The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1897-12-20
CAPT. THRoCKMoRTON's EXPEDI-
TIoN UP THE MISSOURI In
THE GENOA.
10000 GEESE ON ONE BAR.
WHEN THE BAND PLAYED THE
GEESE HONKED IN GREAT
GLEE.
They Attacked the Boat-Row With
the Government at Leaven-
worth.

WESTON, Mo-, Dec. 18.-"Hunting
wild geese with a steamboat and brass
band is about as interesting sport, /
reckon, as a man can have"
One Of the patriarehs of the Platte
Purchase made this observation to the
only arrival in the town today, at the
drug store, where the arrival had en-
tertained some Of the old constituency
Of George Belt, former Sheriff Sam
Gflgert, political leader Of the congress
sional district, Col. Jim Burnes, and
John Doniphan. The only arrival had
been talking about deer hunting in
Maine and Long Island. The patri-
arch, without urging, continued:
1T was in 1851, on the Missouri river
Passenger traffic had lightened, and in
those days few boats went up the river
very far after Nov. l. I remember that
old Capt. Throckmorton, Of the Genoa,
asked his freight clerk how much car
go was aboard the day before sailing,
and the reply was not encouraging. The
next morning in the steamboat adver-
tisements the announcement was made
that the Genoa would leave her wharf
in st. Louis that afternoon for the wild
goose grounds of the Missouri as far
north as Omaha and that special rates
would be made to sportsmen. A band
of music was aboard. Some Of you deer
hunters may think this would be a good
place to stop the story. But there are
other incidents. When the Genoa pull
ed out she had more guns and ammuni-
ton and hunters than she had cargo
'The Missouri river was at low stage
in the fall. 1 want to say to you deer
hunters who hunt in a country the
topography of which is so accurately
described that you can travel
with your eyes shut, that there
is no map, and there never
has been one made Of the Mis-
souri, river which will enable a man
who is not civil engineer to bet on
it's course. 1 was looking at a map in
my grandson's geography only the
other day, and 1 saw that the Missouri
river was put down just as it was in
that boys fathers geography, and as
it was in my own. / don't know why
1t is, but people never doubt map.
Same way about railroad time tables.
''It was the continued shifting of the
current of the Missouri river which
~S~S'N'SNA
part Of the scenery along the course.
There were miles and miles of these
bars at certain points. The further up
the river you Travelled the more sand
bars you saw. First on one side of
the river and then on the other. The
only trees that ever grew on these bars
were cottonwood, and about the time
they got their start the river would
wash the bar away or leave it so far
from the moisture of the river that the
trees would die.
ION these sand bars, In the fall, the
wild goose stopped in it's southwark
flight. [ wonder why we never see any
of the flocks of geese we used to see
in those days along the river. Is it
because there are more people or fewer
geese? The sand bars are still there,
more numerous than ever. 1 have seen
wild geese so thick on these bars that
when they rose in body they darken-
ed whatever they passed over and the
rattle and flap of their wings sounded
like far-aWay thunder. AS one flock
would disappear another took it's place.
And / have known these migrations to
continue long after the trees were bare,
when the sands were white with snow,
and ice clogged the river.
the first worthy the attention Of such
an expedition, was on the bars just
above Glasgow, and near the mouth
of Charlton river The bend in the
Missouri at that point was about seven
miles in extent dent know what IL
is now When the Genoa rounded that
bend the geese ten thousand If there
was one, gave us a reception. Every
geese spread his wings, stretched his
long neck, and honked. Think of TO-
900 honks, all alike, and all at the same
moment.
Capt. Throckmorton protested
against firing He said it would be bad
luck; that the survivors would send
messengers to the flocks further up the
river and they would disappear. Be
sides, he said the geese had given the
Genoa such a reception that it would
be the worse for US if we failed to ap
preciate it, The captains suggestion
that the band should play was adopted.
My recollection is that the music Of
that band consisted of Pop Goes the
Weasel Went Down to Lucy's
House, Wait for the Wagon and
fNapoleon's Retreat from Moscow The
geese stood silent during the first piece.
Then, when it was over, they honked
for more. When the band responded
they stood still again, and when that
was over they honked and tapped their
wings The Genoa by this time had
to blow off steam. When the go-ahead
bell jingled the boat started and the
blew-off made the internal noise it al
ways does. 1 looked to see the geese
demoralized by this. But they SEEM
ed to like it. 1t seemed to me they all
rose at once. Anyway, most of them
did, and they f1ocked to the boat. They
covered the hurricane deck, lit on the
pilot house and tapped on the guards.
"Capt Throckmorton ordered the band
to play, but the leader.in fighting an o,d
goose, had made a miscue and lost the
horn in the river, and the leader was