The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1896-12-31


tains more game than all the other islands
of the West Indies put together Small as
1t is however, and hot and thirsty as 1t is,
lying right in tho midst of the northern
| tropic, l hold it in affectlonato remem-
brance as the one spot in tho world where
l had the best shooting of my life.
New Years week was close upon us, and
we were wondering how we could flttingly
celebrate with tho temperature at 30 in
the shade and no air stirring, when along
came an invitation TO visit Barbuda from
the hospitable proprictors. l was then
stopping at Antigua, which Is few miles
TO the south. About goo years ago the
former island belonged TO a certain Lord
COdringtOn, a gentleman Of tho English
aristocracy, who built a CastCllnted resi-.
dencc and inclOsed few hundred acres
with high stone walls The COdringtOns
lived there for perhaps l5O years, and about
the best thing they ever did, in my opinion,
was to stock tho island with choice sheep
and cattle from the old country and with
fallow deer from their English preserves.
When the family finally abandoned Bar
buda some 60 years ago, many of the
sheep, the goats, the horses and cattle, all
their domestic fowls, and even their former
slaves, ran perfectly wild and reverted to
the savagGry Of their ancient and respcc-
tive ancestors.
Wild deer, wild turkeys wild guinea
fowl and wild mGn-what moro could
hunter dosirCp
At the time Of my New Years visit to
Barbuda, it was in possession on lease Of
two English gentlemen, who divided the
labor and shared the profits of this vast
estate with its ZOO or 800 tenants One
was practical farmer, who attended to
the purely material working of the estate;
the other was n clergyman Of the Anglican
church, who combined in one person the
oversecr of spiritual and corporeal matters
He had neat little church and congre-
CATION Of 200 or 300, mostly females, and
all of them black or Colorcd. There were
no other whites on the island than the
farmer and the parsOn. Their sway was
despotiC, their rule unqucstioncd but hui
name Like the dumb animals, the black
beings showed tendency 10 atavism, and
1t required all the energy Of the parson TO
combat the inherent savageism in them.
He labored, as it were with the sword in
one hand and the cross in the other; but
his labors were not altogether unproduc-
tive. This by the way; for l did not go
to Barbuda as a "fsher of men," but as a
hunter Of deer and wild guinea birds.
However the parson and had a compact.
He was to have me shown all the likely
places for the game and l was to regularly
attend services on Sunday-a compact
both Of us faithfully kept
A sable guide named william Jack was
my first Ciccrone, and he came for me at 4
o'clock in the morning, when all was cool
and quiet, and the birds were singing their
notes preparatory to the full chorus at
daylight. If william Jack had come un.
attended, he would have been all right,
but he brought along his faithful mongrel
DOCtah, who caused no end Of mischief,
though apparently with the best of inten-
tions, for, as william Jack had his
"dawg" hitChOd by string, and, further
more as said William was long of stride
and DOctah was short, there was much
difficulty in the matter Of locomotion
Finally William yanked the Doctah so for
chilly that the string parted and the dog
hied himself to neighboring field, where
some cattle were grazing, and where the
wretch not only worried the beasts, to his
great delight but also frightened away
two noble bucks which were quietly feeding
in their company. The TeCreant came back
eventually, tail between legs, and William
Jack gave him basting that did my heart
good, but it did not avail to recover the
lost hour Of morning, nor tho lost deer.
Going still farther, we had the pleasure of
seeing two does walk lesurely across a
wood path just beyond range and still
later of jumping three deer in field
where ut least twOsCOre women were work
ing. These deer were feeding within gun
shot of the women, but without any APP
parent fear, and il was only when their
enemy, man, appeared that they gave leg
bail and sought the seclusion of the woods
We walked homo in the heat of the day,
having secured no deer, but having gain
ed heap of sperience," as William Jack
said. Experience, however, was not what
l was after as l most forCibly impressed
upon my sable friend when | came to pay
him for his assistance in gaining that COM
modify, giving him "a shilling less than he
would have got If a deer or doe had been
our companion on the return journey
1t was the next and the third day that l
ventured forth to hunt the widest and
waryest Of Barbuda' 5 deniZens, the guinea
fowl A little negro boy was my guide
and companion, one who said he knew the
feeding places of all the fowl on the island.
We tramped over several miles of field, but
only succeeded in seeing many focls at
distance, without getting within shooting
distance of any one of these wild African
birds Finally, as we were coming up be-
hind high stone wall, my little guide eau
toned me to be on my guard. Peering
over the wall, ! saw group of half dozen
fowl busily scratching in tho corn, and at
once concluded they were all my 'meat"
as drew up my gun carefully and sighted.
But was not prepared for the hurricane
- font hon nd 81 It f,,Ntna
propelled with the seeming rapidity of
light, which tore into the air and away be-
fore / could collect my astonshed wits /
sent shot after them, but more from
habit than calculation, and had the pleas
ure of seeing one Of them fall to the
ground where 1t spun round and round on
its head till my black boy retrieved it, We
put up two other flocks after that out of
which got one each, and spent the rest of
the forenoon in rambling about aimlessly,
upon guinea fowl intent, but without sue
cess. "Dey is so roam, said my guide
meaning that they were mighty uncertain
about their habitat and wandered all over
creation.
The three we had saved" however,
gave my ooy all he wanted to carry, as
they dressed nearly four pounds apiece
and he groaned loudly over their weight as
he bravely toted them back to the house
In the broiling sun of a tropic midday,
They were served that night at dinner,
and IL behooves me TO remark that / never
ate tenderer or more delicious flesh, either
of biped or quadruped But, then, of
course, they were of my own shooting,
which bestows an added zest They were
served with the sauce of hunger, and after
a provocative sherry and bitters, all OF
which must be taken into consideration.