The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1904-04-30
What a Cottonwood Falls Man
Has Accomplished.
William McNee Has a Flock OF
%.
APPEAR QUITE AT HOME
Uses Them for Decoys in Ellin
wood Marshes.
All WereCaptured by the Kansas
NImrod.

Cottonwood Falls, KAN April %
A visitor was almost startled a day
or two ago to see a flock of what ap-
peared to be wild geese marching
down the main street Of this place,
giant Canadian gray gander leading
them. The geese paid no attention to
the people along the street who in
turn scarcely noticed them. But the
stranger did not understand why
flock of wild geese should appear in
busy little village and give as much
evidence of domesticity as any farm
yard flock Of geese in Kansas. So he
inquired and heard the story Of the
geese, which is already familiar to
every citizen of this thriving village.
William McNee is a well known and
popular citizen of Cottonwood Falls.
He has a loan office and a beautiful
home with a large lawn. He knows
how to enjoy life and among his
other diversions is a fondness for
hunting. Accordingly, eight or nine
years ago Mr.. McNee and a neighbor
bought a tract of land in the Film
wood marshes where ducks and geese
may be found when there are any in
Kansas One day McNee clipped"
the wing of a beautiful Canada
goose. The bone was broken near the
end and Mr.. McNee decided to save
the goose and take it home. He did
so and found that the bird adapted
I itself to its surroundings in a snort
time and appeared to thrive. Since
I then Mr.. McNee has been continuously
adding to his flock and he now hsS
/ twenty-six ''denizens of the upper air
| in his yard. He has had more than
/ this at one time. but occasionally an
enthusiastic sportsman who refuses to
recognize the domestic attachments or
I the McNee fowls slaughters a few
/ nine
his finest specimens in this manner
! The geese are not entirely Valueless
to their owner from a practical stand
point for when the shooting season
comes they are Grated and sent TO
Ellinwood to be used as decoys. They
are put in a pen made of wire netting
| near a blind on the McNee preserves
and many of their kind are lured to
their death through the instrumental
ity of the feath cred caDtives. They
pay no attention whatever to shooting
1t was a year ago that the McNee
geese which then numbered % were
in their pen on the McNee lagoon
when a squad of hunters approached
cautiously. The owner had gone away
and his companions were in the hut
some distance from the blind. The
hunters approached to within easy
range and then fired into the flock.
/ killing nine of them. The Shootin
| drew the attention of the men in the
house and they ran out but they were
-
their i'll gotten game and throwing the
fowls into their wagon, waved their
hands TO the Infatuated men, dashed
Their horses into run and escaped
i This is the largest loss that McNee
/ has ever sustained at one time though
he has several times lost one or two
4 in the same manner and often hunt
Il eFs shoot at them without realizing
that they are captives.
Among the McNee treasures is a
blue goose. It is exceedingly rare and
Mr.. -McNee captured the specimen he
now has less than a year ago. The
fowl, which has a decidedly blush
tinge. is about half the size of do
mestic goose and has a neck and head
very much like the tame ones but its
legs are much longer. The owner
says that in all his hunting expert
ence he has killed only six blue geese
Once before he captured one, and tax
ing it to the camp he tied it securely
by the leg to a tent stake. In the
party were several Kansas City men
and one of them arose early the next
morning and in the dim light he saw
the blue goose, but did not know that
it was a captive He accordingly
slipped back into the tent and secured
his gun and getting in easy range he
transformed Mr.. McNee's prize into
a. mangled mass of feathers. Of course
the man was very sorry, and while
Mr.. McNee did not feel very kindly