The mirror. (Stillwater, Minn.) 1894-1925, 1903-04-02

GG&GG&G&G&GGGGGGG
TX THAT DO we do in South
Nf western Minnesota for
Y amusement and recrea-
tion? I shall answer that
question to the best of my ability.
Back in the early days, when Mime
sofa was still in her swaddling clothes,
the principal sport was in the field,
with dog and gun; and perhaps no Sec
tion of this great collection of states
offered a superior field for this class of
sport. The country, abounding in fine
2akes, large sloughs and numerous
water courses, with an abundance of
wild rice, offered unusual attrac-
tions to then aquatic fowl; and
here they literally swarmed. Here
also the prairie hen cackled and the
strRtting cock drummed noisily to
his mate in the evening twilight;
and here the curlew, the golden plover
and the jacksnipe made the welkin
ring with their merry calls. The
hardy son of toll shouldered his old
muEzle loader and sailed forth to
procure roast, broil or stew; and
was well content with brace or
two of the plump and we'll fed fowl,
with which to spice his homely fare.
Not SO the eastern sportsmen. This was
their Mecca; and here they congregated
and slaughtered to their hearts content;
out of sheer wantonness-and called it
sport
In this connection I will say that
good shooting still exists in certain To-
calities of this section, during:the open
season. The most favored place being
Heron Lake, in Jackson county;a a large
sheet of water some twelve miles long,
the upper end of which is full of rushes
and wild rice. There is probably no
other feeding ground in the state so
entieing to the canvasback and the
mallard as this.
1t was here that Fred Gilbert, the
champion trap and wing shot of the
world, acquired that proficiency which
enabled him, a green country lad, to 60
to Baltimore in '92, and there, in COM
petition with one hundred and forty of
the most famous marksmen of the
country, the "Wizard of the West" won
the title he knows so we'll how to de-
fena. There also Harry Morrison, the
present amateur champion, became so
expert that he was enabled, last sum-
mer at Winnepeg, to wrest the title
frpm the former holder. The above
mentioned gentlemen are still residents
Of that locality, altho Gilbert lives just
over the line in Iowa.
Among the early settlers we find
many Englishmen, and it was they who
first introduced that peculiarly fasci-
nating and exhilarating sport of riding
to hounds. In this sport, not only did
Sir Reynard figure as the quarry, but
the festive jackass rabbit and the howl
ing coyote were considered legitimate
prey for the hounds. Even in prairie
country fox hunting is intensely excit-
ing, altho the same element of danger
does not enter into it that prevails in
more rugged localities. Here the great
est danger hes in the burrows of ami
mails into which your mount may step
and fall, perhaps breaking leg and
giving you an ugly fall. When Hugh
Paul "was on earth" and kept open
house, he made that country famous
with his fine stud and kennel. When
e once the quarry was started, nothing
could stop the "bloody Britishers;" but,
with bark land whoop and wild halIoo,' u
they were off; through streams, over
fences and bitches, and across land un.
der cultivation and perhapsl to crop,
they would go. Pausing for nothing
until the quarry was taken, or succeed
ed in eluding the hounds. Immediately
npon arriving home, Paul would send
his man over the course to ascertain
what damage had been done, and to
arrange payment for the same. These
young Englishmen know how to enter.
tain; and they thoroughly enjoy life
especially when the "old man" is a