The daily morning journal and courier., 1906-02-15
HUNTED DUCKS WITH SNUFF.
He eWas Up to It, Too-Got the Whole
 Flock

ne SWdS Up to u, lOO-GOI VIle w HOle
 Flock.
 The members of the Ventilation club of Trenton had just dropped into the easy chairs around the cigar store stove and started to put old Ananias in the pork and beans class, when Frank Sprague entered and pushed his way through the smoke to the inner cir cle.
 Boys" he said with limelight smile, as he took the inevitable board ing house bite out of a slab of to- bacco that looked like armor plate, did l tell you how I went gunning for wild ducks while was down at Man ahaWkin last week? You may not
 Who ever accused you of being a Natty Bumppo or a Grover Cleveland?" broke in one of the regulars, with a doubtful glance at Frank. T don't believe that you could hit duck, even if someone held it and pelted it on the back while you shot"
 That's all right, you scrapple-fed heathen!' returned Frank T will ad- init that am not as gilt edged as some of the plated ware around Tren- ton, but brought down the ducks, just the same. In fact, l lived on them the whole week, and had so many to hand around among the neighbors that the storekeepers were glad to give away the turkeys and chickens they had in stock with every ten cent pur- chase of molasses or can of kero- sene.
 The wild ducks down around Man ahawkin are just as about as foxy as the chief engineer of flimfan game, and until I got there everybody was wasting powder and ammunition and eating sausage and pork, for the birds could see the whizzing shot glint in the sun, and dodge every time. On cloudy days they would carry long sticks in their bills and feet, and disguise them selves as cranes or keep out of gun shot
 When the crowd around the corner grocery saw me pace hence with my old army musket they all emitted yelp- ful laugh, and even the ducks giggled some. But they didn't know your Un- cle Frank, They didn't know that he had theorlzed all to himself on the duck question and become wise. All hands followed me down to the bay, They wanted to see me make a circus and sideshow Of myself, so they could chew it over for the rest of the winter, and have something to relieve the awful stress of the meetings of the debating society.
 They kidded me all along the route but when they saw me put two charges of powder in that old muslet and fill up the barrel with cayene pepper and snuff-'
 Cayenne pepper and snuff" ex- claimed another of the regulars. What in the world did you put in---"
 ITO make the ducks sneeze, of course, replied the impressive Frank. What do you suppose 1 put 1t in for? Hardly had l shot into the first flock that fey over, before one of the birds began to sneeze like influenza, and tht fearful momentum that he gathered ir | throwing out his head caused him tt turn complete fiphop Every time ht sneezed he turned over, and each time he came nearer to the earth, until II was just as easy as a June hammock to rush out and brag him. In less than a minute every duck was sneezlng tt ebat the band and 1ipfopping towards | the water, and the whole flock of fifty | birds or more were bagged with sin l gle shot. Maybe the old residenters down at Manahawkin didn't look al me in wonder! But 1t was shame tc give the snap away, for when came away there wasn an ounce of cayenne pepper left in that section of the state and all the snuff mills were working or rush orders. Philadelphia Telegraph.