Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1905-04-01
FISH STORIES.
With a Pair Of Good Duck
Stories Mixed IN.
An Augusta Sportsman Who
Was Shot to Death.
Truthful Tales Which Show That
Spring Is Here.

A spi1it OF rivalry is a healthy in.
ment of results in all walks of life, M
matter where it may exist, even wher
1t comes down to the gentle art of tell
ing stories, and the truth of the above
statement was certified at a gathering
of a few State officials and employee.
which occurred in one OF the Offices il
the upper part Of the Capitol, yesterda,
morning.
AS might be expected, with the spring
season at hand. and particularly a.
three of the members of the party wer,
expert fishermen, the stories which
were passed around savored strongly O
that nature. That was where the rivalr,
came in. The gentleman in whose Of
flee the others had assembled. told o.
some of his exploits at Cobbosseecon'
tee. and also of those of an Augusta
young man who had trolled patiently al
feet Of lire, and had hardly yet ceased
to wonder why he caught no fish for
the season.
This recital moved another member
of the party, whose Office is on the floor
below. to tell Of a catch he had once
made at Grand Lake, over in Washing
ton county, where. in one short fore
noon he had landed IS salmon. and ii
wasn't much of a day for salmon. eth
er. This story was destined to hold the
Others for awhile, AMI the man who
had told the first story, giving up al
further attempts in the fish line. turned
the subject to that of shooting.
He had been talking on the SAM
subject before the others came in, anG
had excited the admiration of his soil
tary listener by the tale of a shot h
had made from a blind. one time, W
near Newport at ma'lard. The biri
was about 40 yards up in the air, ant
coming toward him at the rate of {
mile minute, more or less. but thu
man in the blind got his gun on to tn
bird just right. and killed him dead
When he took up the subject again. il
the presence of the party, the one VIII,
had listened to the duck story, hopet
to hear something more in that line
from him. but it was not to be. Insteat
of continuing, the gentleman merel.
preached the subject. and followed i
with the suggestion that the gentleman
who had caught the salmon should tel
how near he once came to getting shot
The latter gentleman. by the way, il
one of the very best story tellers at tn
Capitol. an honor which is by n,
means an empty one, and one of tn
beauties Of his stories is that they ar
ba cked up to greater or less extern
by facts. The story told by him was il
substance about as follows:
| The scene of the incident the detail
| Of which were related, might have BEEF
| somewhere near the town of Bowdoin
The gentleman who told the story. witt
| another man, was out after ducks an,
| finally. with the aid Of glass. they 10
| Gated e bunch of birds near the shor
of the pond, at some distance from
| where the hunters We're. The men wer
in team. and it was agreed that tn
man who was with the narrator shoul,
get out and work his way down to tn
shore. while the latter should driv,
along to point near where the bird
were. and hitching his horse, go dow,
and get a shot at them. Those that h
did not happen to kill were to be killed
by the other man, when they came hi
way.
Accordingly. the narrator drove up t,
an abandoned farm house. hitched tn
| horse. and started down across tn
| field. toward the shore. He had an OLE
muZzle loading gun. in bag, and a.
a matter Of precaution had taken off tn,
percussion caps, and set the hammer
at half cock. Something must have beer
wrong. however. for when he went I,
draw the gun from the bag. one barre
was discharged, and with the roar o
the gun there came over him the horri
BILE sensation that he mad been shot.
Tns1nctively both hands went Obi
side where he had felt the charg
| torn away and hanging in shretis. H
also could feel the warm blood trick
ling down his side. till it ran into hi
shoes. His first thought was that hi
parents ought to know how he died
and grasping his side firmly in boil
hands. he ran for his life for the oil,
farm house.
As he ran. he could feel the blood i.
his Shoe at every jump. He proceede,
| in this way for some distance, and a
last. realizing that he was growing NJ
| weaker. he stopped to examine the ex
| tent of his injuries. One hand was care
fully lifted from the spot, and then tn
other. and to his surprise, he found n,
wound at all. nor was his shirt evel
torn. The shot from the gun had torn
great hole in his coat and vest, bu
the shirt was not cut, and he was alb
solutely unframed.
When he found the real condition o
affairs. his nerve forsook him and h
| tainted. How long he remained in tina
| condition. he did not know, but h
hunted ducks no more, that day. an,
when he did go again, the gun which