Evening star., 1899-07-19
MISSOURI DUCK SHOOTING.
A Wonderful Yarn About a Trim i'm
mississippi County,


] From the Chicago Inter Ocean
II think / ran into peculiar and uncon.
mon situation while duck hunting at Big
Lake, near Charleston. Mississippi county.
Mo-. week or so ago says w. T. New
comb of st. Louis county. 81 often go to
Big, or Ketleys lake as the people down
there refer to the relic of the 1911 earth
quake. They call 1t KeIley's lake in honor
| OF that quaint old hunter Pat Kelley. who
once dwelt upon its shore and made things
lively for everybody when he got his kite
out for a solar flight There is another
rough rider down there now, but he don't
preak out as often as Kelley did. Jim Hat
heid Is the name Of the big hunter of r4le
backwater. l camped with Hatfield in his
very comfortable cabin deep in the tinbered
bottom. between the lake and the Mississ,p-
pi, on little ridge, around which winds a
thread OF creek when not flushed with the
overflow from Big lake. There are several
ponds near this creek which Hatfield k.eps
bafted with corn in the duck season. One
pond. about half mile from the cabin. Is
formed by spread OF the creek. and this is
what Hatfield calls 'Horspital slough Tyhi.
creek and pond is hemlned in by a thicker
of buck brush and a tangle of vines Of an
Kinds that grow wild in the southwestern
swamps
!" Reckon I'll land ye in the Horspttal to-
night. There hez bin heap NV shootin' on
Big lake past day two en- that means
crlpples In Horspital slough. Yer see ther
leetle cr1ck wot runs back ter the slough
goes inter ther Big lake. Ther cripple birds
just sneak up tibet ere crick till they reaches
the slough. whar puts a heap Nv unshellef
corn fer ter feed 'em on. Some DAYS me en-
Paw-paw, referring to his wonderful ca
rine of unknown origin, list git a huh load
Nv mallards. l don't hev ter shoot many NV
the crippleS Just let old Paw-paw 20 in
en- fetch 'em out, while sits down en- ref
A.
ther fghtin mallards.'
The canoe was at the slough when we
arrived Friday evening. 1t was the last day
of the season. and determined To take a
lot OF ducks home next day Besides I
thought 1t better to kill the winged birds
than to leave them prey for prowlins ami
mails. There We're about sixty ducks in the
Horspital and old Paw-paw wanted TO get
busy right away, but I decided to use IN
the ffty-odd shells of No. s shot that had
by shooting the ducks in the head / began
banging away and the old mallards set up a
racket that nearly drove the dog into hys-
terics. Hatfield tied him TO a tree and then
showed me how TO get back to HIS cabin in
the canoe, as he had to go back to box some
fish There was strong cable of staging
cord stretched along the creek and 81 could
be reached while lying down in the canoe
which was necessary IN many places espe-
oaLy in the darkness. With your head
toward the bow, reclining on your back
you had to pull yourself out by this cord
Il kept my gun barking until all the
ducks in sight lay lifeless- on the water and
then let old Paw-paw loose and he
brought them in one and two at a time and
placed the birds in the stern of the canoe
l counted forty-eight ducks and one goose
before L took a position in the dugout To
pun Tor nome Paw-paw scampered along
the bank while I gliled under a ,etv,orlr as
vines, through gloomy arches of bnelC
pfush; around sharp curves, sometimes but
tihS the nose OF the canoe against the bank
at intervals, and nearly overturnIng The
fran craft. If | had attempted to get out
by polling or padding I would certainly
have upset dozen times. But twenty min
ates arter got under way the light at Hat
fields flashed cheerily through the gloom
and he was on hand to o-take charge of inc
game. After supper his horse was hitched
up to a long blackboard wagon with room
to put in box and sack behind the seat
and we started over q corduroy road out 10
the main highway to Charleston"