The star. (Reynoldsville, Pa.) 1892-1946, 1895-01-16
WILD GEESE.
They Swarm by Hundreds of Thou
sands in California,
Some Remarkable Bags Made by
the Pot Hunters.

The sportsmon in the East, who at
this season think themselves in great
luck If they bring home dozen or
two wild ducks or dozen woodcock
and other small game after long days
hunt, would go into ecstasies at the
wild goose hunting in this region,
writes correspondent from Pomona,
Cal, TO the New York Sun. The birds
come down the Pacific coast at this
season, after n summer in British Co.
lumbia and Manitoba, and for weeks
they swarm by hundreds of thousands
about tho little bays and coves of the
ocean and the nikali lake washes.
They wax aud grow fat on the grains
of No. hard left on the ground in
the thousands of ncres of wheat fields.
Near Santa Monica, one day Inst week,
in n little bay about six square miles
in area, there were fully a quarter of
million of wild geese. The noise of
their quacking and calling to one an
other was Mt times heard two miles
away. At San Pedro and at the little
lake in Kern county there are said to
be even greater numbers of the game
because of the proximity of the wheat
fields.
Large numbers of the geese are slain
annually during their migrations. 1t
is no trick for boy sportsman to get
fifty or sixty of the birds in few
hours, and hundreds of the older
hunters in this region have often got
over 200 geese in a day. A party of
four Los Angeles sportsmen who went
out for two days hunt over in the
Orange county marshes last week came
home with over 900 dead geese for the
city markets. Two Bakersfield men
had three days hunt lately and came
home with farm wagon loaded down
with geese and ducks. In all the lit
tie towns along the line of the Santa
Fe Railroad in this section there are
n score or two of men and boys who
regularly, spring and fall, turn ont for
days shoot at wild geese and ducks,
and the person who does not show that
he has tumbled over at least twenty.
five birds is accounted in poor luck or
a decided novice in hunting. Many
persons will ride to the outskirts OF
the town, and, standing in buggy or
wagon, will satisfy themselves with a
shot at the armies of flying birds at
long range. Occasionally they will
bring down n goose with such random
shooting. All the markets and tho
country grocery stores will have wild
geese and ducks exhibited for sale at
nominal sums.
The little alkali lake in Tulare Coun-
ty is probably the best locality in the
San Joaquin Valley for goose shoot
ing. The spot is over thirty miles
distant from railroad station, and
the rocky hills make it difficult of ac-
cess. For days at a time there have
been thousands of geese and ducks
resting on the water and feeding
among the neighboring mountain
sides. One morning, early in the
week John Alverson and J. L. Baxter
of Los Angeles, reached the lake for q
few hours sport. Large focks of
wild geese were circling around and
alighting on n slough fringed on all
sides with bushes and tall grass. 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 bushes and
looked cautiously out. When the
edge OF the flock had come within
thirty yards, the hunters raised their
guns and gave them a barrel, follow
ing it up with the remaining barrel as
the birds rose heavily from the water.
Twenty-cight geese were gathered up
as the result of the shot, tweuty-four
of them the white or brant geese. The
remaining four were fine specimens OF
that weariest of all birls of its species,
the blackht cd or Canadian goose. Not
withstanding the fact that the brant
geese are not considered the equal of
the blackhead specimens as table
delicacy, the hours work was satis-
factory.
Daring Robbery OF a POstman.
Haitian Gor1an tha oanta, nf Al