The Portland daily press., 1894-06-16
HERE rs A HUNTING PARTY.
Horses, Cows, and An Ok Shot By
Three Boys With Rifle.

Three Boys With Rife.
The Boys Start Out from Their Homes in
Ridgefield in a Blackboard and Have No
End of Fml-One Colt Killed, a Cow Sho
in the Back, an Ok Wounded, and Many
Smaller Animals Killed.
IN. Y. Sum-
Three youthful sportsmen went on
hunting expedition from Ridgefeld,
Conn, on last Thursday, and had the
biggest days sport ON record in cunning
annals of the State. They were out for
anything that came in sight, big or
small, and, although they had but one
rifle among the three. they ma naged to
work that for all There was in it, and
this is what they shot, as far as has
been learned up to date:
1bay colt.
horses.
| COWS
Sheep, number unknown.
l superannuated rooster.
8 fat hens
| ducks.
| OK.
J The only thing that they short at and
| didn't hit was a gardener, "who ran
away and got under cover of barn."
| So far the only mortality among the
| victims of the hunters skill is the colt,
the survival of the others being due to
the facts that the rifle used was small
one and the bullets were BIB size, which
| is about the magnitude of a split pea.
| Nf,f1 hot. midi oh 60, IL; -
! the youthful sporusmeu have reckoned
| that it would have been cheaper
| to fit them out and send them to the
| far West to hunt the grizzly bear and
| the ferocious wildcat than to let them
| loose with their sporting proclivities and
a 81 rife in Fairfield county. Just at
| present, however, the noble sport of
| three.
They are Melman Shaffer, the son of
| DR.. Newton NJ. Shaffer of New York; the
| eldest son of Mr.. Henry Daley, jr., a
wealthy New York manufacturer of
patent medicines, and Northrup Fowler,
latter disappeared form Ridgefield short
| ly after the hunting expedition, by par
| tIcular request. He is Is years old
| Young Daley is just 16 and Shaffer
| Is six months his senior. Who conceived
| the brilliant idea of a hunting expedition
for domestic game is not definitely
| known. The boys, themselves say that
| it came like inspiration and grew upon
| them until they could not resist it. So
they got young Dalley's blackboard and
| young Dalley's gun, the elder part of the
DALEY family having gone away, and
| proceeded in search of adventures But
first they had a little practice on Tom
Walkers horse.
Toms Walkers horse is an innocent and
| peaceful animal who roams around
vacant lot near Mr.. Dalley's house while
| Tom does his daily work for Mr.. L. H.
| Bailey next door. 1t occurred to the
| youthful trio that the horse, as he stood
| contentedly cropping he garss, made an
| excellent mark.
Lets take shot at him." was the
| suggestion that rose almost simultane-
| ously to their lips.
DALEY raised the rifle to his shoulder,
when a sudden compunction made him
| hesitate.
+ "Say, fellows, we might lame him or
something, "he suggested:
Lame your grandmother, "said Safer.
contemptuously. Here, gimme the
gun. All he wants is a little exercise,
| and, I'll give it to him."
| He fired, and the horse, with whinny
of surprise and pain, kicked several holes
| in the atmosphere and did a circular
gallop. The boys were delighted
W
"Let him have it again"
First one boy and then another shot at
| the unfortunate animal, and fairly
howled with enjoyment as he skipped
and pranced and kicked, until Tom
Walker himself appeared upon the scene
Here, what ara you boys doing?" he
shouted Don't you know any better
| than to shoot at that horse?"
How would you like some of it your
| self?" was the haunting reply, and Tom
suddenly became aware that the little
| rifle barrel pointed straight at him. He
| WINGED. 1t seemed extremely probable
| that boy who could find pleasure in
| putting bullets into a harmless and de-
| fenceless animal would not hesitate to
| shoot man While he was considering
what to do next one of the boys called
| out.
| do you want to see the way we do it
| to our gardener" indicating Mr.. Daley
gardener, peaceful old Irishman, who
was bending over some flowers not far
| away.
Before Tom could reply the rifle
cracked, and t..ie bullet threw up the
| dust within foot of Mixes hand The
| gardener, with a howl of dismay, Ieaped
| into the air, landing on all tours, with
| great disaster to two geraniums and a
| verbena.
| Then, without waiting for an explana-
ton and a posi- BILE repetition of the shot,
which might next time be more accurate,
he fed in long leaps, accompanying each
leap with yell, into the barn. This
was great fun for the boys. Never be-
fore had they felt what potentialities
| lay in 81 rife. The only drawback
was that Mike very selfishly remained
under cover, and Tom Walker. having
led the colt out of range, the boys
| jumped into the buck board and set out
| to poach upon the preserves of neig bors
not SO near. They didn't see anything
worth shooting at except two little girls
who were out of range, till they came to
Edward Bowton's farm on the West
| Mountain road, where they stopped to
water their horse. Mr.. Bowton's cows
were in the adjoining meadow, ana Mr..
Bowton's wife was III the house a short
| distance away.
| just after she saw the buck board drive
up the cattle began to-act in very pc
culiar manner. A large brown COW be-
gan it. She suddenly threw up her head,
| shook her tail bumped I'D her hack