PlONii-K HUN'liiRS OF THE [CANKAKhh 

 from a blind, for that mode of hunting is as old 

 as man, only an improvement of the system 

 during those early days. They were many 

 marked hunters and very few of their names I 

 can recall except the Cannons, Roots, Aore- 

 houses, Starkeys and scores of others whose 

 names I have forgotten. Harry, my half broth- 

 er, was a star v/ing-shot and last but not least 

 were the Qilson boys, Ed and Silly, who were 

 believed by many to be the best shots on the 

 river. 1 remember one time, many years ago, 

 before breech-loaders came in use, one of them 

 killed one hundred and ninety ducks and eight 

 geese in one day's shooting using a muzzle 

 loader. It was during the early seventies that 

 Kankakee region reached the zenith of its glory 

 as a hunting resort. fAy first shooting was done 

 from a boat. In some seasons we would have 

 splendid shooting and in others not so good, 

 this depended on the weather conditions, The 

 marshes seemed to be the natural feeding 

 grounds, especially for the diving ducks. But 



161 



