The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1899-01-06
WILD GEESE In THE SOUTH.
Wise DecOy Fowl That Are Used o
Lure Their own Kind to
the Hunters.

In many parts of the south wild geese
breeding is carried on for the benefit
of sportsmen, especially among the
seed-bound shores of Hyde county, n.
C., where years ago some one wounded
goose, bred from it, and spread its
product through the district. Here are
goose yards, and as soon as hunter
enters the yard the inmates know, like
dogs, that they are going hunting, and
squawk, fight and struggle to be the
first to be taken out and placed in the
coop or bag in which they are carried
tc the grounds. Pieces of green tough
rooted turf are cut and staked out in
four or five inches of water, and goose
is tethered to each stake and allowed to
stand on the sod. Thus placed, the
goose has the appearance of resting.
The hunter retires to his blind to watch,
not the sky line, but the tethered geese.
Suddenly one stirs, another follows
suit, muffied sound is made by one,
and then away off will be seen streak
CT moving gray dots which quickly de-
velop into flock, gander and goose
in the lead, goslings to the rear. The
birds drop well out of shot, to see if
the quality of geese on the sods permits
visit without loss of caste. The Cos
lings, needless of social forms, gayly
start forward to gossip with the de-
coys, but the parents head them off
scolding, cackling with many modula-
tons and much emphasis of tone. CAB
bling wise saws and modern instances
innumerable, as wise parents have done
to children since the world began. I'M
til gradually the gander himself yields
to the clamorous gable of the deroy
flock, which has kept up flood of
praises of the choicest feeding ground.
He slowly drifts down with much i'm
portance, his females behind, the
youngsters in their train. His eye is
4 mans eye at an opening no bigger
than a dollar, bright coat button
glinting in the sun, the CLEAN Of dia-
mond or the lock OF gun, even the
awkward flop of a tethered goose from
eff it's SOD, is sufficient to send them
away bag and baggage, and good day.
good day to them.
A curious feature of these live decoy
geese is that they must not be shot
over. The hunter is warned that, no
matter what happens, he must wait I'M
til the strangers paddle to one side or
the other of the decoys, and failing
that, he must let his chance go by.
f0r. if ha Al
tethered birds they are nervous, and
at the approach of stranger flocks re-
member what happened, and, showing
fear, disturb and unsettle the strangers.
Firing to the side they do not appear
to mind, and the older birds who have
been out one or two seasons, when they
see a gun go up, ''down charge" like
veteran setter or pointer, on their
piece of sod, chattering like parrots
after the wild birds have been dropped.
Tanned geese have been used on Long
Island and other places, but not so gen
orally as in Hyde county.
On the great South bay, Long Island,
which are so designed that they will
float on water or may be pushed along
on ice by the occupants, having steel
runners underneath. When the geese
are around, the hunter in white over
suit pushes off from the shore and pad
dies over to the foe, his impetus carry
ing him to it. Then with the iron-shod
oar he pushes over it, across the next
open water and the next foe, until he
gets to the piece of open water he aims
at, far enough removed from the shore.
Then he places his stales, draws his
white apron over him, and, with his
gun across his chest, lies back in his
boat to freeze until the geese come.
If any are around some are generally
bagged, but it is cold, hard work.
Nevertheless, the grounds could not be
reached by any other method, the ice
being too treacherous to bear an or
binary blind. This the geese appear to
Inter Ocean.
Rr4iu of Rats