my
score; also trumpeter swan which
! dritted by me, lone bird.
The evening shooting was not as good,
/ the location being not as well chosen and
my luck was very Indifferent. There
were birds in plenty, and they came to-
ward me, but from some ineXplicable
! cause most Of them located me and veered
! of. Nevertheless the rising moon that
night found me trotting merrily home
! ward with nearly score Of birds jolting
| among the decoys in the wagon box, the
result of some thirty odd empty shells.