The Portland daily press., 1894-01-30
SHOOTING HONKERS. s.
Great Sport Which Is Found In The
Northwest.

misunderstanding Does Not Appear to
Diminish Their Number.
Wild goose hunting on the plains Of
the northwest is sport which always
has great charm even for the expert
enced Nimrod. It is a sport replete
with incident and recreation which
muet. once be INDUCED in to be thor
Dughly appreciated. The wild goose is
known in all parts of North America,
but in no section OF the country does
this bird appear in such numbers as in
that territory lying between the Red
river valley and the Missouri river.
There the geese swarm in countless
numbers and become corpulent on the
grains of No hard which have been
shaken from the stalk by the reaper and
are lying in the stubble everywhere.
Large numbers OF the birds are killed
by resident hunters and for eastern
markets, but no apparent diminution is
noticeable in the size and number of
the f1ocks to be seen when the shooting
season begins each year.
An hours lively sport with the hon
kers on the wheatfelds of North Da-
kota means but one thing to the mex
perienced hunter, and that is something
for his pains, especially if he happens
to get in we'll concealed stand direct
ly In the line of flight. Then it is moth
ing uncommon for him to tumble
over" wagon load Of geese in very
Shnrf nr1op MILD ~ l.
commodity in North Dakota and read
lily bring from $3.50 tc SIS per dozen
during the shooting season. In the lit
tie towns and stations along the North
ern Pacific railway, during the fall and
spring flights, almost everybody turns
out for few hours in the morning and
toward the close Of the day to shoot at
the geese, and a right warm reception
are the birds treated to. Many will
ride to the outskirts of the town and
shoot from buggy or wagon at the
passing myriads overhead and occasion
ally bring down a bird at long range.
The hunter who is out for business
and is shooting for market and the
money there is in it drives out 10 or
Is miles over the prairie several hours
before daylight, and after selecting a
spot where the geese have been seen in
great numbers the day before digs a
pit IN the ground large enough to con-
ceal himself and arranges the stubble or
grass about the mouth Of it SO as to pre-
sent natural appearance. Close by
he plants his decoys and settles back in
the pit and anxiously awaits the com
ing of the morning. 1t is still dark,
but from every quarter of the prairie
come sounds of animal life which fore
tell the coming of new day. The
mournful cry Of the curlew is heard
overhead, and a flock Of plover demon
strate their close proximity by the hur-
Ting noise of their wings
For some time he sits in cramped
position, listening to the booming notes
of prairie chicken, which bird is pour
ing forth a volume of drumlike sounds.
The sharp yeip of coyote not far away
is unmistakable evidence that that
thriving, skulking animal has jumped
up cotton tail and is hustling for an
early breakfast. At the first peeping of
the gray dawn the hunter suddenly
hears a welcome sound-the faint and
PARKWAY honk-honk Of the goose. He
examines his gun and notes the direc-
ton Of the sound. Nearer and nearer
the sound comea, and finally he VEN
lures to take a peep out of the pit and
discovers the distant outlines of a large
flock spread out V shaped in the morn
ing sky, bearing off to one side. APP
parently they have not seen the decoys,
and the hunter thinks it is yet too dark
sudd~els the leader is seen to waver,
aud with loud cries the flock turns and
circles around tbs decoys as if suspi
clous OK thei : genuineness but drawing
ness'er a each turn. They have ap-
pfoassaed within easy shooting distance,
and just as soon as the flock pitches
down among the decoys the loud bang!
bahas OF a heavily loaded shotgun is
heard, and two puffs of smoke are seen
coming apparently from the surface of
the earth short distance away. Sew
eral geese are lying on the ground, and
one Is skimming away over the prairie
with tipped wing.
Some other focks appear. and the
shooting becomes lively until the sun
is fully two hours high, when the focks
diminish, both in size and number, and
with the exception of few stragglers
the morning flight is over.
Crystal Springs is the name of small
station on the Northern Pacific, 80 miles
west of Jamestown, N. D. There ate
several small alkali lakes in close prox-
unity to the station and humber of
springs in the hills near by, from which
the place gained its name. The town
proper consists of depot, boarding
house and water tank and a population
not exceeding 10 souls. One April
morning a few years or SO since the
writer, in company with the telegraph
operator at the place, sailed forth in
quest of geese, large focks of which
were seen circling around and alight-
ing on small lake, fringed with bushes
and tall grass, not over mile from the
station. After a full hour spent in
crawling over the ground and keeping
out of sight as much as possible the
hunters crept through the grass to the