The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1891-04-04
YARNS ABOUT DUCKS.
The Close OF the Shooting Season.
Stories Told Around the Fire.
Frorn the Washington Star.

|
| From the Washington Star.
Oaly three more DAYS remain of the duck
ing season of Is90-'91. am loath to put
away my gun, for even now as l look out
the window OF the cabin the fats are liter
ally covered with ducks. 1t seems a pity
that so much sport as We have had during
the last two weeks should be brought 70 a
| close. All the winter ducks have been
scarce. but during the last fortnight there
has been sport enough down here 70 suit
any one. Never In my recollection, and
have gunned here for six years, have
seen ducks 90 plentiful. They are not
trash ducks, either. Red heads predomi-
| nate and there is a generous sprinkling OF
canvas-backs hereab Juts. All Of our shoot
ing lately has been from sink boxes and
point blinds. The latter we find the better
| at this season OF the year, for the ducks are
feeding close IN. This is a bad sign. II
shows they are lookins for fish, and when a
duck eats fish for breakfast, dinner and
supper he gets fish flavor hinssf which Q
not very agreeable. However, the season
for fish has been quite severe thus far, and
il Is not likely t5e ducks will get "ishy'
before the season closes. Last night we
gave a big dinner and had three or four old
pot hunters with US. All Of them were as
hungry as the proverbiel hunter and by
the time they had finished eating the larder
was iu q depleted condition. We all drew
our chairs up about the fire, and, after the
pipes had been freshly loaded, the story
telling began. Old Bill Foster was the first
TO tell a story. He laid down his pipe, and,
taking q generous ''chawn of tobacco, an
nounced, between several expecto rations,
which threatened to put the fire out, that
be was a goin' to tell a story bout duck
an snake.
He said: at happened back thar in the
seventies. l was summat of boozer them
days, an when seed the sight as Pm goin'
to tell yer bout, gosh durn my gallowses Of
didn't think had UNI l was a cuttin'
wood in a swamp all by myself one Inoruin',
when. sudden like, ! thought herd a
mallard quack, but didn't pay no attention
to it, thinkin', perhaps, | was a dreamin'.
Putty soon / herd it agin. Now the
swamp warn't fur from the river. and,
thinks /, maybe that's a duck, and
just then be quacked agin, jest
like a tame duck quacks when he's
in trouble. So run over in the direc-
ton of the noise. The quacking was
goin' on terrible, and all Of sudden like it
hushed. l pushed on, howsomever, and
thar in little cearin', Jest in front Of me, l
seed the duck. He looked like he had his
head in a tree stump, and, thinks l, chip
munk's got that mallard. sure, and I'll soon
have 'em both. Igrabbed the duck by the
leg, when durn my picter eff didn't see the
hole whar the ducks head was move; pair
of shinin' black eyes seemed to come out of
the hole and glare at me. l
drapped the duck and run like the devil.
l kinder eased up howsomever, and began
to think that had 'em. But no, my
head was clar as that drinking water. So
! made up my mind to 60 back and see
what 1t war. TakIn' a rail moved back.
When got up to the log found it had
moved and was a movin' right along. All
OF sudden l discovered il was the most
powerful black swamp snake that I ever
seed. | crept up behind him. He had the
mallsrd all but swallowed. gave him
crack over the head and his jaws flew open
like muskrat hole. Out come the mallard,
and before could say Jack Robinson he
was up an gone The snake he drew him
self in coil and l moved out. l never
went back in them woods agin."
I've got a tale as might interest you
fsllers. talking bout snakes" said Howard
Last summer down here killed black
snake thirteen feet long on the river shore.
He was terrible fat, and after he was dead
noticed there was something movin' in
side Of him. Pretty soon out crawled a
little terrapiu from between his jaws
Four more followed. and then / cut him
open. What do you think was inside of
hima Two more turtles and eight turtle
eggs. The black rascal had robbed a turtles
nest and blame my buttons If they han't
hatched inside of him." That was the last
story. ut was too severe" as one of the
hunters remarked as he left the cabin,