The Elbert County tribune., 1905-02-23


l.5ll l5lI gun knows that even the
mos desirable districts pail upon one
after time. and one hungers for
something new; some virgin field I'M
explored, unfamiliar. full of enticing
possibilities. So 1t WAS that when Il
friend who was the happy rossessor
of fiourishing ranch in the far-on
valley of the Saskatchewan urged me
to pay him visit. and limited that he
could offer me something special i'll
the way of sport. jumped at the OPP
portunity, and after a four days jour
ney found myself ut Saskatoon, II Hour
ishing little town in the heart of one
of the great wheat districts of the
Canadian Northwest. on one of those
branches which spring out herring
bone fashion from the main line of the
Canadian Pacific Railroad.
Here at Saskatoon had one of those
practical experiences of Western dls-
tances which bring the thing home to
one with such peculiar force. All that
| knew of the location of my friends
ranch was that it lay somewhere be-
tween Saskatoon and Battleford. If
gave the matter any serious thought,
it was merely to conclude that the
ranch was probably as much as five
or six miles from Saskatoon; perhaps
even ten. | knew, at any rate, tlnit =
Stage ran from Saskatoon 10 Battle
ford. which could drop me at the
ranch. When, therefore. l reached
Saskatoon, my first inquiry was for
the stage. The stage, it appeared, had
81. f,tfy nd
there would not be another for two
days oh" said /, 81 suppose l VIII
have to hire man to drive me out.
Doubtless we can get there before
dark II we start at once" 1t was then
about ) o'clock in the afternoon.
where" inquired the mild-eyed
mounted policeman, did you say You
wanted to go toy
"McLean's ranch. l replied.
Dear me-" said he. I'm afraid
you'll hardly make McLeal's ranch be-
fore dark. It's trifc over sixty-five
miles from here"
WHERE 100 MILES ARE AS
NOTHING.
We started for McLean's ranch early
the following morning, and after an
all-day drive over the old Battleford
trail, where one could still see the deep
ruts made by the guns and ammuni-
ton wagons that went this way in the
Rlel rebellion of 1885. at last reached
my destination, and began to under
stand why a hundred miles is thought
nothing of in this land of cXtravagant
distances.
The following morning we got up
ahead of the sun, put guns and ammu-
milton in order, and started out or what
was my first experience in hunting
prairie chicken.
Over the gently rolling hills we made
our way, in the intoxicating air of the
Northwest, and so intent was | upon
the glorious riot of color that clothed
the whole countryside--a culoring
which l thought we had II monopoly
of in the East-that TO my shame and
confusion l allowed dozen brace of
chickens to rise from the grass in front
of me, and get ont of range. with a
prodigious whirrins of wings, before
could sufficiently collect my wits 10
let fly at them.
However, the scenery had no more
witchery after this. and before break
fast time / had managed to bring
down half dozen brace, and my COM
panion did even better.
This, | am told, Is not good year
for chicken" in the Saskatchewan
Valley. They seemed plentiful enough
10 my Eastern eyes, but according To
prairie standards they were considered
a failure. i was assured that through
out the valley OF the Saskatchewan,
aud, in fact, throughout the entire
prairie country, between the North Sas-
katchewan and the international
boundary, prairie chicken can usually
be found in such quantities as to al
most spoil the sport frcm the point OF
view of true sportsman.
If prairie chicken were not as plenti-
full as usual, however. this could not
be said of duck, as WAS made alum
dainty clear upon a subsequent morn
ing. The ponds or sloughs which
abound throughout all this country
teen with wild duck, and Il mile walk
in any direction assures one respect
able bag. The farmer or rancher i'll
this part of the world rarely attempts
to keep dogs for hunting purposes,
whether for small or big game. So
far as the duck is concerned, there
really is not much need of a retriever,
MS the sloughs are generally small and
shallow-rarely more than couple of
feet deep-and one can secure most OF
the birds with little or no difficulty.
One can very often secure the services
of an Indian or breed boy. who