Evening star., 1954-12-25

GRANTLAND RICE.
early bout with tuberculosis. had
finally drawn the curtain. Ring
had simply worn himself cut and
so there was nothing left.
East Hampton, without Ring.
has somehow never seemed quite
the same. II 1t hadn't been for
Kit. I don't think I would have
held on to our home at the beach.
I believe that next to golf. q
game I've been able to play and
follow for nearly a half century.
hunting takes second place in
my affections for the outdoors.
This, despite the fact that every
place I hunted I established as
a sanctuary. There always
seemed to be more birds there
when I left than when / came.
Golf, hunting, yes and fishing,
carry about all the entertainment
or fun that one can take along
the road.
Turkey Biggest Thrill.
Hunting, with me, always had
to be divided three ways quail,
duck and wild turkey. Quail
shooting is the most dependable
diet but when 1t comes to the big
thrill, the wild turkey takes over.
] have followed this great bird
from 16 to Is pounders- lin many
States from Maryland to Georgia.
For me. the gobbler's most fas-
cinating habitat was at Bob
Woodruff's place at Ichauway,
Ga. This is spot Of some so 900
or more acres, thick with quail,
dove and turkey. Down there I
used to ride the only living bird
dog mule. Edna Ferber," who.
In one days hunt, pointed two
quail coveys.
The turkey Is the most elusive
Of all birds-also the hardest to
see. I've had them light in pine
or oak 20 feet away and then
lose them completely. Due to
their blending markings Of black,
gray. gold, crimson and green,
they become invisible phantoms.
A wild gobbler can hear you
breaking a match 400 yards
away. He has remarkable sight
and can fly or run like a thief.
On this particular hunt at
Ichauway my guide, Roy Carter,
and had hidden in a deep
swamp near turkey feeding
ground. We were there at $3.50
am. in the pitch dark, and Is
minutes later it began to pour.
We waited two hours or more
for dawn, hardly breathing. It
was around 6 when the turkeys
came in.
My target glided in to perhaps
20 yards from me. I blasted
meek high" at him. He went up
in the air like q rodeo bronc.
Then with q great thrashing he
was gone. I f1oundered in to
catch sight Of his tail feathers
disappearing behind q clump. II
dived. It was like jumping into
a threshing machine. He all but
beat me to death with his wings.
Finally. as / came out of there
dragging my prize by his we'll
wrung neck, I felt like Dempsey
after he had finished Of Firpo.
The bird, a 22-pounder mounted,
strides rampant today over the
fireplace in Woodruff's hunting
lodge.
Hunting on King Ranch.
It was in December, 1850. that
Red Smith and / hunted the wild
gobbler on the King Ranch in
South Texas, ancestral home Of
Assault and Stymie. The King
Ranch turkeys seem to arrive in
droves or herdS-like bieacher
fans at the World Series-and
push you aside to drink out of
the swimming pool. But the rules
down there were different. You
had to use .22-caliber rifle and
shoot only at the head. AS I
wasn't any too good with shot
gun at 10 PAGES. this put o
definite kink into my act. I
might add that this wrinkle
didn't help establish Red Smith
as q pioneer gunman, either.
However, Red did land q big
brute OF a gobbler by creasing /
him, across the sacroiliac.
We also encountered q swarm
Of deer. all beauties. One great
whitehall with q tremendous
rack of honors invited me to
shoot him. ! raised my gun, but
couldn't squeeze the trigger.
They called me q sissy.
IT'S not that. exactly" /" said.
Its just that ! never shoot Q
deer until he pulls . knife on me
first.
copyright. 1854.
By A. 8. Barnes q Co., Incl
distributed by the Bell Syndicate. Incl