The Elk Mountain pilot., 1922-03-02
WHEN TALLER" COOKED DUCKS

WHEN TALLER" COOKED DUCKS
In. the late summer and early fall
of 1921. it was my good fortune to be
in the Valley of Thousand Springs
in Idaho The Valley is we'll named
and it is a duck heaven They fly in
clouds and the constant whistle of
their wings is enough to make the
average duck hunter tell himself fun
ny stories
There We're three Of US putting up
hay on a ranch known as 'Whiskey
Springs, the name having been given
to the place during the early stage
coach days when the ranch was reg
ular stop between Mackay and Sal
mon City. The miners. lumbermen
and, In fact all the travellers used
the springs as refrigerator and
about the only article they carried,
requiring refrigeration, was, as a
rule, LITTLE BROWN JUG. hence
the name. s
The road has been changed now, so
there is no more travel past Whiskey
Springs and the land has been con-
verted into hay ranch of four hun
dred acres and owned by Prince of,
a Good Fellow. who, up to this time,
had not acquired the habit of killing
ducks. His ranch foreman used to be
an old pal of mine in Colorado, but
like thousands of men who live in
the great big "Out of Doors, ''Tal-
Ter" had been so busy riding for cat
tie all his life that it had never oc-
Cured to him that ducks afforded
royal sport for hunting, or that a
wild duck cooked in almost any style
is an agreeable addition to the menu
especially when the menu consists of
black coffee. fap-jacks and bacon,
day in and day out
So one morning long before day
light, we were awakened from our
slumbers by. the bowling wind and
rain and sleet striking against the
there, that putting up hay was out
of the question until the storm was
over. We had all been feeling the
strain of working every day and
somehow I believe we all welcomed
the change in our daily routine. Eo
Hammerly. the owner of the ranch
decided to go to town and proceeded
to get his car ready for the trip
which meant sixty mile drive each
way So it happened that each man
WIS free to enjoy himself any way he
pleased.
Fred Mccullough. the ranch fore
man, could find many ways of enjoy
ing himself. ia and around the cabin,
such as grinding sickle bars. mendinf
harness, shoeing horses, ETC., all OF
which is vexy well for. anyone who
cares for that kind of sport. But TO,
myself. I chose to take the old shot
gun and go down with the ducks
After fiounderirg around in the storm
and cold water until was stiff and
numb with the cold, found soggy
bunch Of grass large enough to stand
on, above the water. and right there
/ sat, all huddied up, my back to the
wind, almost fro en- but perfectly
satisfied so long as got shot nov
and then. When left my perch, late
in the afternoon, was pretty well
loaded with nH the big. fat mallarf
ducks we could use and when 1
reached the cabin wet cold and hun
CRY. the fire was out. Fred was stil'
enjoying himself and had worked hard
enough to keep warm. SO there was
nothing to debut dig in and get sun
per and as I was tired of pork 1 de-
cided to eat duck for a change.
The idea seemed to appeal to Fred,
also, and he started to help me dress
the ducks, t,was so hungry could
hardly wait, so when we had two
ducks picked and dressed, suggested
that IL Fred Would go ahead and get
supper, I wou1d dress the rest of the
birds. He said he wanted to fry the
ducks because. it would. be quicker
and l did; not care how he cooked