The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1898-05-06
THE JOKE WAS ON THE GEESE.
North Dakota Farmer Catches HOnIS-
ers With Jags.
From the DesMoines Leader.

From the DesAIoines Leader.
farmer on the Fort Rice reservation,
about ten miles below Bismarck, NJ D.,
on the Missouri river. has liberal sap
ply of wild geese, both dead and alive, as
a result of an experiment upon which he
has been bordering for some time, and
which worked to his entire satisfaction
and greatly to the disadvantage of the
geese. The season for the flight of the
great Canada geese from the South to their
summer haunts in the North has begun,
and thousands of the honkers stop at Off
ferent places along the river en- route.
The sandbars in the morning are black
with the great flocks of geese, and they
make short piIgrimages from the bars TO
the fields of the farmers adjacent to the
river for feed. They remain several days
in The locality. and furnish abundant
amusement for sportsmen.
AT the farm of the man in question there
is a huge sand bar projecting into the riv-
err but so far from the shore that no hunt
er can steal upon the geese which congre-
gate there near enough to get shot
Aware of their immunity, large focks of
the birds settle there every morning and
sun themselves for several hours, and
then migrate to the interior for food.
Having observed the movements of the
geese for several days, the farmer Tesolv-
ed to accomplish by strategy what he
could not accomplish by stealth, and every
morning before the arrival of the birds
he distributed about peck of corn about
the bar. Upon the return of the geese This
would be speedily devoured. and the pro
cess was repeated every morning for sew
eral days, greatly to the satisfaction of
the geese.
Last Saturday night the farmer came to
the city and secured a quart of the best al
cohol, which he said would be sufficient to
saturate a peck of corn quite thoroughly.
He placed the corn In the alcohol over
night so that it was thoroughly soaked,
and in the morning at the usual time he
spread it over the bar and concealed him
self in the brush along the shore of the
river and awaited the return of the geese.
They came as usual, and also as usual
ate up the corn, Soon after there was IL
great disturbance manifest among the
feathered denizens of the bar The alcohol
had a swift effect. and soon the bar was
covered with sprawling, waddling, maud
lin geese, ,inead stages of intoxication.
| Those that had eaten most freely of the
doctored corn were speedily affected, and
in various ways. Some of them were imme-
diately oveTnoWered and lay helpless in
| the sand in a sort of drunken stupor. 9th
ers attempted to fly, and were unable to do
| so, their wings refusing 10 perform their
usual functions, and the only result of
their efforts being an aimless Hopping
about the bar. Others staggered off like
! tipsy men, and finally succumbed to the in
huence of the liquor and lay down in the
sun in drunken Sleep. A few were able
TO fly and they scared off for few mo-
ments, but the alcohol was TOO much for
! them, and they were forced to circle back
| TO the bar and settle again on the sand.
After waiting for the liquor to have effect
| the farmer emerged from his hiding place
| and approached the drunken birds. They
seemed to have lost their usual fear and
many of them were inspired with a re-
markable pugnacity flying at him and en-
| deavoring to beat MIN with their wings.
| 1t was a laughable sight, and none of the
| geese realized their danger, but were in
! spired with all the drunken courage of
! men in the same situation The farmer
| knocked over a number of them with
| club and captured as many as were total
| ly stupeted with the liquor, alive, for de-
coys. The same plan has been tried before
| but not on so elaborate a scale