The Western news. [volume] (Libby, Mont.) 1933-current, 1941-01-23
Old Time Market Hunter Reminisces;
Soys Protection Bringing Come Back

not attract the market hunters
fire. Geese were too big for the
commercial hunters purposes. "They
brough no more money than
ducks" Cap'n Johnson recalled,
land fewer geese than ducks would
fill a barrel" Obviously, ducks
were preferred to geese. since the
market hunter was interested in
cutting down expenses of buying ice
and barrels and shipping the birds
to New Orleans.
A large barrel that would hold
80 pairs of geese would hold so
pairs of mallards or so pairs of
pintails.
There is no doubt in Cap'n John
sons mind about the effect that
market hunting and, he insists,
sport hunting, had on the water
fowl populations back in the early
19OO's. "You could see the birds
gettin' fewer and fewer each
year." he said. at was good
thing they started putin the re-
strictions on huntin' and made sell
in and buyin' ducks and geese IL
legal"
kclukcS Good Idea
One Of the things Cap'n johnson
says he can't explain is the rise
!, in the number of blue and snow
geese wintering on the Mississippi
y delta. In 1920, he estimates, there
were about 100000 blue and lesser
snow geese on the area. In 1927
and 1923, the number of geese be-
gan increasing. Today more than
500, 900 of these birds winter on the
; Delta National Wildlife Refuge
About IS per cent of these are blue
, geese and 5 per cent lesser snow
geese. The increase, he said, was
gradual rather than by one sharp
rise in population during any one
season.
Establishment of the Delta Wild.
! life Refuge on the WinterlnE
: grounds for a tremendous number
: of the blue geese of North America
: was a good idea in Cap'n John
sons opinion. 1.-THE refuge has done
! all the good in the world to protec
: those birds" he said. Before, ever
though they weren't hunted yer,
much, they didn't have a good plac,
to rest and feed The sportsmeI
were shootin' all over the delft
marshes and scarin' the geese on
to the bars where the food wa
scarce and space crowded
The ex-market hunter. is just a
I, positive about the value of migra
i tory waterfowl hunting regulations
Y NOne of the best things ever don
! was to restrict automatic and puml
G guns to three shots" he said
y shot two automatics to pieces Will
,; huntin' for market, and | misses
Il few birds, although the averag
! sportsman hunter isn't that good.
n The use Of automatic and pun
> guns by careless inexpert gunner
IS was to blame for a great deal c
/ Gripping and loss of birds, he err
p phasized. by restricting the auto
9. matte and the pump to three shot
q fewer birds are crippled and kille
but not counted in the bag
n Cap'n Johnson explained furthe
y 1.-THE average man is poor judg
n of range and he often shoots {
q birds that are too far off to XII
IS but within range for cripplin.'
- the Olu udySr WIlEH Tile La dS euiii
!, into the blind, the hunter picked u
B, his gun and fired volley of shof
n into the flock He hardly took tim
:. to aim. Bein restricted to thre
u shots, today the hunted is MOI
careful, takes less wild chance
u and cripples fewer birds"
!, - yes, they're comm back. Bl
- you got to give EN- time, and yc
ie got to help EN-. The regulations wi
give EN- the time, and the nation
Wildlife refugees will help EN- tt
! veteran hunter said.
4 = I'll say one thing Cap'n JOIN
- son declared, Its good thing tbs
:. stopped both us market hunters ar
the sport hunters before we we
l. too far or there wouldn't be ar
!, huntin' left now"
7 And with that Cap'n Johnst
: picked up his double-barrels
=. shotgun, stepped into his +
=. ~ rogue, and headed for the publ
- hunting marshes. 1t was the la
- day of the 1910 migratory waite
Is fowl hunting season.
err