The Chickasha daily express. (Chickasha, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 1899-current, 1901-03-27

through the fog, they take it for grant
ed that all others are equally blind,
aud they become very bold
Settling down in hocks NAT look. in
the dimness Of the fog. like vast gray
blankets. they 90 TO work yoraclously.
While feeding they are not quite so
noisy as IN flight, but still they main
tain a conversational gabble that be.
trays them TO seekers.
Even among geese it does not pay 10
talk too much
Mounted on a footed horse that
win not stumble in soft plowed
ground. and armed with a repeating
rife the gooseherd gallops swiftly
through the fog in the direction Of the
Cabling geese. His mission is TO
fnghten. Should he do no more than
kin a few Of the flock. the remaining
thousands would be as greedy as ever
for the grain; but IL he frightens OF
the flock entirely, he frees the field
from the pest for the rest Of that sea
son.
Geese invariably move southwark
when disturbed, not 10 return till
spring. and then they fly high and IN
too much haste TO stop and rob the
fields.
AS soon as the herder spies the great
blanket-like spot Of geese on the
wheat. be spurs his horse and gallops
down upon them. 1t Is not until the
flock has risen into the air that he be-
gins 20 fire: then he keeps lpa fusillade
as long as they are in sight.
To fire at them while they are Oh
the ground would be dangerous. as the
rifles used are Of such calibre and
range that the bullet might ricochet,
or 'sklp-pack." along the earth, and
wound or kin hum beings or domes-
tic animals a mile away.
The antics Of the wild geese when
they hear the bullets whistling among
them are remarkable. They dodge and
squawk and back water with their
wings and tread air" with their feet,
and do all sorts Of aerial gymnastics.
But they never get too badly scared to
follow the old gander who "honks' to
them. and leads them OF southwark to
rob some other grain-field
Goose -herding is exciting go at
a gallop to set the geese moving; it is
dangerous-the horse may stumble
and fan with you: and IN the fog that
lies over those vast. fenceless fields.
you can't tell where you are goins
and you may get lost and chilled to
death; or you may accidentally shoot
somebody, or be shot yourself by some
other goOseherd.
When last was in California. graiE
ranchers paid gooseherds forty dollars
month and their board. furnished
them with rifles. cartridges and
mounts. and thought the work was
well worth the price.
On clear days goose-herding IS not
such hard work The "Honkl honkl
honkw OF the old gander In the lead
tells Of the approach of a flock from
the north. AS they pass overhead. one
gooseherd after another salutes them.
until. thoroughly "ratted," they not
only keep on the grain, but rising high
above the fuslllade Of riheballs, dap
their swift way at least a hundred
miles farther south.
When the wind IS strong and steady
fr6n the northwest and the day is
fair. Il Is comparatively easy to "stir
up the geese" and move them of
''d0Wn the wind, but inrainy weather
they stubbornly keep On flying MP and
settling on the wheat until literary
fofeed on Perhaps this is because the
tender young wheat. fresh and damp
with fog or rain. may taste better to
the geese than at other times
The geese concerned IN the mischief
are Of several kinds.-the big Cana
dian goose. the brant and the arctic
goose.-but the herders refer to them
as Of two kinds only. big gray honk
ers" and nasty little white geese"
In California there are some biz
grain ranches. One In Colusa County
is about twelve square miles in area
and embraces about seventy-fve thou
sand acres. On that ranch during
some winters from zen to twelve
thousand dollars have been spent fol
herding wild geese or the grain. Il
was the usual thing there to lay in q
supply Of a quarter Of a million rifle
cartridges for the gOoseherds. and tbs
owner. an eminently practical and sue
cessful man. said that be saved money
by the outlay.
Sometimes a black bank Of clouds
with high wind and heavy rain. comes
rolling in from the north. The whole
ornament seems full Of fiuttering bit.
OF paper blown before the storm
They. are wild geese fleeing southwark
Their noise Of frightened squawk. CAB
bic and honk IS 50 alarming that
horses and cattle often take fright
from it. dash against barbed-wirs
fences. and are wounded and malmed
| Dogs run about IN excitement and add