FOREST AND STREAM 
249 
unsuspecting relatives, and perhaps flapping a wing or two 
*ust to prove they were as live geese as they pretended to 
>e . Soiling tlieir wings and making a half circle so as to 
liring themselves head to wind the three birds, with a 
beautiful ami graceful evolution, settled upon the water, 
and immediately sailed up to the decoys and commenced 
to light with them. Exchanging glances we rose to our 
feet, and presented our guus over the blind. At the same 
moment the wild birds took wing and were rapidly widen¬ 
ing their distance from the shore, when two reports were 
heard and two birds fell headlong,and beforethesurvi vor had 
had time to miss his companions another barrel was dis¬ 
charged and lie lay lifeless upon the water. The decoys, 
which had remained perfectly quiet from the time the 
geese had settled in their midst, now expressed their satis¬ 
faction at the result of their deceptive allurements by much 
bowing to each other, and throwing water over their backs. 
The action of the sportsman was slightly different, but ex¬ 
pressed equal satisfaction in their n ay. It was somewhat 
in this wise: “George, my fledgling, how do you feel?” 
“Prime Zoopilus, my cherub, prime!" Then he smiled a 
suggestive smile, took something out of his pocket; and 
being a classical scholar, ejaculated with great solemnity, 
Bib ini un, and theybibiied! The birds were retrieved by a 
black Newfoundland, who, I omitted to say, was among 
the company, and not by any means the least of them, 
either*, and uew cartridges having been inserted in the guns, 
nil things were ready tor a repetition of the scene just 
described, The sun had now risen, and with rt came an 
increase of wind, and soon so hard it blew that the ducks 
as they come on before it wouldswiugiu towards the decoys, 
but found it impossible to stop. Some more tioclis of 
geese had visited the stand, and the bag was getting heavy, 
for quile a number of birds had fallen to the guns, when 
a great honking from the captive geese indicated something 
unusual- The cause was soon perceived, as a flock of 
about fifteen or twenty birds gradually approached the 
island. The gunners were crouched down iu the blind, 
and even I,he dog had his head on the ground. Taking the 
same course as ail the previous birds, these flew just below 
the .island, then setting their wiugs, came sailing in a solid 
column, up to the decoys and settled. The two friends 
were about to rise, when an almost imperceptible move¬ 
ment cautioning them to be still from the boatmen, showed 
than something had attracted his attention, and on peering 
thro gli the blmds, another flock was seen approaching of 
about the same number as that which had just alighted. 
Of course all ktpf still in their respective positions, merely 
watching the birds, as taking exactly the same course as 
the others, they swung round and gracefully joined the 
first arrivals. Preparations were being made to give them 
a warm reception, when simultaneous honking from the 
assembled birds indicated the approach of another flock, 
which, following the line of tlieir predecessors, joined the 
gathering crowd in front of the stand. It was getting 
almost too hot, this corner, although it was a winter day, 
and I had just made up my mind to lay low about two 
dozen of the birds in front of me, when George whispered, 
“keep sliii, here comes some swans; don’t shoot, we may 
have a chance at them," I succumbed, for the rapid arri¬ 
val of the flock before me was so unusual and surprising 
that if he had told me old Noah with his ark was iu view 
Coining to settle down to our decoy, 1 should not have been 
astonished.' J would only have got ready to get a raking 
shot at t he whole lot. The swans were swimming towards 
us about three hundred yards distant, and by tile rapidity 
with which they were advancing promised soon to arrive 
within gun shot. As we watched them renewed houkiugs 
heralded the arrival of another flock of geese, which was 
followed by another and then another, until X began to 
think all the geese on the Atlantic coast had made an ar¬ 
rangement to meet at our stand that morning. I peeped 
through the blind and witnessed, a sight that would have 
made any sportsman’s heart glad. There were over one 
hundred geese within sixty yards of our post, swimming 
about, pruning their feathers, or taking occasional knocks 
at our decoys. The swan had come on until their feet had 
touched boltom, when they stopped advancing, too far 
away, however, lorashot. “Respected ancient,” I gasped, 
to my companion, “there is an electric current coursing up 
and down my back-bone, and this lightning* rodin my hand 
cannot ho controlled much, if it should touch my spine 
it would certainly go off. I think by Way of precaution I 
will take aim.” The two guus were pushed through the 
blind, hut the geese had begun to get uneasy and were 
Swimming away. It was difficult to get many in line for 
each gun, and after wailing a few moments it was decided 
to fire one barrel sitting and the other as the birds ro.-e. 
“Are you ready?” a groan intimating assent, and the shot 
went hustling into the feathered crowd. What a row was 
there! jostling each olherin their anxiety to escape, it was 
with difficulty the frightened birds found space to spread 
their wiugs so closely were they massed together, and as 
they left the surface of the water the two remaining bar¬ 
rels were discharged into the retreating ranks, carrying 
death in their course, and adding to the terror which 
already possessed those that were fortunate enough to 
escape unharmed. What a relief it was to stand upright 
and he able to look about without the fear that a flock of 
geese would come sailing In and light on our hats; for the 
report of the guus had startled everything from our neigh¬ 
borhood. The swan could be.seen in a long white lino, 
disappearing with labored flight in the distance, 'while im¬ 
mediately in froDt the dog was busy bringing out the 
results of our shots. Happening to cast a look ac George, 
he seemed to be in difficulty with his pocket, as he was 
HAigging at it or something iu it very earnestly, but saying 
“nothing, never a word- It time he drew forth that same 
“strange looking instrument I have above refered to, and 
opening it, handed it to me with a sigh that I Was to invert 
it and look into it. I did so, and returned it to him feeling 
much better. Probably to ascertain if it would have a 
like agreeable effect upon his long suppressed feelings he 
imitated m 3 r action, and from the great sigh of relief he gave 
afterwards I knew lie was comforted. 
The wind had been growing leas strong, and soon after 
our last shot it fell to a calm, oo that we had no more 
Shooting until late in the afternoon, As we started home¬ 
ward our boat appeared as if loaded for the market, as her 
hold wa3 filled with birds, and as we drew near our anchor¬ 
age we were hailed from the beach by our frieud who 
staid behind. “What luck?" “Come out and See.” 
Jumping into a small boat he was soon alongside, and aB his 
, eye fell upon the hill of geese before him his face was a 
study as the various ' expressions of astonishment, disap¬ 
pointment, and pleasure appeared in succession, “Just 
jny luck," he exclaimed, “,l ;»ove T hit it—you wouldn’t 
have got a goose if I had been along, so it’s all right. How 
many are there in that, mountain?” The number was not 
so very great after all, for* a few geese make quite a show; 
however about forty largo birds were the result of the 
day’s sport, enough to kill in one day, for we estimated 
our enjoyment not so much in the number of birds slain as 
in the pleasure we received in watching them approach the 
decoys, and then their graceful movements as they gradu¬ 
ally settled upon the water. 
I have had many day’s sport of geose shooting, both 
before and since the one recorded now, hut never have 1 
seen such a mass of birds gathered to decoys at one time 
as on that memorable day iu Currituck Sound. 
Zoofutlhs. 
LO! FOR A DUCK, BEHOLD A DUCKING. 
Savannah, Ga., April 29th, 1870. 
Editor Fobbst and Stream:— 
Some time ago, two of my friends, whom I will call X. and A., 
While strolling along one of the old rice dams on Hutchinson's Island, 
opposite this city, seeing quite u numbet 1 of summer duck llying over¬ 
head; watching them until they settled down in ono of the numerous 
ponds, docirlcd that such things ought not to be allowed to pass by uti- 
molested, and then und there made up tholrjpincls that, the next afler- 
noon should see them ready to pay their respects to the many mem bare 
of that most beautiful of the duck species, which they believed to he 
hid away among the tall grass and weeds. Ever and unon springing up 
mid llying off to some apparently more favored spot. The next after¬ 
noon saw them on their way up the river in a small boat for the selected 
place, and here beginneth their chapter of mishaps. Hairing a mistake, 
they rowed past the creek they should have taken—they had till then hud 
the tide with them and all was plain sailing—hut now to pull back 
against a heavy springtide was another thing altogether. As they slowly 
made their way back they were hailed from a raft by a "man und broth¬ 
er,” who wanted some mulches. “Yes we will give yon some if you will 
take hold of the painter and pull our boat along the rafts out of this stiff 
current and past the eddy.' ’ This he did at once, for he said he had not 
been able to get any dinner for want of some matches to light a lire. 
Our sportsmen being somewhat rested, laid to their oars like good fel¬ 
lows and soon were at the shooting grounds. The ducks had already be¬ 
gan to fly, though in small numbers. N. was not long in waiting, when 
ono passing him at about thirty yurds, was hard hit by* a charge from his 
trusty Parker, hut falling far out iu the pond, he thought it useless to try 
to get it us his dog lmd not seen It fail. Another load, full report, and 
he has the mortification to see a lot of feathers floating in the air while 
the duck is still heading for South Carolina. In the meantime A,, who 
has been an interested looker on from his hiding place in the tali gross, 
thinks he ought to have a hand iu the game, and suddenly rising to his 
feet with a neat doable shot, drops a couple at about 30 and 35 yards, with 
What N. was pleased to call squib loads, of two drachms of powder and 
an ounce of No. 8 shot. But the little gun is a close hard shooting one, 
and one on which there is no discount. Alas! one of them had fallen 
into a ditch through which the water was running like a mill tall, and 
was out of sight iu a moment. The other, only badly wounded, could 
not be found bv the dogs, aud must have dove as.lt struck the water and 
oluug to the under growth to perish-to become food for the coons. 
Disappointed and disconraged, onr sportsmen give it up and start bade 
towards the boat, N. taking the lead. The tide haying come up very 
high, it had washed the bank, and splash, iu went N. up to his middle 
iu mud aud water, floundering about like a huge cat-fish in a shallow 
mudhole. A. belonging to the shellbark family, peeled.off hie coat, 
vest, and pants, throwing thorn to Nwaded across. '‘Belter pntyonr 
breeches on,” saysN. “Notydt my boy, there are some more of these 
holes,” replied A. And sure enough there were any number of them. 
As they neared their boat, N. yelled ■imt, "Oh, Lord, look out for ihe 
women.” “Thnndcr,” says A., “did not thiuk there was a vvouttm within 
a mile and a half,” und lookiug up us be was picking his way carefully, he 
saw three colored women riot twenty yards from him. Now A. 1s a very 
modest young man, but 'having his ltnder-clotuing on, did not think it 
necessary to try to make a fig leaf out of his hands as N. had done iu his 
excitement on seeing them, but pensively remarked loud enough for 
them to hear. “Madam, if you wish to behold the beauties of imture, 
do not look at mr friend thereforheis just outof a mndhole, but, look 
to the west audsec what a beautiful snnset there iB,” and as they turned 
their heads he gently stepped not "around the corner,” but arouud 
a clump of busbes, and was outof then* sight before they could turn 
around. "Lordyf Where dat man gwine to!" was the last lieurd from 
them. 
A few moments more and our sportsmeu were at their boats, and 
stepping iu, to their intense disgust, found thatN- had lost-ins- cartridge 
bag, iii which he had' put the oar 'looks to theboai, when leaving it, iu 
keep them from being stolen. There was no help for it; buck no must 
go to look for it, and with a colored man to assist him In the search, off 
ho started, leaving A. in the boat to watch the gens. .Half an hour, 
an hour, passed by, and darkness had set in, and hack came N. and his 
man Frank, to find that while he was gone A., had smoked up all the to¬ 
bacco that bad been saved, only leaving him enough for a dozen whitls. 
Engaging the man to hunt for the lost bag iu the'morning amt bring it 
to Bis store, and to take ns down to the city, it, was not long before the 
two sportsmen, whose luck was “ffsbermun's,” if not hunter's, were at 
their respective homes, and N. sal'ely in the bosom of his family. Here 
encleth their chapter of mlshups, Uloiuua. 
#4 §nltnp. 
—The young men of Manillas, Me., have formed a Game 
and Fish Protection Olub, with Samuel B. HUB ter for 
President and H. K. Taylor, Secretary. They propose 
building a hatching house for fish spitwu, from which to 
Stock their rivers and ponds. 
Fish nr Gebmahy.— Fish, except in seaport towns, (and 
these are few arid far between in Germany,) is a scarco and 
doubtful cofAmodity; the Elbe and Rhine salmon .very in¬ 
ferior in flavor to our own, and always dear. When pro¬ 
duced on great occasions, this fish is almost always served 
cold, encased in a sour jelley if whole, or accompanied by 
varieties of mayonnaise sauces if only portions of it are 
presented to the guests. Gitt'p and tench, those muddiest of 
the fresh water tinny tribe, are spoken of with bitted 
breath, as of delicacies fit Cor ihe table of Apicitis himself; 
but they are generally so disguised with vinegar and com¬ 
plicated flavorings that the mud may be said to yield to 
treatment. Not only are the salt water fish very inferior 
lo our Own, hut of infinitely less variety. No sloping pt;u- 
ifle slabs, sluiced with fresh water, adorned with moun¬ 
tains of ice and forests of fennel; no piled up iobsters in 
gorgeous array, splendid salmon, many tinted mackerel, 
delicate whitings ‘or 'domestic soles, colossal cod, minis¬ 
terial whitebait or silver sprats, will tempt at once your 
eyes and your palate; you will probably have to dive into ati 
obscureshop, whence issues anything but invitingly “a most 
ancient and fish-like smell,” when, in answer to your de¬ 
mands, a doubtful-looking marine monster will be polled 
out of a mysterious tub aL the back of the counter, with 
the remark, Heut giebt's nur selielljUcli (“liowunpleasantly,’’ 
as Thackeray’s schoolboy says of the monkeys, “they al¬ 
ways smell,”) or dorse!, 1, or barsch, as the case may he. In 
the so-called fish shops, thero will be all kinds of pickled 
herrings, (these form the foundation of that most popular 
of German dishes, haring-salat), bloaters, ( biieldinge ,) small 
dried sprats, Uucler Sprotten,) perhaps even pickled salmon 
and a pot of caviare may tempt you; for the love of Ger¬ 
mans for every kind of salt and dried fish (perhaps in de¬ 
fault of fresh) is apparently an appetite that grows by what 
it feeds upon,— Fraser's Magazine. 
[From the Rochester Express.] 
A RESUME OF THE YEAR’S WORK 
AT THE STATE HATCHERY—OVER 
TWO MILLIONS OF FISH DISTRI¬ 
BUTED. 
On April 3d we gave in the Express an account of the 
origin and growth of fish culture, and some valuable sta¬ 
tistics of the business done atthe State Hatchery at Cale¬ 
donia, with a table of the distribution of fish from that 
place during the present year up to that time. We are 
now enabled to give our readers a complete resume of the 
distribution* for the entire season, from the books of Mr. 
M. A. Green, who now goes to the Hudson River to super¬ 
intend the shad hatching:— 
SALMON TROrV. 
Cftiiandaigtio Lnko. 
Long Pond, Oration County. 
lBgobiud Pulls, Orange County. 
Caryl’s Lake, Otsego County. 
Black River, Lewis County. 
Canadian Lake. 
Rcud’tf Creek, Ontario County. 
McDonald's Lake. 
ChauiaiJtjiiu Lake. 
Hudson River... 
Clear Lake, Jefferson County. 
LukeGconpn. 
Otsego Lake.. 
Chautauqua Lake.. 
Cayngu Luke. 
Keuka Luke. 
Scnec-a Lake. 
Own sen Lake.. . 
Hemlock LaUo.. 
SSkaiieateJtiii Lako. 
.. JaLono 
. 35.000 
. 10,000 
. 36,000 
. 32,000 
. 20,000 
. 1,000 
. 10,000 
. 20,000 
. 15.000 
. 85 ono 
. 530,000 
. 10.0C0 
. 84,000 
. 130,wo 
. 102.000 
. 50,000 
. 00,000 
.n 
. 72,000 
Total......892,000 
WmiH-PISH. 
Seneca Lake. l-lO.fiOO 
RKNUKBC SAI-MON. 
AJlcn Creek. Moinpu County. 
lillOOK TROUT. 
Beaver Greek, Onondaga County... 
Indian Creek, CDlnuilna Couury., . 
Carpenter Creek, Onondaga County. 
Tmjawanda Creek, Genetreo... 
Tributaries of Chautauqua Lake. 
Hurani,Creek and. Guif, Cayuga. County. 
Vernon Creek, ) 
Stenton Creek, -Clinton County.. 
Cumers Creek, ) 
Newtown Creek, tChemung County. 
Gulf Bro.dc, j 
Duchess Brook, ] 
Strong Brook, 
Jjjitkg Brook, 
Void Brook, j 
Itreaor Brook, j 
Branch of Ironilcquoit, Allen and Hopper Crooks. 
Dugan Creek. Livingston County.. 
A tlfxn'u I 
8,000 
15,000 
7.0H0 
1,01)0. 
£0.000 
0,000 
80,000 
j-Monroe County,.. 35,000 
Allen’s Creek..... 
OuJudoim Creek. 
Head waters of Cunascrnyu, ] 
Little- Mill Creek, ' 
g.om 
■ 
50,000 
Rogers’ Hole Spring Brook, I 
Diamond Creek, j 
Boekeil Creek, Ulster County 
f. Livingston County,. 
Sing Sini, Oicn-k, Chemung County.. . 
Casku.kDla Crock ,) 
Spencer Creek, V Tompkins County. 
lyewHold Creek, } 
Tribute l.o 
Moose Lake, 1 
Spring Hole Brook, -Herkimer County. 
Trim io Nick's Lake,) 
Wildcat and Wnukogan Creeks, Orange County. 
Spriugrort Creek, Cayuga County. 
Tributaries r.o Otsego Lake, Otsego County.. 
Slovens' Creek, Ots< gu Comity. 
Tributaries to Lake ueoreo.... 
Beavrirkill Creek, Steuben County. 
Ooodhue’N Creek, Steuben County. 
Post's mid Prtmefi Crock*-, Steuben County. 
Wprlne aud MutliewsouN Crocks, Steuben County... 
BJiiek Creek, etc., Steuben County. 
OatakiM Creek, on the Hudson. 
Creeks in Ketiw*elner County—Now Troy.! 
lluosick Creek aud tributaries, Rensselaer County.. 
Nothorkill Creek, Rensselaer Connty. 
U ed’a Creek. Ontario Couuty. . 
Spring Creek, and others. Washington County_.’. 
Creeks near Cambridge, Wiishingion County. 
Riddle ami Lewis Creeks, tteuegee County. 
FifchkiH Creek, Durchuss County.. 
Cold Brook, Lewis County. 
Pali’s Brnnk. Lewis County...' 
Miller's Creek, Lewis County. 
Sedan's. Pulls Creeks, Westcnoster County.. 
Dobb’a Ferry Creek. VVestChet-l.ur Couuty .. 
ScOfjiasdttle Creek, Westchester Couuly.].. 
Pierson'* Creek,. Albany County. 
Aim’s’ Creek, etc., Jefferson County.. 
Owego and Tioga Creeks Tioga County.* ” ‘ 
Seymour, Sequoit, and other crooks in Oneida Com 
Mubgiuiuk und Bush Creeks, Orange County. 
Creeks near Oneida Community, Madison County.. 
Parson's Brook, Madieon County. 
Cieek at Newark, Wayne County. 
Streams near Amsterdam^ Montgomery County 
Total brook trout. 
. 18,COO 
- 38.000 
. 60,000 
. 30,000 
. 10,000 
. 20,000 
. 20,C00 
. 10,000 
. 15,000 
. 15.000 
. 18,000 
. 15.000 
. 20,000 
. 85,000 
. 10,000 
. 2;i,uoo 
. 20,000 
. 20,000 
. 4.000 
. 30.000 
. 5,000 
. 5,000 
. 12.000 
. 10,000 
. 10, <XM) 
. 10,000 
. 80,000 
. 15,000 
- 15.000 
. 30.UUIJ 
. 80,000 
. 5,000 
15.ono 
. 80,000 
..800,000 
T/Ieetno Foytis.—Wish Miller, the well known hunter 
of 110/9 Wilderness, writes to llio Genius of Liberty , of 
Uuiontown, MtL, as follows:— 
“Some of our okl hunters claim* that they never saw nor- 
heard of a fox treeing on the outside of a tree. I claim 
that 1 have treed Doth rod und gray foxes up straight and 
crooked trees. For reference they can call upon. John 
Russell. Frey, of lire McClelland House, or Lindsey Mess- 
more. We were hunting a few weeks ago in Garrett 
County, Md., when we started a gray fox; after a hard 
chase it was treed up a slmiy/4 tree without a limb twenty 
feet Trom the ground. The baying of tile hounds ceasing 
suddenly we wurU down and J'oimd the fox comfortably 1(£ 
eated iu a fork of the tree. We concluded to start‘him 
id give him a olmhce for hia life. He started pretty lively 
id in a few minutes was treed on a crooked tree. He re¬ 
fused to come down and was shot by one of the party. 
The next morning being favorable we started a red fox, 
which we caught alter a hard chas« of three hours. The 
same day we bagged a large catamount, in the light with 
which “Ranter” wus disabled iu one leg which, we feared 
at hist would provo disastrous to his uoted ileeiuefis, but 
happily It did not. ,r 
