326 UPLAND SHOOTING. 



transport the seventeen geese to town in our small buggy, 

 even after tying them on, and had to dispose of some of 

 them to people we met on the road. 



The experience we had that afternoon, though never 

 afterward so fully realized, was by no means an uncom- 

 mon one at that time and during the few years preced- 

 ing. Even during the few years succeeding, fields of 

 small grain and corn w^ere occasionally found into which 

 the geese were sure to come in large numbers; but now- 

 adays it is difficult to find a field in this same country into 

 which there is a reasonable certainty of over a half-dozen 

 flocks coming, more often less. There are exceptions, of 

 course, and it is to locate those favored spots that taxes 

 the patience and time of the hunter. The geese, too, are 

 better educated, more familiar with the tactics of the 

 enemy, and a correct knowledge of their habits is abso- 

 lutely essential to successful sport. 



In these days, the best shooting in South Dakota is 

 found in the counties bordering on the Missouri River, 

 particularly Charles Mix and Brule, with a prefer- 

 ence for the latter. Bounded for over 100 miles by 

 the ''Big Muddy," parallel with the course of which 

 the main flight of the geese in the spring and fall runs, 

 the frequent sand-bars and "tow-heads" small, low- 

 lying islands covered by little willows and cotton- woods- 

 afford enticing resting-places and roosting-beds for the 

 geese. To follow the breaks in the bluffs out to the 

 adjacent feeding-grounds in the corn and grain fields is 

 natural, and it is here that the sportsman may be fairly 

 sure of a few days' happiness. 



Next to a good gun and properly loaded shells, the 

 first essential of a goose-hunting expedition is decoys. 

 Better start out with an inferior gun and shells and plenty 

 of good decoys than a 300 hammerless and no decoys, 

 or poor ones. The proper decoys are what are called 



