The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1895-06-02
CATCHING WILD GEESE IN INDIA.
Tactics That Must BE Surprising to
the Coveted Fowls.
From the Philadelphia Times.

/ From the Philadelphia Times.
/ In India ducks. teal. and geese abound in
/ all the numerous jheels, as do also coots
or water fowl These jheels are large
water storages for irrigating purposes, and
are kept filled by the heavy fall in the
rainy seasons. They afford most excellent
sport.
Sometimes for companys sake several
/ form party and go out for the day, but
/ a thorough keen sportsman meaning bust
ness generally prefers going out alone. OF
course, with jelly party it is more enjoy
able in one way, but the difficulty is that
each interiors with the others sport more
especially when careful stalking is neces-
sary, no matter how we'll or carefully or
I ganized the plan is, and for this reason l
generally preferred going out alone The
jheel to be first visited having been de-
/ termined upon, ones syce and coolies are
sent on by daybreak. After an early break
! fast an hour or SOS gallOp brings one to
among the haunts of the feathered tribe
| This kind of shooting is all the more en-
joyable because Of the variety it affords,
a double shot at the ducks and teal and
then a quiet hunt after snipe around the
marshy parts of the jheel. Then, If a vii
lage is near which is generally the case,
sport in the shape of black partridge, quail
and peafowl, and an occasional shot al a
deer can be had before remounting and
/ following up the ducks, etc, to other jheels
! in the vicinity In this way an exciting
days sport is obtained and a thoroughly
/ good mixed bag is the result. AS these
| jheels are mostly coverless and well in the
/ open every precaution has to be taken to
/ enable near approach to the ducks, not
forgetting the direction of the wind for
in this respect ducks are as keen as ante
] lOnng rar in, 1a+
soon see the black and living mass on the
/ wing and away well out of range Often
have had to creep fiat on the ground for
very long distances, placing my gun sever
al feet in front of me and wiggling up to
1t, and SO on. This is a slow means of pro-
erosion, but il is sure when against the
wind. A further precaution is to take off
| your helmet and place a veil the color of
the ground over your face, for nothing
shows out palmer or so scares birds or ami
mails as a white face.
Once the edge of the water is reached,
! perhaps the ducks and teal have moved
| lar out, in which case there is nothing for
1t but to continue crawling, in spite of the
slush and dirt keeping as low as possible
until the depth of the water admits of a
more comfortable attitude, enabling one
/ to wade, still lowering ones self keep
ing the gun above water. Now the great
/ est care has to be taken for fear of slip
ping out of ones depth. The plan 1 al
ways adopted was to advance the left
! foot shuttle along to the front with it,
and bring up the right foot, and so on I'M
/ til | had approached sufficiently near to
| insure a successful shot. Well do l re-
member one most excellent days stalk
! ing some twenty miles from Lucknow
when, with a right and left, l actually
/ bagged fifty ducks and teal. After which.
being in the vicinity of village where
| peafowl were said to abound l determined
7 to Frx
/ aid of my coolie heaters, secured thirty
4 in one hour, all in fine condition, and the
peacocks particularly handsome The
mixed bag of duck, teal geese, partridges.
/ quail and peafowl which 1 was enabled
to send into the mems mess at the close
of the days proceedings was greatly ap-
preciated by the recipients, and my going
out shikar was always hailed with de-
/ light by the men, who knew l never for
got them.
Geese are also to be found in very large
! fiocks, but only in the larger jheels, and
they generally keep well out in the mid
! die in the open deep waser during the
day, coming into the shallow parts to
feed late in the afternoon l sometimes
went out after them in a canoe, when
such could be got if not, l manufactured
a raft made out of bamboo, which | made
my coolies cut from the adjacent jungles.
with earthen pots at the corners to give
I
rangement, and with bushes and grass
fixed round the sides, have often padded
out and had a most enjoyable days sport
with the geese. 1t is, however, next to
impossible to approach nearer than eighty
or ninety yards which, even with wire
cartridges, precludes all possibility of a
murderous fire, such as one is able to get
among the ducks and teal. The most 1
ever bagged in a double shot was five.
| They are invariably in good condition
and have not the fishy flavor generally
so prevalent with them. Sometimes jheels
are connected by means of bitches, which
enable the gunner to continue the sport
from one waterway to another all day,
following up the birds.
will now explain how the natives eaten
the ducks and geese, and most ingenious
way il is. Deep shelter trenches are cut
at the different points of attack from the
mainland well out into the open, so as
to admit of the trappers moving backward
and forward noiselessly and unobserved
by the birds. Large earthenware pots
called "chatties" are procured. in which
eyeholes are cut. These are placed over
the heads of the trappers, who have nets
secured around their waists in which 10
placet he birds. Thus equipped, those Sc