The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1894-02-25

Of the children of the fortunate fami-
lies. Over all the field. the road and the
general landscape the harum-scarum
boys of the mountain folk ragged, as boys
will, shining up the gallows post to
plague the goose, yelling at tag, playing
ball, mainly with their lungs). and pos
sessing creation as the devils possessed
the herd of swine in the scriptures.
AT last the sport began-the furious
riding, the yelling and barking and laugh
ing, and the tense squawking of the en-
ragged gander who was the object of it all.
HOrsemanship is always interesting and
generally pretty. These were good horse
men, these Virginians, and they rode like
Indians and cowboys in their sad
dies naturally-in the way that is not
taught in the Central Park riding schools.
The horses were not so good, but they
were the best there were. One alone was
mettlesome and nervous, and perhaps it
was as well that the others were plebe-
ian, for he would not go near the
gander. The physician whose horse
he was could not convince the
charger that the writing, squawking
bag with squirting goose neck issuing
from it was a fit thing to trife with or to
approach. Better than all else that
happened was it to see the beautiful
horse squat so that his belly all but
touched the ground the while his muscles
and he trembled like loosened main
spring, and his bloodshot eyes strained
at their sockets. He had to be led away,
a creature too finely strung for medieval
holiday sport.
The other horses did their work me-
chanically well, as a rule. Horses and
riders were all huddled together 100 yards
away, and with every thirty seconds
horse shot outOf the bunch and charged
forward beneath the pendent bird. The
rider darted hand at the goose, which
dar ed a wide-open red beak at the hand.
For a time the bird had most of the
sport 1t was as if the men were afraid
to seize her head. But there were two
brothers in the list who were old and
handy at the game, and after few mis-
spent dashes they began to grip the birds
head each time they came to it. 1t
would not be pleasing to tell the story of
the birds fate in too complete detail. 1t
was less pleasing to witness. After
few wrings at its neck it still squawked
and bit at all who came by, but
soon its injury became too great,
and its plight was such that
kindly Virginian took a stick and
killed it. 1t was tavernkeeper who did
this, and he gave no offense when he said
that the so-called fun was brutality, and
he was not going to stand by and see it.
After that the fun was none the less for
being rid of its cruel side. Man after
man clutched the smooth CREASED neck
and pulled sturdily, but without avail.
He was not in that valley who could pull
of the "gander's" head The feat had
often been performed with other birds,
but this biped seemed created to discour-
age the time-worn sport One cavalier,
plucky and enthusiastic, rose in his stir
rups, locked both hands around the
birds neck and pulled as Samson might
haV ft1or cd ut nN1rTf 4,
what effect! His feet few up, his hands
slipped and he turned a back somersault
fearful to see, and landed on his neck on
the ground. A cry of alarm and horror
broke from the crowd, and the men
rushed forward to offer a service that
they they feared was useless, but the
rider was unhurt.
Ride as you please, without regard to
your numbers" the manager shouted, and
then the fun waxed heartier. On and on
and on the horsemen galloped, their arms
pumping, their legs beating the ribs of
their steeds, their seats as loose as those
Of the plainsfolk who are as good as born
on horseback. There was a great deal to
keep the women laughing. Sometimes
man missed the bird, sometimes one lost
his head aud whacked at the "gander"
with his hand, sometimes a horse SHE'D
and ran across the gallows. But at last
one of the brothers who were cleverest
at the sport stopped his horse under
the gallows, gripped the dead birds
neck with both hands and then
hung by the stubborn head
without detaching it from the rest of the
bird The uselessness of all lesser eff
fort was apparent The sport was aban-
doned. 1t is safe to say that the popu-
larity of gander-pulling will not be re
vived. 1t is not a nineteenth century
kind of fun, as we saw when the gentle
hearted tavern keeper released the bird
from its misery; it is disoredited in its
former home. And yet rude as it is, it
was good to have seen it, because it
shows US how greatly we have progressed
since the days when such sports -four
ished all over our country.