272 



RECREATION. 



er using decoys usually conceals himself in 

 a pit; but where such can not be dug, fair 

 results may be obtained by lying flat on 

 the ground, concealed by the grass or stub- 

 ble. The disadvantages of this are that the 

 shooter can not see an approaching flock 

 well and that he loses time in springing 

 from the ground and getting into firing 

 position. 



Old sportsmen say the geese are getting 

 more difficult to decoy year by year, and 

 the reason is apparent. The artificial geese, 

 then, must be put in as natural an array as 

 possible to outwit the suspicious old gan- 

 ders. A number of the decoys should have 

 movable heads, to be lowered as if feeding; 

 and on no account should they be all facing 

 in one direction, or have all their heads 

 erect, as that implies watchfulness and dan- 

 ger. As a rule, the more decoys the better ; 

 for the reason that a large flock seldom 

 swings into a small one, while small flocks 

 and single birds, or pairs, come without 

 fear or misgiving to a larger group. The 

 position of the pit and decoys depends con- 

 siderably on the sort of day. On a calm 

 day the shooter will do well to have his 

 decoys scattered around the pit, as the 

 birds are likely to come straight' in from 

 any direction without circling. If it is 

 windy, the rule is that they swing in to the 

 decoys against the wind, or,, if they pass 

 over them without becoming alarmed at the. 

 sudden disappearance of their counterfeit 

 likenesses, which they rarely do, they will 

 turn again and attempt to light against the 

 wind. The better position on such days 

 would be a few yards to leeward, especially 

 when the birds are suspicious and discover 

 the artifice. They would then still be with- 

 in reach of the gunner before they swerve 

 off; whereas a shot could not be obtained 

 from the decoys. 



Geese, with their great coat of feathers 

 and plump bodies, are hard to kill, and 

 numbers are wounded only to fly off and 

 die perhaps a mile or 2 away, or often to 

 reach the water. The lakes or sloughs in 

 any locality subject to much shooting have 

 always their numbers of helpless and dead 

 birds washed ashore. Coyotes are fully 

 aware of this fact, and the shore often 

 shows unmistakable signs of a feast. On 

 account of the vitality of such game the 

 best goose gun is the closest and hardest 

 shooter obtainable. The size of shot de- 

 pends on the handling power of the gun, 

 but it must be reasonably heavy to secure 

 penetration. Goose shooting, to be success- 

 ful, requires much time and patience, a 

 knowledge of their habits, and not a little 

 hardship, especially if the hunting is done 

 late in the fall, just before the freeze; but 

 there is something about the wild, free 

 clamor of this great bird which speaks of 

 unbounded liberty and brings up visions of 



great Northern lakes, free from man's in- 

 cursions ; which quickens the blood on the 

 coldest day, and lends fascination to the 

 sport. 



Can I forget my first goose ! It was the 

 latter part of September, and for a week 

 I had watched the morning and evening 

 flights ; had seen large flocks settling time 

 after time without disturbance on a certain 

 field in the midst of many others ; and I 

 looked forward with unbounded impatience 

 to Saturday, when we were to get closely 

 acquainted. That day dawned clear, calm 

 and frosty. As the first red tints appeared 

 above the Eastern horizon I was up and, 

 after an apology for breakfast, for I was 

 too anxious to be hungry, I got my outfit 

 and started. The outfit consisted of 10 de- 

 coys, home-made and rather doubtful look- 

 ing, which were wrapped in a bag and car- 

 ried by a string from my shoulder ; a lunch 

 and a borrowed 'double gun, said by the 

 owner to have been a good one in its day. 

 Reaching my destination, after a 2 mile 

 walk, just as good daylight came in, I 

 chose a patch of the thickest and longest 

 stubble, put out my decoys and prepared to 

 lie down in the dead furrow. One trial 

 convinced me that rough, frozen ground 

 has angles and corners. To make myself 

 more comfortable, I started to get some 

 straw; but just then such a goose clatter 

 arose from the lake, about a mile distant, 

 that I scampered back to the decoys, and 

 frozen ground was forgotten for the time. 

 The squawking became incessant. I flat- 

 tened out on the ground, hugged my gun 

 and waited; but not a goose appeared. Soon 

 the sun peeped, then climbed uo full 

 height ; and immediately I heard the squawk- 

 ing of approaching honkers. I put an extra 

 kink in my neck and strained my eyes in 

 their sockets, for I was flat on my back. 

 Yes, there they come, about a dozen, head- 

 ing directly for my hiding place! Nearer! 

 nearer ! they approached. Suddenly, with 

 a warning squawk from one old fellow, 

 they all turned quickly aside and chuckled 

 derisively as they went past, just out of 

 gun shot. 



Three more flocks came along, and each 

 time the same performance was repeated. 

 They had evidently had experience with 

 decoys before. Then several small bunches 

 came, passing close. I celebrated each visit 

 by rolling to my feet, and emptying -my 

 gun, making much noise and smoke, but 

 attaining no other result. This continued 

 till my cartridge belt look slim. I con- 

 cluded I was shooting at the birds when 

 too far off. I resolved to wait longer the 

 next time and call them if possible. But 

 the flight was over and no more geese came. 



As I was rising from the ground in 

 despair, I heard a call, directly behind me, 

 so down once more I went, and began 



