South Bend news-times. (South Bend, Ind.) 1913-1938, 1919-06-15


YOU? Answering in the negative.
let me admonish you 10 get busy
with self incubation. Immediately.
Every day you procrastinate, scores
one against the candidate for longe-
witty Anti-life in the great outdoors
is "a waste OF time. never 10 be re-
gained. You are ignorant Of what
constitutes real living. until you an
swer the call OF the wild You
then become one Of the chosen"
on a recent hunting trip 20 the
Illinois river. my companions were
an aggregation who specialize on "a
life I'm the open Judge George A.
Carpenter and DR. Tom Lewis OF
Chicago. Daniel w. Voorhees, se-
nior and junior Of Peoria. H..
quartet Of as congenial sportsmen
as ever tickled a trigger or plyed a
paddle Comfortably ensconced
aboard the Marguerite" a power
boat rated at 80 miles per hour we
headed down the Illinois river from
Peoria TO Duck island club. 38 miles
below. Duck island is one OF the
very best shooting clubs in the Unit
ed States. controlling an extensive
domain, with "a limited roster Of
memb ers. A film will never be
staged in the movie world showing
the home grown diversified scenic
/ views of interest passed on our
down trip. PalattaI hous, boats. ex-
clusively utilized for pleasure and
| equipped with all the modern con
veniences of a home are moored by
/ the side of less pretentious cabin
! boats. The permanent homes OF wa
I ter nOmads Cabin boats are mOored
/ TO the bank. others are Pc On u upon
stilted foundations, carefully mea-
sured that they may be above high
I water mark. Accessible only py the
/ ladder route. The happy 90 lucky
floating" population of our country.
Near the head Of Dead Mans
I Island appropriately named) we
\ Pas sed the WrecS of the III faxed
steamer Columbia which sunk on
4 the night Of July 4. 1918. drowning
! SIS eXcursiCnists. The old wheel di-
/ lapidated pilot house and dismantled
\ hull are silent sentinels marking the
\ location of a grewsome finale Pc
7 kin with her dormant distillery in
| tCres SIS. thrown INTO the usiues-
| Gisca' by bone dry ep ~ upon
/ which we are now ente' ~. il seen
| upon the stationary film. "Waneran'
grain OarErs. On route Gown the riv.
CT ere quickly passed a. :he ea,ue
time impressing one with the
thought Both Illinois and Missis
]
freight arteries surveyed and esta b.
lished by the "All Wise. 10 be i'm
proved and utilized by the populace
! Ii is logical 10 perpetuate the water
ways 10 the gulf
Duck Island Club house is now
I seen through a mist thrown from
the bow Of our boat, which is break
ing all speed limit records Honest
John Rogers. caretaker. extends the
| glad hand of welcome. a rousinG
fire place, thaws all iCicles from
around the heart. putting one com
pletely at peace with the world. a
hundred yard walk, we are on the
shore Of a sanctuary lake. one mile
wide and three long. The home foI
thousands of ducks they are abso-
lutely at rest and free from shoot
ing or intrusion. This "a great ma
tional game reserve where no shoot
ing is ever permitted. all game and
fur bearing animals are here pro
tected. All laws or restrictions bott
federai and state are strictly OBJ
served in or out of season.
Ducks are reported in abundance
upon our lc'ivai, we had seen NO
birds on the river while en- route
Properly outitted with two Dan.
iels for my hunting compInicrs. W,
meandered 20 smart weed flat
where birds were reported to b,
feeding by Caretaker John. He di
IagnOsed the case correctly as was evi-
denCed by the vast number of ducks
chased out On cur arrived Not a Shof
was fred during the time of THEN
exit. To wa sa case of getting decoys
out and blinds constructed prior tC
their return. in couples and quar-
tets. Another important member OF
our party was King" a Chesapeak
retriever who is blessed with an
abundance of dog sense and is ever
attempting 70 acquire a knowledg,
/ of the human language, as spoken
by his master, Uncle Dan " Takinl
a position a short distance back il
the buck brush, or semi-sub
merged log. the dog at once becam,
the personihcation OF industry. re
| trieving all birds knocked down. -
| COrding them on his log as yol
would stove wood. Gathering tn,
wounded first ne frequently came
20 our blind with two birds. caugh
by the neck. 10 he delivered 10 hi
master only. our limit on mallard
was soon scored by pulling dowI
singles and doubles. Membership il
a duck club. where game is protect
ed from the general fusilade. is
! necessity if one really anticipates
d mess of wild ducks.