The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1897-12-01
STORY
Mr.. Lefferts of Sussex
County Narrates a Won
derful Hunting Tale.
HIS TRIP TO THE FISHING BANKS
How Wally Dexter Shot Himself
Sports in North
Jersey.

Monday and Wednesday, and on Tuesday
he was lost to the world. His friend on
the Newark Sunday Calf staff met him
on Wednesday morning. G. Washington
I~.efferts was occupying two chairs IN the
lobby of the Continental Hotel, and an
nounced that he was going home on the
noon train, which would land him in
Branchville at 3:15 and enable him TO
reach his folks before five O'Clock.
s'What brought you down this timer
asked his newspaper friend.
Turkey, and Block Island turkey an
swered the six foot slab of Sussex timber.
Dye know what Block Island turkey Is?
Well, there is some of 1t in that package,
twenty or thirty pounds of it. l started
Monday morning with nearly a ton OF
young turkeys dressed for market, and
sold them all in Newark at a good price.
l had been reading about the great cod
fishing and made up my mind to get some
of it, so l started from this here hotel
yesterday morning went to New York
and took passage on the Al Foster for
the Cholera banks. Say, do 0 know l
think there is something in that name?
1 lowed 1 was liable to get sick, but |
didn't calculate to get cholera. I got it
dill lilG SdlIlt, AOWSuAACfCib oAo - JNSN
gittin' over it. 7 don't remember much
about the fishing, but 1 reckon it is alto
gether too strong for countrymen. l
didn't see anything of it. l was too busy
to fish, but I don't doubt the trip done me
good. l bought two big fish for a dollar
and here they are. If anybody wants to
keteh Goldfish, they can always nave my
place at the rail. I'm done. l invested
lightly cents in tackle and | don't know
where it is now. I left it tied to the
piazza railing on the top balcony of the
boat. / had business elsewhere. No more
Cholera banks for me. If they are doing
any fishing on the wholesome shoals or
the Hygienic banks, maybe l may try an
other whack at it some time, but | don't
want any more stirring up like / got yes
terday. What's left of me is going back
to Sussex, and after my experience be-
lieve l can ride over the Sussex railroad
at nineteen miles an hour without getting
sick."
whats new up your way, Wash?"
mot a blamed thing. You heard about
Wally Decker shooting himself last week
No? Wei, that's a story. Wally was US
ing smokeless powder in his brother
Jim's gun, and he fired at a rabbit. The
Gun oGSL at the DlGecll SllU w dtlg dllI
ed. Eddie Eggers was with him, ana run
for Doc Lathrop, but while he was gone
Wally ON to and started for home. Ills
right hand seemed 10 be all blown to rags,
and he wrapped it up in a handkerchief
and stuck it under his vest. Ha walked
four miles, thinking that he was bleeding
70 death, and when ne got to the corners
ne sank down on the stoop OF the store
and tainted again. Va Blarcom dragged
him in and set him up on a box, whist
some Of the boys ran for the doctor;
When Doc Lathrop arrived he
the boys hand and discovered that he had
lost the nail from the third finger. 1t
was blown clear off. That was all, but
the hand was so blackened that it looked
as If it was all blown to pieces. Just as
soon as the boy was told the extent OF the
injury he jumped up and ran nome. he
was out shooting again a couple OF days
later with another gun, and had a harry
of a time. Wally is a natural born nun
ter, and I'll back him against anybody to
see all that's going, but it's pretty hard to
believe all that he says about that days
shooting. l just let him tell it and give
it to you without backing the story up in
any way. Wally says he started out at
daybreak with his dog, a mongrel cur,
that would run rabbits. hunt coons. go
into the water after ducks or muskrats or
point quail. Wally killed two rabbits
a weasel that was bleeding mother rabbit
it had caught. Just as he was going for
the weasel a big white owl bounced down
on it, and Wally killed the W He was
SttlOOlllliiS lhO w ~ t1AS
dog got on the trail of something, and he
started to see what it was. 1t turned out
to be a big raecoon caught in a steel trap
in a fish weir just below Fishers mill
dam. Wally bagged the coon alive and
went, back for the owl. He had then three
rabbits, a weasel, the owl and the coon,
and it made a pretty good load for a
boy, but he wasn't done hunting yet, and
he sot out down the brook into Miller's
pasture, where he killed another rabbit
and put up a bunch Of quail that scat
%1r1l s1+n Cr,raTItc Hn AID nVarUfhino
down in a heap and started into the thick
ct after the quail with his cur. He hadn't
been gone five minutes before his dog
came back to him with his tail between
its legs and lay down at his feet. Wally
was surprised, but he Wasn't scared, and
pushing on through the sprouts he came
The cat snarled, and Wally gave him both
barrels. turning him over for dead. Wal
ly lost interest in the. quail then, and
dragged the cat out OF the thicket and laid
covered the whole bunch up with leaves,
and went out hunting down the valley,
gettin' a couple of more rabbits and a pos
sum. Then he hunted back to the meadow
and got the quail up again, killing two
birds in three shots.
"As he come out of the clump of sprouts
eyes open. Right in the middle of his
bunch of game was a big wild cat, saw
agely d~evouring a rabbit. Wally imme-
diately concluded that it was his wild
cats mate, and approaching it cautiously
he let go both barrels loaded with num-
Der six shot. The cat tumbled over, but
jumped up again and took to the woods.
Then Wally. stepped out and looked at
his game pile, fully expecting to find his
wildcat under the leaves, but it kinder
knocked him when he got there and
found that all that was left of his game
was the wings n legs of the owl, part
of two rabbits, the head and tail of the
coon and the head of the weasel. His
wildcat was gone and the rest went with
him. When he laid the cat down it was
seemingly dead, but whilst he was away
it come to and had its appetite with it.