HARDWOOD RECORD 



January 10, 1917 



One Cruise of tlie Marie J. 



The story I'm about to tttl 

 May smack of finli to some, but well — 

 You've liciird the jibes o) those poor bo's 

 Wlio, chained to desks and kindred icocs, 

 Near stories of the hunters' might 

 And fishers' luck and in the height 

 Of boastful umbrage, souls obdured, 

 Give mock pretense of being bored. 



Still I can sec that, on the whole. 



Those tales of prowess, rantipole. 



Do justify sarcastic doubt; 



The ti-ue facts give scant cause to strout. 



Ours is not thus. We brought, you see. 



The proof of our reracity. 



Truth oft may yield to boastful male; 



The camera's word none can assail. 



Hear! Eighty geese, the story runs; 

 Just eighty geese and but six gttns ; 

 Six hardy mates, there were, and bold 

 Who bagged this pot 'spite risks untold. 

 In just three days of dangers grim 

 Of bears and other terrors, slim 

 The chance that other crews could slay 

 Such spoils as we of Marie J. 



But now you're learned the story's theme 



I'll give you prose, for it might seem 



I more desire to supersede 



Those bards who've filled all human need 



For verse than tell a simple tale 



Of crafty geese and hunters hale. 



So join me where the hunt began 



And take the trip with Captain Dan. 



Settins: up 

 the dead 

 ones at 

 "Verdun" 



^^^^^^^1 



To get the full measure of keen relish from a hunting trip, 

 one must be able to sense his own definition of that term. If 

 "to hunt" means merely "to slay that one may eat," the 

 full possibilities of recreation, of thorough, whole-souled en- 

 joyment cannot be realized. But if one knows the thrill of 

 anticipation — the preparatory cleaning and oiling and "try- 

 ing" of the gun, the overhauling of the outfit, the promise of 



AA'hen the Marie 

 "IjleH" for liiuc-h 



Why tlie Ininl 

 hiiceeeiled 



brisk, bright days in the open, of the come-back of the boy- 

 hood theory that "to live is to eat" — to slg^p is to lose all 

 sense of consciousness of surroundings in untroubled ob- 

 livion; if one gets pleasure from the promise of glorious days 

 of association with men turned back into boys, then and 

 only then is the whole meaning, the complete gratification 

 of man's natural desire to hunt his prey realized. 



While a hunt may be enjoyed with some of these features 

 absent, it is rounded out to perfection if all are present. As 

 that much-to-be-desired combination is rare, it seems that, 

 having participated in an occasion that fits precisely with 

 my definition, I owe it to those not so fortunate, to attempt 

 to record the unalloyed enjoyment of a i>arty of six goose- 

 hunters, who, in the crisp days of late December, found 

 themselves on the picturesque bars of the lower Mississippi. 



The Anderson-TuUy Company of Memphis, the active in- 

 stigators and hosts being Sam Thompson and Bart Tully, was 

 responsible for such a wonderful trip being possible. Tlie 

 only thorn to the rose was the unfortunate inability of three 

 men, whose presence and company was very much desired, 

 to be there. I can say with conviction that these three 

 gentlemen were indeed unfortunate in missing a completely 

 perfect excursion. 



But to the trip. The company had at its disposal the 

 stern-wheeler Marie J, which for twenty-one years has 

 guided rafts and barges up and down the Mississippi, and has 

 faithfully served its owners on all occasions. 





