The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1896-12-03
TRAINING DUCK DECOYs.
And Hunting with Them Down on
Cape Cod.

OeNpC OOhs
Hamblen Sears, in Harpers Magazine.
Many a sportsman of the better sort
continues to condemn the practice of
shooting game over tame decoys. 1t
would be useless to deny his argument
Frankly speaking the only sportsmanlike
conduct in hunting shore birds, as in
hunting other game, is to crawl up on
them by sheer sporting skill, and kill
them in their own country, so to speak,
with every chance on their side. Shoot
ing over wooden decoys, however, has
come to be acknowledged as allowable
to sportsmen. The wooden 'coys are set
out on point; che flying birds see them,
swing above them for a first look and are
shot with one barrel as they light,
with the other just as they start to fly
away. Shooting over tame ducks is sim
ply a much more exciting, vastly more
skillful piece of work of the same kind.
For a spot where ducks fly constantly
these tame birds are not necessary, but on
such shot out ground as Cape Cod they
add greatly to the science. of the sport.
Henry had a carefully regulated plan
for training his decoys, and it was a con-
slant source of surprise and interest to
me to watch the workings of this peculiar
system. When carefully nurtured the in
telligence of such a stupid bird as a barn
yard duck is something extraordinary.
But the training must be constant and
daily and before a 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 compel his 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-fafling handful of corn. 1t has al
ways been a question with me whether he
himself had not more of the duck in him
than the human being, for he could imi-
tate duck calls of all kinds in manner
that would not only attract wild game,
but would bring the gun to your shoulder
as you walked along the shore in his vi
cinity. One good sportsman who used to
call himself my friend, not only shot (and
afterward paid for one of Henry's decoys
as she stood tied to a rock, but actually
lay among the stones of the beach half an
hour one early morning under the impress
sion that Henry's constant calls came
from a flock of birds just behind the
stand.
After bringing these strange waddling
pets of his to a maudlin state Of tame
ness, he never failed to set up most COM
plicated and continuous series OF duck
duacks and calls whenever he threw out
their food. IL was not long, therefore, be-
fore the birds associated corn with Hen
RVS extraordinary limitations of dack Bed
lam, and as any self-respecting bird is
bound to quack vociferously Immediately
upon seeing food, it became consequence
mite 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 instanta-
neous symphony. Consequently by the
end of the summer a duck Of reasonably
high birth was sure to set up a hyster-
ical song the moment he or she caught
the sounds Of Henrys voice. Whether
Henry actually understood duck Language
and discussed points of interest with the
birds / do not know. At all events. he
understood a system which brought forth
calls and shrieks from every one Of his
thirty pets whenever he saw fit to put II
in operation.
Having proceeded thus far, It became
his next duty TO teach the birds to fy-a
sufficiently original occupation to illustrate
the extensive scope, the mony-sided char
acter of Henry's genius. This he prac-
ticed gradually with each bird in his barn.
yard, always appealing to the duck's APP
petite. He would grasp one OF them
around the body with both hands. her
head meantime pointing outward. Then