The Fairmont West Virginian. (Fairmont, W. Va.) 1904-1914, 1904-06-03
REMARKARLEN KEPT BY a
KANSAS MA ~ fl Ss USES
I'M THEM sAS DEcoYs.
tlEss6Fo IN HIS.
oMETIM Es$ They ARE
SIioTsBY MISTAKE.
a sitor was saInlos


ss5 t1 Isl tor was almost startled a day
Esprs ago sossee a flock of what ap-
pgared % he wild geese marching
Sioss he ma street Of this place
4 81 SAP III Cot onWood Falls tKan.) cor
respond III the Topeka State our
4 faal, giapt# Canadian gray gander
sSIeading them: The geese paid no at
stention8 "a the people along the street
who m rur scarcely noticed them
sHut & he stranger did not understand
WI "a flock Of Wild geese should ap-
pear ia busy little village and give
as nueh evidence of domesticity as
any army flock OF geese in Kan
sBsas he inquired and heard the
ssstory of the geese, which is already
tamil lar to- every citizen of this
thriving Village.
William AIcNeeSis a well known and
popul citizen Of Cottonwood Falls.
JeMhas al oanAoHc ice and a beautiful
home large lawn He knows
Sshos TO enjoysl lie, and among his other
sdiFersions is al fondness for hunting.
According1y eight or nine years ago
aIcNee and a neighbor bought a
Of land in the Ellinwood marsh
,aSE1lGHSSE$iuChS"c1 ~
found when there are any in Kansas.
One day IcNee clipped the wing
of beautif fun Canada goose. The
hone was broken near the end and
McNee decided TO save the goose
land take it home. He did SO, sand
found that the bird adapted itself to
5it s surroundings in: shortstime and
appeared to thrive. Since then Mr..
ssMeNeehas been adding
his flock and he now has 2G "deni-
zensI OF he upper air. in his yard.
she has had more than this at one
time but coca sionally an enthusiastic
& sportsman who refuses to recognize
the domestic attainments OF the Nc
Nee fowls slaughters a few.
Shot lii Their Pen.
AGE one time Mr.. McNee lost nine OF
his finest specimens in this manner.
The geese are not entirely valueless
Ito thei owner from practical stand
I pom for N hen the shooting season
comes they are Grated and sent to Ell
are put IN a. pen made Of wire net
y ting lear a blind on the McNee pre-
serves, and many of their kind are
slured their death through the in
strunentality Of the feathered cap
tITes. They pay no attention what
ever to shooting.
was a year ago that the McNeea
geese,swhich then mberedl2S, We're
IN their zen on the MCGEE lagoon
when squad 8of hunters approached
cautiously. The owner had gone away
and his companions We're in the hut
some distance from the blind. The
hunters appeared to within easy range
& and then fired into the flock, killing
nine of them. The shooting drew
81 the attention of the men in the house
and theyranS out, but they were too
late. The poachers were gathering
their iIl=gotten game and throwing the
fowls into their wagon. They waved
their hands to the Infatuated men,
lashed their horses into a run and es-
capped
This is the largest loss that NIcNee
n hassSeveT- sustained at one time,
though he has several times lost one
e or two in the same manner, and often
Hunters shoot at them without real
izing that they are captives,
Among the McNee treasp is =
IS blue goose It is exceedingly rare,
and NIr.McNee captured the specimen
he now has less than d year ago The
Il fowl which has decidedly BLUSH
ting is about half the size of a do
z nestle goose and has a neck and head
very much like the tame ones, but
i its legs are much longer. The owner
says that in all his hunting expert
ence he has killed only six blue geese.
ii Once before he captured one and TAX
rs to the camp, he tied it secure
s " by the leg TO a tent stake.
Killed While Tethered.
In the party were several Kansas
n City men, and one of them arose early
!8St Eesnext morning and in the dim light
he saw the blue goose, but did not
know that it was captive. He ac-
AZ cordingly slipped back into the tent
Il and secured his gun, and getting in
s easy range he transformed Mr. Nc
ssSNeessz prize into a mangled mass of
Sfeathers OF course, the man was
very sorry, and while Mr.. McNee did
J-;.,< ;r ;e