The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1896-12-16
A UNIQUE SPORT.
LURING WILD DUCKS WITHI3
RANGE BY TAME DECOYS.
How a Cape Cod Sportsman Taugh
His Barnyard Birds to At IS,
tract the Wild (
Species.
T IT AMBLEN SEARS'S descrip
M tion Of q unique sport il
Hsrper's Magazine is much

darper's magazine 1s muct
g more than an account of hov
wild ducks are lured within easy range
by tame decoys. It is an interesting
study Of Cape Cod character. The
writer says:
Many sportsman of the better sort
continues to condemn the practice Of
shooting game over tame decoys. It
would be useless to deny his argu
ment. Frankly speaking, the only
sportsmanIike conduct in hunting
shore birds, as in hunting other game,
is to crawl up on them by cheer sport
ing skill, and kill them in their OVID
country, SO to speak, with every
chance on their side. Shooting over
wooden decoys, however. has come to
be acknowledged as allowable to
sportsmen. The wooden 'coys are
set out on q point; the flying birds
see them; swing above them for 9
first look, and are shot with one barrel
as they light, with the other Just as
they start toyay away. Shooting over
tame ducks is simply much more ex,
citing, vastly more skilful piece Of
work of the same kind. \ For q spot
where ducks fly. constantly these tame
birds are> not necessary, but on such
shot out ground as Cape God they add
greatly to the science Of the sport.
Henry had acarefully regulated plan
for training his decoys, and it was q
constant source of surprise and inter.
est to me to watch the workings Of
this peculiar system. When carefully
nurtured, the intelligence OF such o
stupid bird as a barn yard duck is
something extraordinary. But the
training must be constant and daily,
and before bird is fit for decoy work
practically two seasons have been
consumed. The lessons begin and
turn on the question Of food. Henry
made it his first study to comwel hia
friends to trust him so thoroughly that
he could pick them up and put them
in his pocket head downward at any
time, with the certainty that on being
returned to the ground they would
simply rustic their feathers and
shrewdly cock one eye up at him to
await the never failing handful of corn.
It has always been Q question with me
whether he himself had not more OF
the duck in him than the human being,
for he could initiate duck calls of All
kinds in manner thst would not only
attract wild game, but would bring
the gun to your shoulder as you walked
along the shore in his vicinity. One
good sportsman, who used to call him.
self my friend, not 5nly shot land
afterwards paid tor) one of Henry's
decoys as she stood tied to q rock,
but actually lay among the stones OF
the beach half an hour one early
morning under the impression that
Henry's constant calls came from Q
flock Of birds just behind the stand.
After Lringing these strange wadd.
ling pets OF his to maudlin state OF
tameness, he never failed, to set up q
most comp '3ted and continuous ser.
les of duck quacks and calls whenever
he threw out their food. It was not
long, therefore, before the birds asso.
ciafed corn with Henry's extraordin.
ary limitations of duck Bed1am, and az
any self-respecting bird is bound to-
quack vociferously Immediately upon
seeing food, it becsme q aconsequence
quite within the compass OF the duck
mind to infer that whenever Henry
quacked, corn was near, at hand and
shortly to; be forthcoming. The
result was an instantaneous sym.
phony. Consequently by the end
of the summer duck Of rea.
sonably high birth was sure to set
up hysterical song the moment he or
she caught the sounds OF Henry 'syoice.
Whether, Henry actually understood
duck language and discussed points Of
interests with the birds I do not know.
At all events, he understood system
which brought forth calls and shrieks
from every one of his thirty pets when.
ever he saw fit to put it in operation.
Having proceeded thus far, it be-.
came his next duty to teach the birds
to hy-a sufficiently original occupa.
tion to illustrate the extensive scope,
the many.sided character OF Henry's
genius. This he prsctised gradually
with each bird in h1s barn yard. al.
ways appealing to the ducks appetite.
He would grasp one of them around
the body with both hands, her head
meantime pointing outward. Then
bending his knees and lowering the
neophyte close to the ground, he
would rise steadily but swiftly and
hurl the bird into the air. Instinc.
lively she put out her wings and cir
cled around the barn yard, descend
ing gradually. and OF the same time
setting up most hopeless racket, nat
urally starting the other twenty mine,
who fancied this was Henry calling
them to dinner.
After months of trial and tribula.
ton, with sometimes broken back
and a consequent duck funeral, the
birds grasped the meaning Of this Pc
culiar fight; and Henry could then
stand behind his baru yard fence and,
by throwing up one bird after another,
give you and any stray ducks flying
past the impression that there was
duck Valhalla in tho vicinity.-Har-
per's Magazine.
Emigration From Sweden.