South Bend news-times. (South Bend, Ind.) 1913-1938, 1919-10-19
BY TOM \. MARSHALL.

sions have YOU made those out OF
killing distance circles. yet lowering
about keeping the hunter digging a
little deeper into the mud, in vain
attempt 10 evade your vision and in
duce you TO drop in on an inYesti-
eating tour. of his decoys. You have
rewarded the hunter with a final
quack. which correctly interpreted
meant good bye" as YOU hit the
trail for more COngenial localities
In high brow circles YOU are called
anas- platyrhynchos. That Is not the
name. justly applied TO YOU by the
disappointed sportsman. as YOU dis
apear upon the horizon. Mr.. Nal
lard, YOU are admittedly good
locker. with your shimmering,
bronze green head. olive green bill.
orange legs. with blended stripes Of
blue and green on wings. Your wife
is also most seductive with he au-
tumn shadings in plumage, which so
efectuaIy blend with natures sur
roundings You are the congener Of
domestic ducks. having a strong ten
dency to nasal twang. when i'm
conversation. You are OF the "pud-
dler" species. with many "tip-up"
habits. To avert the possibility Of
drOW ming, you feed in shallow wa
ter confning your efforts to mol
lusKs. grass roots and the many ten
der aquatic plants. not being ad-
verse to a crop fun of farmers corn.
Above Average Duck.
You rank for intelligence. far
above the average duck and your
bump Of caution is abnormally de
veloped. Your flight is graceful
rapid and frequently very deceptive
TO the sportsman. Your domestic
habits are not above question. YOU
belong not i'm the category with
Caesars wife. who was above sus-
picion or reproach Many hybrids.
have resulted from your failure TO
he constant and keep your own
home fires burning, exclusively. On
one occasion. the writer killed
bird with the green head of the mall
lard and the long striped and
pointed tail Of a sprig Not circum-
stantial, but direct evidence. which
would convict YOU i'm any domestic
court in duckdom With length
of about % inches over all. weigh
ing from two TO three pounds. you
make a most attractive aerial tar
get. easy TO negotiate with. as is
frequently evidenced. by the splash.
splash! following a successful dou-
BILE.
\ Good Disposition.
You have a reputation for soci-
ability and congenial disposition. al
ways congregating, when the op-
self-cOnscious. with a penchant 10
ohummyness Willing on all occa-
sions 10 drift out on a preening or
dress parade swim, that your lady
friends may at least enjoy one real
treat. While YOU demonstrate TO
them the Australian crawl stroke.
intermingled with an occasional
dash OF the shimmey dance.
Billy Crosby. Fred Gilbert and
the writer were house guests of
Rolla .. Heikes at his cottage on
St. Clair Flats. near Pearl Beach
Michigan. Ne arranged a wit
matching contest. with "a vast aggre-
cation of mallards. which were con
gregated ON Anchor Bay. reached
through dredged ditch running
from the North Channel Of St. Clair
river The snow was falling. in
light mist. blowing ahead of q
strong wind: ideal conditions for
duck hunt The bay was covered
with migratory birds. which evinced
that restless feeling. usually seen
before they start south Without fir
ing a shot. we drove them out. i'm
mediately setting our decoys off ad-
iacent points our failure to shoot.
before their departure. branded our
arrival a false alarm. hence they
soon returned singly. pairs and in
small fiOcks coming down wind but
making graceful circles. and drop
ping into our decOys with wings
set, brakes hard ON. tails spread and
feet extended. Gilbert and Heikes
paired on one point. Crosby and the
writer were their industrious neigh
bors. We could see the result of
every shot fired by Heikes and Gil
bert. few mistakes in accuracy were
recorded Never were two shots
dred at the same bird. 1T was beauti-
full team work from start TO finish.
Our apparel blended with faded
reeds. tule and mud flats To re-
main motionless was the all reouis-
ite TO recount shots and results.
would be only repetition. singles.
doubles. misses and 'eye-wipes.
We're the order of the day. Gnbert's
ability to converse with passing
birds eventually persuading them
TO drop i'm for more intimate ac-
was most noticeable
feature Birds headed for our de-
coys were repeatedly enticed away.
We an scored the legal limit. The
Big Four" had passed one more
cOmparionable day together in the
shooting world
The lighting tiger Of the Pacific
ocean, The leaping tuna giant
horse of the mackereI family A
pelagic swash-buckeler of the sea.
said 10 nave attained the length OF
10 feet with a weight 90 1000
pounds The record rod catch Of
tuna 9r Catalina Island grounds ID.