The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1900-04-01
GEESE MOVED roo EABLY.
Made a Lonx stop In Maine on Their Wa,
to the North.

PAssAprMKEA0, Me-. March 80. The train
dispatcher a, the southern end ogthe aerial route
Of the wild geese sent the locks/wsy two or three
weeks ahead Of time this Sizing. The birds
new along the coast, stopping. for a day or two
q. sheltered bays where fovd was plainly and
gunners were few, until they reached Maine.
when they veered to the D orth and started over
land for Hudson's Bay ana the unsx piored swsmps
oi British North America. On their journey In
land they stopped 10, pull grass roots In back
fields and take long swim in the cold brooks
ON the hillsides They picked frozen crnnberries
from the Ice in frost bound Dogs and screamed
and honked abou heaps Of fertilizer which HE
farmers had hsaled out on the frozen ground,
Every day a scouting party Of half a dozen vigor
Gus ganders ", nj north on a voyage oil discovery.
returning q, nightfall, when all the iiccks Assem-
bed on the shore Of q pond 70 hear the report
There was u great lot Of gabbling and palsver'
until late In the night. when the fentherod hosts
drew of to the middle Of the pond and settled
down to sleep in the six inches Of water that had
collected above the ice, which was still frozen
TO the shore. These trips were made every day
for a week. Meantime fresh arrivals came IN
every day until there were fully 10000 Wild geese
arouni Meat Jus AMI PaSsalumk'ag streams
WI course huDplS tpulu unutIshhu 'hei E" u
guage, but their actions told the reason for delay.
Below Old Town the fields and meadows were
bare. the brooks were open and the ice in tho ponds
was in great fiat discs, which we're surrounded
by wide rings Of open water. Twenty miles north
Of Old Town the snow was six teet deep in the
woods. and the men who fshsd for psckerel
through the ice wore snowshoes while tending
their lines, The geese had reached the northern
limit Of food production. II they went on they
would starve to death. As they were nothing but
geese, the idea Of going back to the shore where
Wild rice and shell rsh were plentiful never en-.
tered their silly heads, Therefore, they settled
down where the bare ground left off and the snow
began and tried ~ live oil the country.
They made sad havoc in the grass fieids. Inc
farmers Of central Maine rely upon clover as a
forage crop. 1t il a biennial growth from seeds,
which devote the first year 10 making long sue
culent roots. The second season the plants
produce stalks and flowers that cover the ground
and make excellent hay for COWS and sheep. A
Maine farmer who canno, grow clover had better
quit agriculture and GO 70 sharing rabbits ana ,hd
sweet roots Of the young clover for weeks De
nuding hundreds Of acres. The farmers made
frantic efforts to kill the invaders or drive them
away. Hundreds of long necked birds were
caught in traps and crushed by d~eadfalls The
swamps along the brooks were filed with deadly
snares Of twlne and copper wire. which caught
the geese by the legs and held them fas, until
their captors came along. Foxes. skunks and
minks grew fat feeding on the captured birds,
and finally, becoming Indifferent to the traps
got caught themselves. Stewed goose, or baked
goose or goose soup was always in the bill Of fare
Pillows that had been slept upon and patlcd INTO
shape until they had become as thin as laths
grew lat and plump from the addition o, n.e
Slated coops filled with screaming geese Whole
neighborhOods turned from farming TO goose
Ialslng in the h9ie Of making up fer the loss So %
catch geese and invent new swear words toapply
hen affairs were a, their worst the southeast
and rained for twelve hours, Then the sun came
out for an hour OF two Ia learn how many barns
and houses had been unrooted or blown over.
and hid his fa'e again while another tempest
swept over the land. Puddles expanded 10 ponds
and ponds turned To lakes in a night, The Ice
lifted from its winter mornings, crashed together
feet thick on lee shores. Thick foes became
damned al narrow outlets, forming high dams
that made backfiows to inunda,e the country.
Few bridges were disturbed. because III. ftust
was still in the ground, but the water was higher
than il was ever known TO go before, 40 that men
rowed in boats about turnpiked roads, and the
mails and household supplies were delivered IN
boats. II was the higges, freshet that Maine
has seen since, Noah quit going TO sea and retired
10 his whey ARD.
Three days after the storm, when most Of the
surplus water had escaped to the rivers, County
Commissioner Witham hitched a horse " a Sled
and started for the woods 10 visit a crew, oil men
ne had at a camP ten mil miles = up ps SS;,i Sn ssm "
10 n vale about four miles from home. As he
came upon the level z round the water grew deePei
Before he had gone a mile was over ms SLED
body, compelling him " climb upon the sled ais
10 keep his feet from getting wet. flowed IN
q strong steady current to, the southwest mp,
ping among the tree trunks with q noise tha'
was almost loud enough 10 be called, a roar,
As Wttham came out 10 a point where the Ioed
he was following Joined another woods road he
looked down the shining ribbon Of water between
IA tn uhI mi l..n a al AaS Mn uDln
the water. He had hardly given q glance al
the flock when an old gandeI utter a warning
honk and rose in the air, followed by the MOCK
When they were 300 or 900 feet above the EARN
the leader gave a command. which in goose Ian
guage is equivalent 70 by twos. left; march"
and all wheeled sharply 10 the left and went norm,
to the cal Of the commander. When they had
gone 50 or 100 rods the two ranks, which had
been moving in parallel lines. spread out TO me
rear, forming a N-shape troop with the commander
al the apex. Two or three minutes later another
flock arose, wheeled into line behind the leading
battalion and followed a half mile 70 the rear,
with military precision. Mr., Witham was SO
busy watching the graceful evolu,ions Of the
birds that he forgot all about his own com'oI.
cam 10 himsllf, he found the water Was to his
waist and his horse was swimming above the road
and towing the sled behind After he had gone a
mile the water gew shallow again, enabling him
" get 10 camp before noon.
Nr. Witham, untying a large bag which was
lastencd 10 his sled. II know II Is something
you will like, because II isn't every wood chopptng
crew that can get all the roast goose II wants.
As he put six dead geese on the e round in front
Of he camp door he noticed the men did not wear
the deligh tful expression he had expected IN see,
and wondered a, their Indifference.
DO you call that a treat asked his son, who
was foreman Of the crew.
Yes. Why not"
We'll. all / have got 10 say is,if you call six
geese a treat | wonder what you'd call this
The youth led the way 20 the hOvel LON where
the hay was kept, and pointed TO a heap Of more
that fifty dead geese lying in a corner.
We aln't done nothing but kill Wild geese and
| eat wild geese for a week said the young man
rontemptnuslv For ono Inn yck Of EN-"