The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1901-10-06
HUNTING THE DUCK
GREAT SHOOTING SEASON IS NOW
ON IN THE DOMINION OF
CANADA
RARE SPECIMENS IN WOODS
Exasperatfng Gray Divers and Red
heads Test Skill and Nerve
of the Best Sports
men.

which have been IN. retlreHlent' IN the
nurseries of lakes and creeks to the
north will be bringing their progenies
out into civilization. And then shooting
| upon the open lakes will be the sport,
says the New York Sun. &.a-51t +
< Just now the birds must be sought IN
| creeks or still stretches of back water,
EMhere the parents are putting the Hi7
! ishing touches on the education OF the
| almost full grown duckings. And unless
the broods have been spotted beforehand
it is not e asy to locate them. One party
would have made a blank day OF it the
other day but for quiet. little chuekle
(which drew attention to the green. head
of drake who was hidden amid the
leaves of an oyerhanging alder, and was
congratulating himself and his two fol-
lowers upon being undiscovered by the
occupants Of the passing boat
|. The knowledge the ducks have acquired
of tiny tributaries to creeks and mud
holes more or less remote from the
streams is thorough, and in many in
stances the bush alongside is so dense
and the mud so deep as to make it impos-
sible for eonsiderate mans settlers to
continue their smelling-out work long at
time And since water fowl are no
| toriously hard to kill and when wounded
have wonderful powers of hiding them
selves, the birds are about as. good as
7 lost if shot SO that they do not. drop into
the water. So that a boat large enough
to hold good retriever and to make row.
| ing hard work, is a necessity. Take it
| altogether it is no wonder that bags are
small at the beginning of the season.
/ 1t is at this time, however. that the
sportsman in love with the beautltul
goes along the creeks, and lake s1des
after the loveliest of all the American
aquatic birds, that ornithological puzzle
| the little summer or wood duck. About
hole acssrre .,oft foil
bright green head like a glorified mallard,
| a, snowwhite necklace, body spotted and
barred with rich crimson, brown and
white, darker wings, with wide green
light edged bar, crested and pert the
dendronessa, from dendron, the Greek
for tree, for so has science named it, is.
the dandy of the large family to which it
belongs.
People used to laugh at the hunters
| tales of webbed footers nesting in trees,
| and to inquire scofhngly how they grasp
| ed the branches. But the wood duck Is
| rightly named after all. 1t does make its
| nest in trees and that sometimes at the
height of thirty feet from the ground.
! Generally the eggs are not easy to get
| at either, and even yet authorities differ
as to how the youngsters leave the
| nest Probably when they are unable to
| drop from the tree into the water, the
| little things have to lie still for a few
days, until their stubby wings are strong
I enough to break the fail of their fluffy
little yellow bodies. There are some
/ who still stick to it that the mother
bird carries her babies to earth on her
back, under her wing, or in her bill.
These dainty little ducks threaten to
become scarce, owing to the drain the
| taXidermist makes upon the always rath-
! er limited supply of them Not every
! one knows that there ic ole f,oa
goose of similar habit to the; dendron-
-essa
! Another beautiful game bird well worth
! searching for is the harlequin CARROT
3I,which breeds to the north of the st.
Lawrence, and from all accounts is to
be had anywhere along the Labrador
coast and occasionally near Lake St Pc
/ ter below Montrel. This duck has the
4, appearance of being painted up for
some aquatic circus ring, the blending
| of the colors-warm brown almost red,
white and purple, being very like a joke,
though in manners, as gunners soon
j IND, 1t is by no means fool ls<s
The big black duck is the hunters all
4 round favorlte. A grand targetit makes
IN It's rapid but steady flight Always to
| De depended upon to circle around like
other varieties at last once if flushed
| from pond or small lake it sails
J. stralght away on a large body of wa
| Ter, as fast as it can, but not faster than
the shot will travel, if the hand :s
steady and quick which directs it Some.
| tlmes, not often, the black duck is to he
taken unaWares, as when a native of
Cdwoou township sneaked along until
/ ne rested ms elbow on the brush-covered
end OF log, on the floating mart Of
winch he saw a duck sitting To bis
surprise, when he had recovered from
! .ne knockdown blow which his over
charged muzzle loader dealt~bin3 he
nearu tremendous fluttering on tba
water, and, swimming out, retrieved saw
Gu luii-groWn magnificent birds which
! rs nave peen summing themselves
strung along on the log. 9,3-,, -
me writer can give ex most fac+o o,,;
oe Iic or the deed. since in honor o fV! =
NIell ne PAD next day to the msrl5sman! :.
nddi,iy, all seven ducks were stuffed wit +
| pUuulnS ralS1nS, and roasted in q earo " :,
oven in the sand for his sneoiaI 5o Jtoseo
tlon And though he has never been shio
70 nave the recipe duplicated in biS go
| WIS nUnie' ne deposes that the effect was
| most savory, and-it was after tUen ~ as
ls1actory. sat
:. ON Bronze lake here these birds VIII he
| dooi,u III hooks from fifty to several hun
dred by the middle of next month WI VIII,
maIi,CHIul Sentlnels properly posted ana
S I'LL tnelr senses all on the alert for pos
b how noes' tney are not easy. to get at,
.
lhl,iies, are used and occasionally arr
less phhus are constructed the hunfS,.s
arS iSchoned TO nave done well who Sc
cure three or four ducks in the day -
me ARGENT duck hunter whezhas time
at ms disposal would do well to arrange
to spend few weeks in the nor ,nern dis
| trlcts. From Ottawa he will find fl5iir ~
| nve railways to carry him TO the MAJ
| lava, Lake Temisca mingue, . Upper OF
/ tawa, or Gatineau regions Wherever
there are lakes along these lines. ducks
! will be found, and generally guides to
! give directions or to take charge oftthe
I party. The focks will not be so large
| as, but will: be much ca sier of annroa;sb
| than those found further south A duck
! call properly used at the right time. and
| a few decoys, Will bring the birds near m
the natural covers whence execution NAV
| be done. Or with care an eXperiencea
canoeist can creep along near the shores
and get good shot at the unbroken fam
! lilies, which, SO long as the marksmepeis
not too conspicuous a figure and nru-
crosses evenly and quietly, will usually
remain on the water until the gun rings
| out. Even then If it is the parent birds
| which are picked out, the others scatter
/ over the lake, and after their short flight
may be found hiding in twos and threes
| lit tiny bays or near the rusheSs i 49,
The fine rejhead one of the American
teals: is also common duck att the
! North, and may be easily recognized at
distance by reason of it's partly Wh:te
attire. AS its deeply serrated bill shows
1 it is somewhat of a vegetarian, and is
t-often found near weed beds, or where
| the wild rice thrives though it OCCASION
ally visits gram fields. 1t is. according
anatidae as table bird, there being lit
| tie suspicion of fishiness and a mild
/ gaminess about the flavor of its meat
Perhaps the redhead is one of - the
most difficult of all the ducks to secure
| if not killed outright. 1t is amazing
! how QlIiHk1V a wounded blvd will