Freeland tribune. (Freeland, Pa.) 1888-1921, 1895-01-14
THE SAND HILL CRANE.
a GREAT GAME BIRD IN THE
NORTHWEST.
Shy and Pugnacious, 1t Affords Much
Sport to the Hunters-An I'm
equaled Table DeIicacy.

~
9 than the sand-hill crane"
said New York sportsman whose
range is wide. eat rest this great
bird stands four, and even five feet
high, and in flight he smites the air
with wings eight feet in spread. In
the newly settled prairie regions of
tn great Northwest, where he makes
his home, he ranks in the estimation
OF sportsmen above the wild goose
and duck, not only in delighting the
eye and heart OF the hunter, but as
provider of table delicacy unequaled
in excellence by either duck or goose.
"The visitor to those apparently
boundless prairies, fringed with the
wide farms of the pioneers, may well
wonder how tho farmers manage to
house even a small portion Of their
crops, for from the time the wheat be-
gins to ripen until the corn is cut the
fields are not only constant prey for
the cranes that come down upon them
in countless thousands, but to the
daily visitation OF such myriads OF
wild geese and ducks as no hunter who
has never visited these regions ever
dreamed of in his widest imaginings.
The sand hill crane is several minutes
later than the geese, and, as the early
morning is the favorite and surest
time for bagging this over shy and
suspicious bird, the crane hunter must
either resent all inclination to lay low
the tempting goose or mallard or give
up hope of getting shot at the ex-
pected cranes. The single report of q
gun between the advent of the wild
geese and the time the cranes would
appear will destroy the sportsman's
chances for a shot Mt the long-legged
game for that day.
1.-THE hunter either for sand hill
cranes or wild geese and ducks may
always be sure of warm welcome
among the prairie farmers of the
Northwest. They spend all their
spare time themselves banging away
at the marauding birds and in devils
ing ways and means of dispensing
them, but the greedy fock are so
numerous and persistent in their raids
that it would require small army to
keep them on the move.
"When the corn is ripe and the
nights grow crisp and frosty, toward
the end of October, sand hill crane
shooting is most enjoyable. Along
the edge of every corntield there are
always wide spaces where the long
prairie grass has been moved away.
The dried grass slies in punches, and
with it the hunter makes his blind,
close to the border of the corn. The
blind must be made in loose and
scraggly form, as if the wind had
tossed it there, for the crane is the
most suspicious of birds.
"The cranes do not plump blindly
and unconcerredly among the corn,
as the geese and ducks do, but alight
on the further edge of the mown spot,
between the field and the prairie.
From that vantage ground they re.
connoitre the field, carrying their
heads high in the air and advancing
cautiously, step by step, toward the
coveted corn. They seem instinct
lively to keep as far apart from one
another as they can. Before the days
of repeating guns this popularity of
the cranes kept the hunter in great
suspense, even after the flock or the
advance portion of it had come with.
in easy range. He knew that two
shots were all that he could by any
possibility get at the flock, and he
was naturally anxious to make these
two do the best execution possible.
ga prairie cornfeld after gun has
been discharged in or near it in the
early morning is q sight to see, and
its sounds are something to hear. For
half u minute after the report the field
will be black with geese and ducks
and cranes rising in frightened flight
from among the stocks, the noise OF
their great wings being like rumbling
thunder, and the various harsh cries
making pandemonium of the previous
ly peaceful scene.
Frequently sand hill crane will
be wounded SO that he cannot hy, be.
ing otherwise uniniured. Away he
will go over the prairie, his long, slim
legs carrying him at q surprisingly
rapid rate. If the hunter has plenty
of bottom and wants an exciting
chose and lively scrimmage at the
end of it he will follow the wounded
crane. He will have to be a good
sprinter if he overtakes the big bird
in less than quarter of mile run.
When he does come up with the crane
he will find fight waiting for him
that will put him on his mettle. A
wounded sand hill crane brought to
bay is fiery antagonist. 1t can use
it's powerful six-inch bill with telling
effect, and stroke from one of its
wings is sufficient to knock the strong
est man off his feet. The prudent
hunter who gives chase to wounded
crane with the intention of running it
down and risking fight with it will
have his revolver with him. have
known more than one presumptuous
sportsman to undertake the task of
conquering crane under such cir.
cumstances without having his pistol
to aid him, and to come back from
the prairie not only without his game,
| but bnd1y used ND as we'll Nav