330 



RECREATION. 



AN INDIAN'S INGENUITY. 



November ist, '99, J. D. Finn, Levi 

 Fulton and I, all hunting enthusiasts, left 

 for a week's duck shooting in Northern 

 Minnesota. Although somewhat late in the 

 season the ducks had lingered about the 

 numerous lakes and marshes of that region, 

 and we congratulated ourselves on the 

 prospects of good sport. 



Our first stop was made at Grand 

 Rapids where we secured supplies and hired 

 an Indian guide. The next morning after 

 continuing our journey about 100 miles 

 Northwest, on the line of the Great North- 

 ern railway, we decided to stop and pros- 

 pect for duck haunts. 



On the advice of our guide we followed 

 a trail through the woods to an opening 

 3 or 4 miles across. There before our eyes, 

 on what appeared a great meadow, were 

 thousands of mallards. When we ex- 

 pressed surprise at seeing so many ducks 

 where apparently there was no water our 

 Indian said: 



"Plenty water. Come, I show you." 



We went to the edge of the meadow, and 

 Mr. Fulton, at the request of the Indian, 

 started to walk toward the ducks, some 100 

 rods distant. He had scarcely gone a yard 

 when in he went to his waist, and came 

 back to us dripping wet. Our guide told 

 us that the Great Northern railway, in 

 building its line through that territory, had 

 found it necessary to drain one of the lakes. 

 What looked to us like a meadow was in 

 fact the bottom of that lake, covered with 

 a uniform growth of moss, grass, etc., com- 

 pletely hiding the few feet of water under- 

 neath. How we were to reach the birds 

 out in the middle was a problem. Mr. Finn 

 thought he could drive his light canvas 

 boat through the moss, but after working 

 out a few rods gave it up and returned. 

 To relieve his feelings he shot both bar- 

 rels of his gun into the air and watched for 

 some stir among the distant mallards. Some 

 thousands of them rose, circled and dropped 

 back again on their feeding ground. 



We walked half way around the lake bot- 

 tom trying to find some way of getting 

 within shooting distance, but none could 

 be found and we eventually came back to 

 where we had left our guide,. It did not 

 take us long to discover that he had some 

 notion in his head. He had collected a 

 large quantity of pine and hemlock foliage, 

 several hundred straight sticks about 6 feet 

 long, and a big pile of wire grass. In an- 

 swer to our questions .he simply pointed 

 toward the ducks and resumed his work. 

 Leaving him at his work the other 3 mem- 

 bers of the party took a little trip through 

 the woods in the hope of getting a shot at 

 a grouse. After spending about 4 hours in 

 that way we returned and found our guide 

 had completed a thing looking much like a 

 big hogshead with the ends knocked out. 

 Running around the inside, like the hoops 

 of a barrel, were 5 or 6 strips of birch 



about 5 inches thick, and to those were 

 laced the small sticks, the whole outside 

 being covered by a thick and strong mat- 

 ting of grass and moss. 



He started rolling this wheel toward the 

 edge of the lake bottom and motioned for us 

 to come along. Then he stepped inside the 

 wheel and, to our astonishment, started the 

 thing rolling toward the middle of the lake. 

 He went only a short distance-, however, and 

 then returned, telling one p]f ais to get in 

 with him." Taking his gui^and a number 

 of shells Mr. Fulton entered with the guide, 

 and in less than half an hour he was de- 

 posited on a bog near the middle of the bot- 

 tom. The ducks had risen in swarms at 

 the approach of the curious vehicle, many of 

 them flying over to the farther side. With 

 some brush which the Indian had the fore- 

 sight to carry with him Mr.. Fulton made a 

 blind and settled down for a chance 

 shot. 



The guide returned, and conveyed me to 

 another part of the feeding ground, where 

 another blind was made. Mr. Finn was 

 next carried a considerable distance in the 

 same way and deposited on a bog. 



The Indian had so constructed his wheel 

 that a man could roll it from the inside by 

 leaning or climbing on one side, much as a 

 dog would turn an old fashioned treadmill. 

 The thick covering of moss and grass en- 

 abled the wheel to roll over the mass of 

 vegetable matter, without sinking in the 

 water. When Mr. Finn had been left to 

 build his blind the guide rolled his strange 

 wheel toward the distant ducks, approach- 

 ing them on a side that would turn them in 

 the direction of Mr. Fulton. He opened 

 with 6 shots from his pump gun. The 

 ducks came to me and I fired ; then Mr. 

 Finn's turn came. The Indian kept the 

 birds moving and we banged away all the 

 afternoon. It was the most enjoyable sport 

 I ever had. 



We shot until dark, and bagged 46 big 

 mallards, 7 teal and one canvas back that 

 afternoon. The next day we went through 

 the same performance, but the ducks were 

 more wary and avoided the blinds with 

 more persistency. However, we were well 

 repaid for our ride the second day, secur- 

 ing 48 mallards, 8 teal and 3 bluebills. 



The proprietor of a German menagerie 

 keeps caged together a lion, a tiger, a wolf 

 and a lamb, which he labels "The Happy 

 Family." When asked confidentially how 

 long these animals had lived together, he 

 answered : 



"Ten months, but the lamb has to be re- 

 newed occasionally." — Philadelphia Times. 



"Did you get your lost dog back when 

 you advertised?" 



"No, but I got 3 better ones." — Cleveland 

 Plain Dealer. 



