Spirit of the age. [volume] (Woodstock, Vt.) 1845-1913, 1901-10-19
HARD TO KILL A LOON.
He's IA Daring, Hardy Diver That Fo
EnlLs Nayy IN the AdirOnaacks

He's "A Daring, Hardy Diver That Fools
Folks New to the Adirondacks.
OF all the Adirondack birds the hard
est to kill Is the loon, writes the Os-
good Lake On. " correspondent of
the New York Sun. Indeed, if the
guides are to be believed, nobody ever
did kill Il loon with the ordinary i'm
plementS of the chase. 1t Is one of the
pleasures of the guides to see 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
with the peculiar characteristics of
the bird will have the modification of
shooting again and again and seeing
his animated mark sail around Sc
renely as if possessed of a charmed
life.
Perhaps the fact that the loon is 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 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 I'M
der water, and that his coat will turn
any ordinary bullet.
Il tried once when didn't know as
much as l do now to kill loon up
at Meacham," said brOnZed old
guide. II thought I had him where
he couldn't get away. l never should
a tried it but for that. The lake was
nigh froZe over, an when l spied him
he was swimmin round and round ir
a little space of water tryin to keeL
1t open so he could fish. Well, l says
to myself, Mr.. Loon, 1 got you this
time for l knowcd that every time
he dived he'd have to come up in abou.
the same spot, because there wa'n'l
no other place for him to come up. ]
had a rife, mind you. and when saw
him l was up on Il bluff more'n fifty
yards from where he was q swimmin
round.
The first time l fired I hit him, be.
cause l took him by surprise. He
dived. and waited for him to float up
dead, but he came up just as live as
ever. l fired the second time just as
he came up, and l felt sure l had him
that time. But bless you, he popped
out of water and went on swimmin'
just as If nothin' had happened. Well,
| was pretty mad about that time so
/ looked round to make sure that no
body wasn't watchin'. and gave it
to him aga in. Down he dived, and up
he came just as if bullets was bread
pills. l kept that up for sixteen shots.
madden each shot than the last. and
every time that loon came up just rs
if he liked it. l knowed that hit him
every time. because l could see him
sag when the bullet reached his back
After the sixteenth shot 1 gave it
up as a bad job. and that's why l
know you can't kill a loon with rifle
unless you hit him from the rear just
as he's divn.' | knOwed then. too.
why the looms hide we used to cover
gun locks never wore out or let in
water. There never was a 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, Il never did kill
a loon, properly speakin', and the only
one | ever got l took in a net That
was up at Meacham, too We had
an English girl as cook at the hotel,
strappin thing. that could outfit any
of us boys. and she had a temper hot.
tern beechwood fire.
II brought in the loon, and the boss
told me to give it to the cook and tell
her it was wild goose for dinner.
gave it 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 a feather budged
| from the hide. Bilin water didn't do
no good. and l guess she'd a been
pulln' at them feathers till now if
| she hadn't heard one of us fellers sng-
ger. Then she knowed she'd been
| fooled, and she gave that loon tiirt
that sent it clean out of the kitchen.
And we weren't long follerin' it,
N,,I, N.1,,a