Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1894-01-30
SHOOTING HONKERs.
GREAT SPORT WHICH IS FOUND m
THE NORTHWEST.

THE NORTHWEST.
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Wild goose hunting On the plains Of
the northwest 10 . sport which always
has great charm even for the expert.
sncei Nimrod. 70 IL . sport rsplets
with Incident and Q recreation which
must once b induiscd IN To In thor
oughly appreciated. Tho wild goose 10
known In all parts Of North America.
but In no section VI tina country does
this bird appear In such numb~rs % In
Mat territory lying between the Red
river valley and the Missouri river.
There the gcr.s swain In countless
numbers and become corpulent on tho
grains Of No. I hard which have been
shahen from the stalk Ivy the reaper AMI
arc lying In the stubble everywhere.
Large numbers of the birds are killed
by resident hunters and for eastern
markets. hut no apparent diminutiou 10
noticeable In the siEe and number of
the fiocks On b. seen when tbs Ahootins
season begin, each year.
IN hours lively sport with the hon.
hers on tho wheatnelds % North Da.
kota means but one thing to the inex-
psrienced hunter. and that issomething
for his pains. especially 10 he hsppens
a. get In q well conceaicd stand direct
~ In the line II flight. Then u is moth.
ing uncommon for him To tumble
over" . wagon load u geese la very
short order. Wild gcc.s are staple
commodity In North Dakota aud read
lily bring from case 90 ~ par dozen
during the sbooting season. In tho lit
tle towns and stations along the North
Urn Pacific railway. during the fall and
rpring flights. almost everybody turns
out tor q few hours In the morning and
toward tho clos Of the day to shoot at
the gc--e. and q right warm reception
st. tho birds treated a.. Many will
ride 20 tho outskirts of the town and
shoot from = buggy or wagon at the
passing myriad. overhead and occasion.
ally bring down bird 1t long range.
The hunter who 10 out for business
and IL sbootin. Tor market and the
money there !. In u drives out 10 or
ID miles over tho prairie several hours
t-for. daylight. and after selecting q
SPOT wher. Oh. geese have iscn ss~n In
great numbers Oh. day before digs q
pit IN the ground large enough 10 con-
ccal himself and srranss- the s'ubble OF
grs-- about Oh. mouth % u 40 a. 20 pre-
scnt - natural appearance. Close by
h. plants his decoys and ssttles hack In
the pit aud aniiously awaits the CON-
ing u the morning. IL IL still dsrh.
hut from every quarter ~ the prairie
come sounds % animal life which fore
tell Oh. coming of q new day. The
mournful cry Of Oh. curlew IL heard
overhead. aud . hock % plovrr demon
.tIaie their Gloss proximity by the hur'
Ting bois. of their wings.
For some tim. he sits In cramp~'i
position. listening 90 Oh. booinins notes
Of q prairie chicken, which bird - pour
ing forth q volume II drumlik. sounds.
Tho .hirp yelp % coyote not far away
To unrnistskable evidence that tina,
thriving. .kulking animal has Jumpe'l
mp q cotton tail and 10 bustling Tor an
early breakfast. A. the first Ieeping Of
the gray dawn ths hunter suddenly
hears q welcome sound-the faint and
faraway bonk.honk 10 the goo~e. ",
examines his gun and note. Oh. dir-c'
ton 10 the sound. Nearer anil neari
tho sound Gomez. and finally b. ven
tur-s a. take q p-.p out % the PIT and
discovers the distant outlincs % . larg'
dock spread out V shaped In Oh. morn
ing sky. bsaring OF 90 one side. Ap
par,niiy they hav. not sen the dccoys.
and the hunter thinks u IL y", too dark.
Suddenly the leader u sen % wa'.r,
and with loud cries Oh. hock turns and
circles around the d-coys ~ " suspi
cious ~ their genuinens-s. hut drawins
nearer NJ each turn. They have al
preached within easy shooting distance,
and just az so0n as the fOck pitcb.'
down among the decoys the loud bang
bangi % q heavily loaded shotgun d
beard. and two puffs IL smoke are sci
coming apparently from the surface OF
tb. earth q short distance away. Nv
erai gvs-s ar. lying ON the ground. snd
one 10 skimmins away over the prairi'
with q tipped wing.
some other hocks appear. anil tbs
shooting becomes lively until the snr
10 fully two hours high. when the fock'
diminish. both In sire and nuubsr. and
with the exception u few .trags'sr'
the morning flight Is over.
Crystal Springs IL thu name ~ small
station on the Northern Pacific. 30 miles
wet ~ Jamestown. y. ID. There ARE
several small alkali lakcs In Close proI
Unity 10 the station and = number OF
springs ia tho hill near by. from which
the plac. gained hs name. The town
proper consists Of u depot. boarding
bous. and water tank and population
not .,cceding 10 souls. One April
morning . few years or - since tbs
writer. In COMPANY with the telegraph
operator at tho place. sailed forth IN
quest of geese. large hocks II which
were ssen circling around and alight'
ting on small lake, fringe'l with bushe'
and tall grass, not over mile from The
station. After q full hour spent IN
crawling over the ground and k.epins
cut Of sight =, much ~ possible ihe
hunters cr.pt through the grass to the
bushes aud looked cautiously out.
Upward Of 1000 gees were sporting
on the water. diving. squawking and
carrying on at q great rate. When th,
edge of the flock had come within 80
yards the hunters raised their guns and
gave them a barrel. following 10 mp with
the remaining barrel n they rose hea''
lily from the water. Twenty eight gees
were gathered up ~ the r.sult OF the
shot, ~ Of them the white or tran'
gvese. Tho remaining four were fine
specimens Of that wsriest Ut all birds
of its species-the blackhead or Cana
dian gou-e. The mornings work wal
highly satisfactory.-Clevelsnd Leader,