The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1895-06-14
GEESE HUNT OEXN
MAY SOUND A LITTLE QUEER. su1
THE STORY COMES STRAIGHT.
In The Early Days of California Wild
Geese Were So Plentiful That They Both
cred Cattle Raisers, and Fortunes Wers
Made Shooting the Birds.


made good deal of money in the
early days of California when we used to
stalk wild geese with oxen, " said exGame
Commissioner James Wistar of Pasadena.
Stalking geese with oxen may sound a
little queer, but that the way we used to
hunt EN- in the early days. A good stalk
ing OK, want to tell you was valuable
hit of property 40 years ago in California
and we used to talk about him and dis
cdss his points Just about the same as
sportsmen nowadays discuss the points OF
their bird dogs. a good stalking OK could
earn his owaer anywhere from $50 to s1CC
day if the owner himself was any good.
Il went to California In 1851 and
promptly dropped every cent I had In a
gold mine venture. In all the counti..
bordering on the bay, and, in fact. all
along the c,rast, wild geese occupied the
wide ard open plains by the hundreds of
thousands. 1 have seen mere than a thou.
sand acres OF these big fowl pasturing in
solid block, and that many cattle feeding
couldn't have cleared the grass away as
completely as those geese did 1 heard
that the killiag of these geese for market
had grown to be great industry, and that
some men were getting rich at it. Ranch
ers were also Offering a bounty for the
geese, as cattle raising was becoming an
important business, and the geese pre-
empted so much of the pasture area that
the loss was serious to the cattle men. 1
scraped enough money together to buy a
gun and abandoned gold mining for goose
hunting.
When hunting for wild geese on those
plains lirst began, the hunters were able to
crawl up on them as they fed and get
within easy gsrnshot. But the geese soon
got on to the sportsmen, and by and by no
one could get within half mile of flock.
Hiding in grass blinds was tried and
worked well for time, but the cunning
geese sized che blinds up at last and
wouldn' t come anywhere near bunch Ct
grass. So soElething had TO be done.
Some one hal noticed that cattle feeding
on the plains could crop the grass almos'
on the heels of a host of geese and tbs
fowls took DO notice of them. He had an
OK that was even tempered and accommo-
dating, and one day he turned it loose and
let it feed along toward where tremen-
Gous flock os geese were pasturing
Now ard then he'd hurry the OK up a
little, walking close to it ON the side away
from the gr,.se. BY and by the OK got close
enough TO :he geese to satisfy his owner
who stood gtill until the OK had passed q
out of tho way. Then he emptied one
barrel OF is gun into the flock on the
ground ann gave it the other as the birds
rose. He picked up 62 geese. The OK was
somewhat surprised, but didn't object 10 /,
repeating the operation next day. when it 4
was equally successful. Geese were worth /
81 apiece. That was the origin of stalking
wild geese with oxen. In less than /
month there wasn't a goose hunter along
the coast who didn't have goose stalking
OK.
1.-THE oxen soon fell into the full spirit
of the hunting. Some were better than
others. An OK that understood his bust.
ness would feed along toward flock Of
geese or pretend to be feeding, not directly
toward them, but carelessly and by many
turnings, because he had discovered that
the geese had grown suspicious even OF
cattle, and would invariably rise before an
DIX that wasn't cute enough to dissemble
In the course of his feeding. Another
thing we soon discovered that spoke vol
'Imes for the astuteness of the California
wild goose. / made this discovery myself
had been shooting for week over a big
brindle OK that had developed special apti-
tude for the work and enjoyed it hugely.
My success had been great. when one day
was astonished to see big flock of geese
that my OK and / were stalking get up and
fy away long before we had got within
any kind of gunshot The OK was Just as
much surprised as l was and gazed after
the departing flock for a moment and then
turned and looked ut me as If demanding
some explanation of that flock's singular
conduct. 1t seemed 10 me as if he suspect
III me of having been indiscreet in some
way and spelling the hunt. Old Brindls
vent back home showing his disappoint-
nent plainly end brooded over it all the
rest of the day.
Next morning we went out to try the
lock again, for they were sure to be on
he feeding ground. The same thing hap
Dened again. The birds got up Il quarter
# mile away or more. | felt sorry for
he OK, for he took the matter a good deal
. heart And | fell to thinking on the
Eay home aIs;l it was there that l came to
he conclusion that the California wild
goose WIS IN able bird. To test my belief
iext morning 1 turned old Brindle into
white OK by whitewashing him At first
le protested, but it seemed to suddenly
trike him what it WAS being done for.
md he started out on the hunt feeling
.ood. / WIS right in MY opinion of the
california Mild goose. Those geese had
,can shot ct over that brindle OK until /
hey Recognized him every time he drew
lear, and in;.,ving what he was there for
ook 10 getting away when they saw him
rawing n.ar But the white OK they
idnr mind. They associated only brin-
lie OK with danger. and 80 sat still as we
pproached and tumble1i lot of 'em be-
ere they grt out of reach And old Brin-
lie seemed all hat tickle1 to death at the
ucccss Of the masquerade. In course of
lme had 20 change him from white OK
D q red one, then TO a spotted one then to
black one, and by and by venturei to {
end him forth in his natural brindle y
gain. The ruscs all worked for found I
nat while these wild gees, had memory
was short, and l could play the same OF
n them time and time again after an in
rival of a couple Of weeks or so. And, of I
purse this changing the &C lor of geese e
alking oxen became universal on the {
IainS
" For two or three years every one who
,llow~l wild goose hunting in this way
lade latS of money. Then busted miners q
nd even broken down sports took it up, &
atl ther,, were almost as many hunters L
geese. and the markets were kept over
dcke1l- There WAS no more money in
. nnd quit But took with me S40,-
20 clean mercy that had made in the
lid goose market | know that at least =
y of the big Pacific coast fortunes of to-
~ had their foundation in the capital
Heir poSsesSors got from killing wild geese :.
or 10 years ago. New York sun. ;,
Irish Police Notice. a
From tie beginning O. lark every ve- I