Audubon Republican. [volume] (Audubon, Iowa) 1894-1925, 1907-01-10
FOLLY OF THE
WILD GOOSE
Born Foolish, II Gets Worse
Yearly, sage a Maine Hunter.

Mebbe," said old Jed Daring
'mebbe, a wise Creator may nave
made some kind of bird or animal
that is a bigger fool than wild goose.
but II so He never made enough to
cause people to worry any.
Not only is a wild goose blamed
fool from birth, but it grows fooler
and fooler as it gets older. 1t Is the
only critter that refuses to learn
sense from age and experience.
1T is scared half to death by q
bleating calf tied out to crowbar In
an open field, but whole flock OF
geese will sit out In the middle OF
Coldstream lake and let an otter swim
up under water and drag the mem
bers down one after another, and not
q goose in the bunch will have sense
enough to get scared and fly away.
81 have seen a flock of geese gel
scared and fly clear out of the state
because a playful fox terrier ran along
the edge of the lake, but when a flock
of geese is feeding on the roots OF
new clover fox or a raccoon can
roll over and over and pitch somer'
saults right into the middle OF the
group and pick out the latest one
and not a goose win show signs OF
fright until the one which has been
captured let's out squawk when 1t
is bitten to death.
"The way the boys have been kill.
tne xuild oil tho chnrnQ Of
Coldstream lake this fall Is something
scandalous. The old hunters and
fishermen hereabouts have a saying
that when the bullfrogs go into the
mud for the winter they never dig
deeper than the length Of a goose
from the tip of its bill to its breast
bone. which Is just 21h inches for
every goose that lives.
'No matter what kind OF soil 1t Is.
and no matter how hard or how easy
the digging Is, every frog In New Eng.
land makes 1t rule to burrow 21k
inches and then turn around head to
the outside and settle down for its
winter nap. No NATTER how hungry
goose may be or how soft the mud
Is, no goose was ever known to dig
an inch with its shovel bill for the
sake of getting a frog to eat, though
all geese will peck their way into half
frozen ground when they want mess
of raw turnips for breakfast.
Because they know to the fraction
of an inch how deep the frogs bur.
row In winter, and because they know
the length of goose's neck, the boys
have made a contrivance for catching
wild geese that works every time.
First off the boys spear a number
of fat bullfrogs from their winter
apartments, taking pains to drag the
bodies of the frogs across the surface
of the meadows where the geese feed.
Later they make round holes In the
mud that are about two feet In
depth, after which they bait strong
hook with a live frog and attach It to
a stake. the top of which must be
driven until 1t Is 211s inches below
the surface Of the ground.
"The rest Is easy. The geese smell
the frog odor about the field and fol.
low 1t up until they come to one of
the holes. when they reach down the
regulation distance, find the frog with
a hook in 1t, swallow the whole out.
fit and are anchored until the boys
come along and kill them and set the
trap again.
1.-THE strangest thing about 1t Is that
no goose will ever negotiate frog bait
that is set less than the regulation
depth under ground. If a baited hook
were left on top Of the ground, or ten
inches below the surface or even 20
inches down, 1t might stay there all
winter and not q goose would look
at 1t.
TN fact, the length of a goose's
neck when stretched out straight has
become standard of measurement In
several of the up river towns. When
a fisherman goes to a blacksmith to
order new eel spear or frog spear
he specifies that the total length OF
the iron from tip of spear to the be.
ginning of the wooden handle shall
be 21h inches, no more and no less,
Again. when the length of boys lea
reaches gooseneck altitude, measur
ing 21h inches from hip to heel. he
has passed from the period of boy.
hood and puts on trousers"