Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1920-01-31


have a personal acquaintance with
Robert White. He is not listed in
telephone or city directories, but
you have frequently heard him
paging himself or flock associates
, from tree, brush and wheat fields.
Bob White is not contented, hap
py, home-loving benedict, but q
wild, restless, roaming, change
seeking, seasonal shifting, obsessed
husband who is in the same cate
CORY with members of the human
| family who are crowding trains.
boats or other means of transit in
their acquired desire for a change.
regardless of climatic conditions
or excessive railroad fares. Those
i brown speckled beauties ever call
] ing from field and jungle are
acknowledged "gadabouts" freight
ed with migratory or seasonal
shifting instincts, desire for change
of scenery and environments found
an those "feathered aces of the air, y
ducks and geese. Quail are also
found wintering in the northern
zones.
Keithsburg, ILL.,, located at the
confluence of the Mississippi and
Pope rivers, was my boyhOod home.
Hills on the north and south of
the city were desirable haunts and
feeding grounds for migrating birds
who followed the Mississippi river
as fyway. Jack Frost had pinch
ed vegetation, his icy breath had
changed the leaves and grass to
the autumn-tinted hues which
blend with a game birds plumage
Thin ice was skirting the shores
OF rivers and lakes, sere and yellow
leaves volplaned to earth in count
less numbers. Migratory birds were
due. For weeks my spare mo
ments from school had been devot
, ed to oiling and manicuring oul
old double barrel. Misunderstanding
shot gun, anticipating the fall tiigh
of passenger pigeons, prairie chick
ems, ducks, geese and quail, whos'
coming was a certainty headed TO-
the southland. Morning and even
. ing flights Of birds conformed witt
my school hours and / was on tn,
job early and late In our Grove
only three boys owned guns, tn
, balance of our kid aggregation
, acting Observation-Disclosures arme'
, with bows and arrows, or thei
, pockets bulged with carefully sc
. lected pebbles. with which to rocl
the birds. From the crest of Nortl
hill battalions Of quail marchet
down to the shores of classic Pop
lriver, fringed with low willows an
carpeted with smartweeds, produc
. ing a feed very seductive to hun
, cry birds. They advanced il
! marching order until discovere
! and assailed by kids with Shove
! of stones or a pot Of shot from a,
! old muzzle-loader. Birds heade
, for the south hill, massing throug
, the city. were frequently chase
! into stores or homes in their eli
D forts to escape. A bird was occa
7 sionally brought to bag by a well
directed rock or arrow, but seattle
guns were our real dependence
"Plover." my old pointer dog, wa
ever with me. He knew the hunt
I ing game from start to finish. hay
ing no equal as pointer and re
trieyer-the best all-around hunt
ing dog ever shot over. He wa
| as short on pedigree as he wa
long on diversified hunting intell
, gence. He was of material assist
ance on every occasion. aiding m
in bringing to bag birds which 9th
erwise would have wintered in tn
. sunny south. | was using "sol
.. coal powder" wadding OF newspa
J, pers or hornets nests, and produc
ing binding snowstorm of shred
> ded wadding after every discharg
OF the gun. | was not averse I
: taking a shos at bird a-tre,
, aground. setting or running, wit
an occasional effort awning. NJ
accuracy in wing shooting woul
I not have netted us many birds. NJ
e partnership agreements or colles
tive bargaining with co-workin
kids embodied a get the meat
clause. When q chance was take
? on the wing and q miss scoret
honorable mention was unhear
and emphatic, adverse criticism
!. was substituted. When the shade
OF evening fell and It was imposs
;. BILE to see tho contour Of q qua
J. stlhouetted against the light fro,
the setting sun, the hunt was cal
: ed OF until the following mornin
= at tho crack Of dawn. when / asai
: appeared Upon the scene with m
Z run, dog and oortsss Of paper-cu,
ting 6AA AnAeGfy, 1oceoetfssed B