The comet. (Johnson City, Tenn.) 1884-1916, 1899-05-25
LAUGH WAS ON OUR BOB.
Ex-Governor Taylor Goes Duck Hunting in
Texas and Meets With Remarkable
Success.


A Fort Worth, Texas, paper tells the
following story of duck hunt taken
by ex-GoY. Taylor during his recent
visit to that city:
Hon. Barnett Gibbs went to hear his
friend, Gov. Bob Taylor, lecture on
Glove, Laughter and Song" and then
induced him and Mr.. Rice to go for q
ploYer hunt on the Grapevine ranch.
They started Monday morning and, as
Gov. Taylor and Mr.. Rice had heard
great deal about plover hunting and
had seen few on toast, they were full
of the fever Of sportsmen. Mr.. Gibbs
has a large lake in which he always
keeps on tap for his sportsmen guests
lot of "pull-doos" or mud hens. These
are not mountain birds, but are as gen
tie as house cat and hard to kill or
make fly off of the pond, and, like an
egg, get harder the longer they are
cooked. Before reaching the plover
ground Mr.. Gibbs steered his guests
toward the prarie tank. At about 800
yards Gov. Taylor and Mr.. Rice spied
the birds, two each side; Gibbs spied
them also, and innocently remarked
that they were ''Decotah ducks" the
rarest birds that ever took southern
fight and as hard to get shot at as
Filipino. Mr.. Gibbs held the horses
and Gov. Taylor crept out of the buggy
on one side of the tank and Mr.. Rice
on the othor. The first hundred yards
they bumped themselves oyer to look
as much like COW as possible, and the
last hundred yards they laid fat on the
ground and pushed their guns along in
front. Both rose and fired both bar
rels. One 'pull-doo" laid over, but
the Others swan around as if nothing
unusual had happened. Gibbs drove
up in hurry and Gov. Taylor yelled:
"We have killed one and wounded eve
duck ON the pondl Gibbs, I am as
proud Of killing these Decotah ducks
as was the day of my first inaugura-
tion, and while l am not anxious to do
it, I will swim this tank before 1 will
lose these Decotah ducks after running
my lecture suit crawling up on them"
About that time small boy came along
on horseback, and Gov. Taylor waved
at him frantically. He said; "Bud, L
will give you new dollar to go in af
ter the ducks" The boy went and got
the dead "pull-doo" and ran the others
out on the prairie. They half flew and
half ran in the tall grass. The boy laid
the dead duck at the feet of the Ten
nessee Governor and said; "Mister,
loan me your gun and give me another
dollar and I will go after the Others" I"
Gov. Taylor jumped at the trade. The
boy returned with one, and having
been privately coached by Gibbs, call
ed it a"Decotah duck" The party went
on with the plover hunt, and while the
Tennessee politician was not up ON
duckology he and Mr.. Rice bagged
thirty plover and carried them on to
Fort Worth. At the Coppell depot
quite lot Of people gathered around
the popular Tennessean, but an old
farmer friend and admirer spied on the
game string the ''mud-hens" and said
"Bob, what in the HI are doing
with this thing?"
"Why, said the Governor, "these are
Decotah ducks, killed on the ranch Of
my friend, Gibbs"
The farmer said: Bob, it is darn
Populist job; even the boys won't shoot
these things"
"The jolly Tennessean laughed and
said: 81 am glad this is a local optior
town, and if ever I get Gibbs back il
Tennessee / will fix him."
The train whistle blew, the brunette
statesman yelled: "Well, Governor
this world should have laughter ant
music. Ia, to-"
Eyes, Mr.. Gibbs, but these spoiled
clothes and that two dollar duck money
was hard-earned, and not out of tn,
mud-sillers, was the retort.