The Banner-Democrat. [volume] (Lake Providence, East Carroll Parish, La.) 1892-current, 1901-12-14
HARD TO KILL a LOON.


He's Daring. Hardy Diver That Fools
Folks New to the Adirondssks.
OF all the Adirondack birds the hard.
est to kill is the loon. writes the Os-
good Lake IN. ~ correspondent of
the New York Sun. Indeed. II the
guides are to be believed. nobody ever
did kill q loon with the ordinary i'm.
plements Of the chase. 1t Is one Of the
pleasures Of the guides to see a strang-
er pride himself on his Workmanship,
the pleasure of the guide is all the
keener. for the chances are that the
cleverest marksman unacQuainted
wig .e peculiar characteristics Of
the5frd will have the modification Of
shooting again and again and seeing
his animated mark sail around Sc
renely as IL possessed Of q charmed
life.
Perhaps the fact that the loon II al
most impossible to pluck and almost
inedible after he has been plucked and
cooked may account for his immunity
from attack by sportsmen. Besides
this. however, he Is q quick diver with
a marvellous power Of staying under
water, and such is the toughness Of
his skin and the thickness of his feath-
ers, that even those who are skillful
enough to hit him are far from sure
of killing him. The guides solemnly
assure the unlearned In Adirondack
lore that the loon will swim miles un-
der water. and that his coat will turn
any ordinary bullet.
II tried once when I didn't know as
much as do now to kill a loon ND
at Meacham," said a bronzed old
guide. Il thought I had him where
he couldn't get away. never should
a tried 1t but for that. The lake was
nigh froze over. an when I spied him
he was swimmin' round and round In
a little space Of water tryin' to keep
1t open 80 he could fish. Well, I says
to myself, Mr.. Loon. got you this
time for I knowed that every time
he dived he'd have to come up in about
the same spot, because there want
no other place for him to come up. I
had rifle. mind you. and when I saw
him I was up on a blum more'n nifty
yards from where he was swimmin'
round.
1.-THE first time I fired I hit him. be-
cause I took him BY surprise. He
Owed. and 1 waited for him to float up
dead, but he came up just a. live az
ever. fred the second time Just az
he came up. and felt sure I had him
that time. But bless you. he popped
out Of water and went on swimmin'
just 40 II nothin' had happened. Well,
! was pretty mad about that time. 20
I looked round to make sure that mo-
body wasn't watchin'. and I gave 10
to him again. Down he dived, and ND
he came Just as IL bullets was bread
pills. kept that up for sixteen shots.
madden each shot than the last, and
every time that loon came up just AZ
If he liked 1t. I knowed that hit him
every time. because I could see him
sag when the bullet reached his back.
AFTER the sixteenth shot gave 10!
up as a bad Job. and that's why I
know you can't kill loon with ride
unless you hit him from the rear just
as he's divin.' I knowed then, too.
why the looms hide we used to cover
gun locks never wore out or let in
water. There never was q better thing
for that purpose. but you don't often
see 'em. because the looms so hard to
kill.
'Fact is," pursued the old man. with
a reminiscent smile. II never did kill
a loon. properly speakin'. and the only
one ever got l took In q net. That
was up at Meacham, too. We had
an English girl as cook at the hotel. q
strappin' thing. that could outfit any
Of us boys, and she had q temper hot
tern beechwood fire.
II brought in the loon, and the boss
told me to give 1t to the cook and tell
her it was a wild goose for dinner. I
gave 1t to her. and then we waited
around to see her pluck It. How she
pulled at them feathers! She twisted
and she turned. and she yanked. and
she swore and not q feather budged
from the hide. Bilin' water didn't do
no good. and guess she'd a. been
pullin' at them feathers TIL now IL
she hadn't heard one Of us fellers snig-
ser. Then she knowed she'd been
fooled, and she gave that loon a dirt
that ce1t 1t clean out of the kitchen.
And we weren't long follerin' It,"