The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1904-03-06
Hunter Who Has Shot Every known

Karl Van Der Weiner Is probab bly, the
only man in the world who has hunted
and killed members of every human
species OF the great sub-family Of
grouse. The birds he has shot vary in
size from the giant capercailzie of
northern Sweden 10 the tiny singing
quail OF southern Abyssinia. which is
about a third the size of the familiar
Bob White, says a Lachine (Canada)
correspondent in the New York sun.
His sport has varied from stepping
out of coolie- borne palanquin TO
shoot freed birds of wonderful plu-
mage in India. To stalking the ptarmi-
gan laboriously and for weeks at a
time IN northern Canada, on show
shoes. with the thermometer we'll down
! below zero.
Nearly every country in the world
has been visited by this sportsman in
the pursuit of his hobby. He is par
ticularly proud of the king bird of his
collection of stuffed birds, an eXcep-
tionally large capercailzie. obtained at
great cost of time and money in Scan
dinavis.
He had tramped many miles in early
winter through the half barren terri
tory. where the last. of these now rare
| birds have their home, without seeing
! any signs of them. At last his guide
! announced one evening that they were
in The right neishborhood at last.
thought he did not say how he arrived
| at that conclusion.
A little log and stone cabin, built for
the use of a royal prince some years
\ before, but now half a ruin, was cleared
not. With only half frozen boiled
trout for supper and without bed or fir
| ing. a cold night of misery was worried
| through there.
just as the sun appeared in the morn
| ing the guide set up a curious guttral
nj h1-OL n
| dow. which had not been plugged up
| for fear of arousing the suspicious of
/ the timid black game. After a time
replies were heard from two opposite
directions, and while the guide con-
\ tinued his efforts as chanticleer the
4 hunter endeavored to locate the birds
/ with his glass.
Down the little stony valley across a
pond was a half dead pine tree, and
on one of its dry branches some dark
moving thing was made out with diff
| ficulty. AnXiOusly Van Der Weiner set
| the sight of his light American rifle at
/ 900 yards. and after much considera-
ton, took rest dpon the window sill
and fired.
Missed - grOaned the guide the next
moment. land sure am / that never
win his nobility get one more chance
/ this day
The marksman demurred. There was
no wind, the gun was rightly held, the
| distance certainly not greatly his
| judged.
we will go and see,' he said
There. twenty yards from the old
| tree clearly defined in the snow, was
| the giant cock. crouched in the snow,
! stone dead, with a bullet hole through
/ his neck near the head. He probably
weighed twenty pounds and is said to
| be one OF the finest spiments in exis-
| tence.
1T reminds me-" said the traveller. "of
| the first time 1 ever heard birds
( called.
I'VE were on the Chores Seisben.. one
of the loveliest spot in the whole world,
little north of the Dead sea, and
were after the heyi or desert partridge.
| My Bedouins had pitched the tent be-
side a water course or wady. put on
! the meat of a little antelope to cook
! over q fire of what looked like dry
cowdung, and then peeped in to say
they would soon bring me some part
ridges.
They set about their hunting by ly-
ing down, stark naked, on the ground.
I. noticed that their Gark skins just
matched the dead grass of that par
ticular spot.
''Soon they began, chueking and
cackling in a manner hard to associate
with human lips. so thin and cheepy
did IL SOUND. But it must have been
true to nature for in a very few min
utes five little partridges. marked
much like the English bird, but about
the size of a thrush, came running up
toward them.
They were perfectly regardless OF
my presence at the tent door, and
came in thirty feet of me, and up to al
most arms length of the Arabs
'All Of a sudden the two men sprang
Z u aaaaH
ors. which turned and ran, but did not
take to their wings. After a chase of a
few score yards my men caught up
three of the birds. just as a boy might
catch fat chickens in a farmyard, and
brought them TO me-
The Bedouins said that they always
inflated the call of the male bird, and
that the natural pugnacity Of the par
tridges led them to run up and seek
a quarrel.
strangely enough an English game
keeper told me only last autumn that
the pOachers who make his life bur
den by destroying the game will lie
| in the bitches near the Spanish chest
nut tree plantations where pheasantS
fatten, and crow like the long tailed
cocks. These notably quarrelsOme
birds. distinguishing a strangers note
in the call, bristle up and run to the
ditch. where they are shared by the
! poachers with catgut nooses ct the end
/ OF sticks"
In AIgiers Van der Weiner fell into
| the kindly hands of some of the French
| officers of the army of occupation and
with them participated in a big drive
] OF sand partridges. All through a long.
! hot day a large body of beaters had
/ been narrowing 4 circle around the
camp, and when evening came the
! sportsmen set out on horseback after
| the birds. which had become numerous
/ near the tents.
Each man was armed with a long
! handled net, with which he scooped in
! the game, sometimes two at time.
| Behind each horseman ran half
| naked native who took the captives
| from the hunters landing nets and
! wrung their necks.
They got hundreds of partridges.
( pretty little notified things something
/ like the heyi. though of larger size;
] but il could not be called nice sport,
| since the birds We're rather tame, very
/ timid and inclined TO cover, The run
ners were repulsive. dirty creatures.
| and the killing of the poor Melted
/ things was most unpleasant TO look
| upon.
These sand partridges. PerdiX are
maria, are gregarious in habit and lay
! their eggs in nests dug out close along
! side each other in the sand. There the
eggs remain alone all day under the
| heat of the sun, the parents sitting
upon them by night only.
As there is. of course. no game law
there. these community nests are
| eagerly looked after in the springtime.
1t is not unusual then TO see the wo-
t0~-s,,