The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1903-10-03

lin d-n smart man.
Philosophy of Col. Wheaton.
He may have been greener than the
grass that grows, and then again he may
not have been. He certainly looked the
part, and il he was only acting 1t ne was
master actor. He was In the
ablest hands in the county; men who
have a reputation to sustain, and are gen.
orally certain that they have fool to fool
with before they start In to fool with
him-and if he didn't fool the foolers,
certes the blind good luck that stands
guardian for fools, drunken men and chill
dren, stood by him nobly But the reader
can use his own judgment as to his folly,
or the reverse. I'll tell the story.
He came up here with money to burn
a wet dog WITH as Mr.. Fadden hath
1t, and with an outfit Of guns, rods and
other sporting gear that made the mouth
of every one Of us hard-bitten frontiers
men water as we gazed on it-and he
didn't know how to use the first thing
in it, But he didn't pretend to knowledge.
either. In fact, he didn't talk Of himself
at all. All his conversation was Of the
great sport to be had in our woods and
waters, and his determination to get his
fair share of it, and as much more as pos
sible Likewise he bought" for every
body he could induce to accept-and de-
clinations were few-inyited all and SUM-
dry to go hunting, or fishing, he didn't
care which. and was willing to mix boths
and pay all expenses.
And at long last he fell into the compe-
tent hands of Arthur, Will and Andy, and
the quartet Jared forth, the population Of
one mind that the stranger was "un
against the real thing, and had 1t COM
ing He was perhaps, and perhaps it was
due him-indeed he got more or less Of it
but, as said before, it's no cinch that he
was not the real thing himself, at any
rate a very good imitation thereof.
AS a starter he wished to shoot grouses
so the boys took him to a locality where
grouse used to be, but are not, tho there
are lots of other kinds Of grouse, the breed
known to the law ruffed grouse, and to
the woods generally as pat RIDGE
These are still under the protection of the
law, but our good stranger took them for
their cousins that are now legally klllabIe,
and did more or less execution among
them. In fact, he rather liked them,
judging from his remark that 1t was far
easier to shoot this kind Of grouse than
those back home, our kind stood still
and jerked their tails so that It was no
trick at all to hit them; whereas the
other breed always few up before a fell
low could get bead on them, and hs
seldom could hit them at all. In fac the
latter end Of his remark about describes
his aghooting-he very seldom hit any,
thing that did not stand still, and wait to
be shot. But the boys moved him on
to a lake where they assured him he
could find lots of ducks, which lake was
about half a mile from the house of a
farmer where the whole crowd put up.
Then Andy coaxed him out fishing under
fraudulent pretense of muslxies in water
that never held anything nobler than a
pickerel, while the other two set to work
to blaze trail from the farmers barn
yard thru the timber to the lake Of
ducks.
At this labor Of love they worked so
faithfully and we'll that the maze that
protected Fair Rosamunds bower was az
a b to It,. 1t came out on the road by
which they had reached the farmers
house, and about five miles away from it,
and their new version of the real thing
was IN readiness for their guest.
Early the next morning the partv
started for the lake, the stranger, as one
not acquainted with the lay of the land,
oelng placed at the home end Of the
bazed TRAIL and told to follow his noss
till ne reached the lake. where he was as
sured he would find q good blind to shoot
from and which he could easily reach in
time to get busy with the ducks the others
would scare up from different points Of
the lake and drive in his direction. Of
course he did not see the lake. and It was
nearly dark before he reached the farm
efs mouse. But he was In a fever-heat Of
exultation. had no kick coming" and
indeed offered the graceless trio manv
apologies for his failure to connect with
them. Which failure was explained bv
the fact that he bore on his shoulders
the carcass of a fine 2-year- old buck, it's
head fairly blown off, which, he explained.
IA r,ha ~
nave been very close to the lake, and at
such close range that he was able to
Kill 1t with duck shot before he had time
to think that he was violating the game
laws. When he did call that fact to mind
the deer was dead. and what was the use.
80 ne carried. dragged, and pushed his
victim along the trail till he reached the
road and then logged 1t all the way to
the house-or at least that Is what he
said he did. And they feasted on venisou
and IN answer to the earnest PRAYER Of
the stranger, who, having broken the ice
OF game law violation, was willing to 60
the limit in that direction they agreed
to so arrange it that he could get a shot
at a moose
10 Which end they took him to an
other lake where moose had never been
seen, but where there was a steam launch
they could get, also the cottage of a sum-
WINCH ldllST- contained
among Its furnishings the finest mounted
moose head in this country. And their
nttle game Is apparent They easlv
sWlped' the moose head, and fixing it
IN l1felike position among the bushes
along the shore, dispatched their victim
IN the launch under Wills guidance:
Arthur and Andy being detailed to scout
along the shores and drive what moose
they might scare UP into the water.
viii was to sight the moose head cali
hiss passengers attention to it, work I'm
close enough for him to get a shot, and
then Joggle' the launch so that he could
not possibly hit Which was considered
easy to do, as the victim was armed with
an old 1880 which didn't hit anything as
general proposition, anyhow. And
everything worked just right till VIII
'joggled.'
But 1t must have been that his "josgle"
was the one thing needed to make the
strangers aim certain. for he knocked
| that $2,000 moose head all to pieces-and
us VIII, Andy and Arthur who are up
against the real thing" For the owner
has found out the whole thing and is
mad enough to seek satisfaction thru
the medium of a charge Of burglary
against the trio. The stranger? Oh he
went away Smiling like a basket of
lchips'-however they smile-and appar-
emily void of all knowledge that he had
done anything he ought to be sorry for
But was he ION" all the time? Or wasn't
| he? C q Kan,,