Washington Geese. 
Seattle, Wash., Dec. 2S.^Johnny Wheeler, formerly 
known as John F. Wheeler, came staggering up the 
street one day last week with eighteen geese. The 
load was so heavy Johraiy did not haVe a chance to 
appreciate the sensation his attractive appearance 
caused. Men, women and eveti the all-absorbed mes- 
senger boys, stopped and took a mental inventory of 
the magnificent birds. Meanwhile Johnny struggled 
on, his back humping more and more as the load grew 
heavier. About every ten paces the lucky hunter was 
stopped by inquisitive friends. 
"Great bag," was the almost universal expression of 
greeting, followed by the natural question: "Where 
did you get 'em?" 
"Horse Heaven country, over in eastern Washing- 
ton," replied Johnny. Before he finally took the car 
for home Johnny thought in a rather bewildered way 
that he had more friends than ever before. "1 guess 
I must be the most popular man in Seattle," said 
Johnny to himself." Three geese finally reached the 
Wheeler house, but Johnny consoled himself with the 
fact that many a gooo dinner would be eaten in Seattle 
as a result of his clever manipulation of the shotgun on 
the breaks of the Horse Heaven shooting grounds. 
County Commisioner Lou Smith, John Wooding, 
Walt Lund, Charles Potsky and Walter Mess, all of 
whom are well known in King county, were in the 
Horse Heaven country at the same time as Wheeler. 
They shot at Goose Gap, through which the geese fly 
in reaching the Horse Heaven feeding grounds, 
after_ they leave the sand bars in the Co- 
lumbia River. Their bag was sixty-five, which 
included both common geese and the big honkers. 
Wheeler shot alone on the breaks at Long 
Canon, getting practically all' of his birds last Sunday 
between 7:30 o'clock in the morning and 2 in the after- 
noon. He made a mistake in leaving so soon, as the 
birds flew all day. The day following. Monday, there 
was not enough wind to keep the geese low down, 
consequently few birds fell to the guns. 
Wheeler left Seattle Thursday evening, Dec. 17, and 
on the way to eastern Washington was joined unex- 
pectedly by Smith, Wooding, Lund, Potsky and Mess. 
All of them left the train at Kiona, where they were 
met by teams and driven nine miles to the hunting 
grounds. Friday and Saturday there was a dense fog, 
which made it impossible to do any shooting. Big 
bands of geese were in the air, and their querulous 
calling and swishing wings sent shivers up and down 
the spines oi the unlucky hunters. How they did 
pray for a wind to sweep away the enshrouding veil, 
but all in vain. Two days had. passed, and it looked as 
if the trip was to be a failure; then came the storm, 
which made things sing all along the Oregon and 
Washington coast. It was a sou'wester, starting at 
Astoria and sweeping up the big Columbia River with 
a fury that kept the geese on the sandbars until they 
were so hungry that they smashed into its face in their 
determination to reach the feeding places in the Horse 
Heaven grain fields. 
To reach the fields, which are approximately 1.400 
feet above the level of the sea, the geese must puss 
through what is known as Goose Gap, and here it was 
that Smith, Wooding. Lund. Potsky, and Mess caught 
them coming. Magnificent is the word that describes 
the sport they had with the long-necked, keen-eyed 
and ever-suspicious monarchs of the web-footers. 
Wheeler was having his sport on what are called fhe 
breaks. To those who have never been in that particu- 
lar goose hunting country this term may require ex- 
planation. The Columbia River makes a bend, and in 
that bend is_the Horse Heaven district. A storm work- 
ing un the river passes over the hunting ground instead 
of following the river in its bending course. The best 
hunting is always had when the wind comes from the 
southwest, because the birds have to fly against it and 
fly low. Between the sandbars of the river and the 
level fields are high ridges or hills with depressions or 
valleys between. Now, the geese do not like to face 
the wind any more than a human being does. They 
naturally seek for some method to make their trip to 
the -feeding grounds as easy as possible, and this ex- 
iplains why a flock will, after crosing a ridge, drop 
down. When they come to the next ridge, they rise 
just enough to pass over it, and immediately drop into 
the comparatively quiet air again. If the wind is light 
they will go high up in the air when they cross a ridge; 
instinct, combined with experience, has taught them 
that there is danger in the little tufts of sage brush 
which dot the otherwise barren hills. 
. Man has figured out all these little peculiarities of the 
flight of the geese, and he takes advantage of the situa- 
tion. In a little hole, the dirt from which has been re- 
moved to a far distance — it is no use to dig a hole and 
throw the dirt around — the hunter conceals himself 
and waits for the flight. If he can get a sage brush 
screen he does so gladly, but as a rule the coter is not 
sufficient to protect him from the ever watchful eye of 
the leader of the band. 
An old . goose hunter has no difficulty judging the 
range, but the novice, and even the old-time duck 
hunters, get fooled badly. A goose is so much larger 
than a duck that the eye gets all mixed up with itself in 
trying to figure out where the bird is. 
"You think," said Wheeler, "that the old goose is 
right on top of you; up you jump and give him both 
• barrels, only to find that he is ico yards up in the air." 
How easy it is to get fooled may be judged from the 
following dimensions of a goose that weighed four 
pounds: Length from bill to tail feathers, 28 inches; 
spread of wings, 53 inches; around breast. 19 inches. 
. Wings that spread put 53 inches loom up big in the air 
when there is no background. Another thing one must 
remember in this connection, and that is, when you look 
..up.^t a, goose you have no other object to help you out 
m making comparisons of size, and distanee. .The 
.average hunter- does not turn his gun loose on . g'eese 
more than two or three times a season, consequeritly he 
■ has to -use all his faculties to keep from being pulled off 
'center. I have had a flock of sprigtail. ducks circle and 
circle a,round just out of ran^e until they had me going. 
C. B. Yandell was hunting quail on Whidby Island; 
his dog had just come to a point, and Yandell was ap- 
proaching to shoot when he suddenly heard wings in 
the air and observed that a band of geese were circling 
over him. Quick as thought he dropped to the ground 
aiid remained motionless. Apparently the birds did not 
notice him, for they kept circling and coming closer to 
the ground. It was an exciting time for the quail 
hunter. There stood his dog. rigid and wondering why 
there was nothing doing. In the air the big birds were 
cutting circles and gradually approaching. "I thought 
I'd bust," said Yandell; "the tension was something 
awful. Finally it seemed to me that if I did not shoot 
my gun barrel would stick up into the air beyond the 
old king goose. Up I jumped and whanged away. 
Then I saw what I had done. The birds were still 
high up in the air." 
Yandell's eye had the gauge for quail, but when a 
quick transition was made to geese, he lost his sense 
of proportion and distance. 
One of the honkers that Wheeler brought home with 
him weighed i4'/2 pounds. When he was over on the 
same ground earlier in the season he brought down 
two which weighed 15 pounds each. "At this time of 
the year," continued Wheeler, "it is almost necessary to 
have a strong sou'west wind in order to get any shoot- 
ing. Earlier in the season, before the birds get wise 
and look with suspicion on everything, one can shoot 
them in the grain fields, but as the season advances, the 
bands fly higher and higher, and move at the slightest 
sign of danger. Under such conditions, a strong wind 
is required to keep them down close to the points of 
land from which the shooting is done. And in shooting 
from the ridges, when the geese are flying from the 
sandbars to the fields, that is called brake shooting." 
Judge Arthur E. Griffin and Fred Mess have probably 
made the best kills in the Horse Heaven country this 
year. On one trip lasting several days they got ninety- 
five birds. 
Maj'or Humes is another hunter who has had good 
luck in the same fields. He has usually been early on 
the ground and shot from holes in the grain fields. 
Profile decoys are used. There is no chance for mo- 
tion among the decoys, such as there is in duck shoot- 
ing. The decoys are nothing but thin sheets of metal 
cut out to resemble a goose and painted to conform as 
nearly as possible to its colors. Skill is required in 
placing the decoys because of their flat surface. 
Western Washington does not compare well with the 
eastern part of the State in this particular sport, al- 
though it is recorded that a goose was killed on the 
Seattle golf links a few weeks ago. At least that is 
the story told without any effort to have it appear in 
print. PoRTUs Baxter. 
Days at Grindstone* 
"There comes-a month in the weary year, 7 
A month of leisure and peaceful rest, 
■^hjCn the ripe leaves fall and the air is clear — , ; 
October, the brown, the crisp, the best. ^ 
My lot has little enough of bliss; ' 
I drag the days of the odd eleven — 
Counting the time that shall lead to this. 
The month that opens the hunter's heaven." 
That grand old man of the woods, Nessmuk, has gone 
where all good hunters go, but his sweet and simple 
songs of the forest have found a resting place in many a 
heart. 
October was upon us with its gorgeous display of 
woodland tints. The morning air was crisp and re- 
dolent of earthly fragrance wafted from unseen groves, 
and life indeed was good. We wanted to fly; but rea- 
lizing the danger of trying it, we decided to go to 
Maine. 
But there was that pestiferous tax staring at us, we 
could, tiot escape it by going around it, arbitration 
would not avail; for Mr. Carleton said so. 
We magnanimously decided to forgive the commis- 
sioners for giving our pockets such a jolt, and with the 
"call of the wild" in our hearts we decided to visit 
again our old hunting grounds by the tranquil Penob- 
scot. 
Frank came from New York. Schofield and his wife 
were on hand also, as were Ed and Allie. Harvey of 
the "big market" appeared two days later. He had to 
walk six miles to reach us, but that is only a trifle to 
a man who has climbed to the sumit of Katahdin. 
The East Branch was in sight most of the time, and 
its music made his heart glad. The snow-crowned 
peaks of Katahdin also lent inspiration, and he ar- 
rived in camp in a jubilant mood, and struggling with a 
most eloquent appetite. 
Our little band of capitalists contributed $105 toward 
game protection, but up to the time of going to press 
we had not received a vote of thanks from any of the 
game commissioners. 
G. J. Brann, of Revere, is the "Nessmuk" of our 
little company of sure-shots, having preceded us by a 
few seasons into the woods. He has hunted the cari- 
bou on Katahdin's dangerous slopes and has secured 
many fine heads. He is a native of the Pine Tree 
State and owns property there, but he refuses to be im- 
posed upon by a tax, and will hunt this season in 
Canada. . 
The B. &.A. Railroad managers afforded us a most 
agreeable surprise this season by doing away with the 
tiresome hold-up at Bangor, and dropping us at our 
backwoods station of Grindstone fully three hours 
earlier than in previous seasons. 
The woods were white with snow when we stepped 
from the train, and con^dering the date. Oct. 26, it 
agreeably surprised us. It did not last long enough 
to make good tracking, but served to dampen the 
leaves. 
A! and Seth were at the station with buckboard and, 
wagon, and after hearty greetings wiere exchanged, 
trunks and bags made fast, 'we piled in for-, the'six-mife 
drive through tJie woods.. ■ The roadtS in Maine* are nQt 
macadamized; the drive, though a - short' one, gave tis 
appetites as sharp as tacks, and we surprised Aujit 
Augustie by the manner in which we dispatched th^ Jeg 
f-^Am^ 1904. 
of venison and other good things she had prepared for 
us. 
At 4 next morning Frank aroused the entire party 
by executing a double shuttle, accompanied by a song. 
i>eth and Al not taking kindly to such a rude method 
of awakeiiing people, protested most vigorously, but 
Frank said he was in Maine for business and did not ' 
intend to waste any time in sleeping. 
After breakfast each one was ready to take his sepa- 
rate trail over the ridges or through the swamps, 
trank struck out for Salmon stream, where he found 
bear signs in the snow, and followed the tracks until ' 
thev led into a swamp. Darkness sets in very quickly 
in the woods, so he gave up until next Qay. 
This is the second year that the beechnuts have been 
a failure, and in consequence we were unable to find 
any deer working on the ridees. Hard frosts all 
through the early summer months nipped the buds and 
deprived the deer of many fattening morsels. Persistent 
hunting for the past seven or eight years has greatly 
diminished the deer in our territory, and it certainly 
has taken away most of the big ones. 
Only two big deer were seen by us during our stay. : 
On Nov. 7 we had about 10 inches of snow, and over 
a road five miles long we found many tracks, but only 
one or two large ones among them. The traveling of 
human beings over a given space frequently will cause 
deer to forsake that immediate locality and find new 
ground. 
About the only time any of us could catch a glimpse . 
of a deer was in the early morning, in some sunny bit 
of second growth. Nothing but young fawns ventured \ 
to stroll about during the day, and even those little ' 
fellows had a big advantage over the mad man trying j 
to tiptoe up to them. 
With their mule-like ears constantly listening, they 
are well_ fortified against ah enemy. Owing to the 
bad habit that deer possess of going about chiefly 
in the night time, it was difficult for our very 
new members to catch a glimpse of more than a white j 
tail. In fact, one of the party looked up in time to see ■ 
what he thought was a white owl about to fly into a , 
tree, while in reality it was the white flag of a deer as ; 
it was bounding away through a thicket. Things look : 
very queer to a new man during his first trip to Maine. , 
One of the hunters was waiting on the edge of ' 
a swamp near the ridge one evening, hoping to catch 1 
a deer working out. He had been waiting for about 
an hour, while his teeth were chattering and his knees 
knocking each other. Suddenly he heard a commotion 
in the thickly piled leaves on the ridge behind him. A 
cold sweat began to break out on his forehead, his heart i 
tried to get Out of his mouth, and gripping his rifle 
tightly he got ready to kill something, when the terrible 
strain was broken by the chattering of two red squir- 
rels chasing each other. And from experience I also , 
know that the nimble little red brother makes enough 1 
noise to warrant one in thinking that a whole flock of i 
deer are, about to rush at him. The solemn silence of i 
the forest intensifies the sliglitest sound. 
Frank was the first one to bring in game. He fired i 
at a doe as she whistled and broke into a run. He : 
followed on her tracks for over an hour, the blood ; 
spots finally failing to show on the leaves. He dislikes i 
to wound a deer and not secure it, for it means a lin- 
gering death for the graceful animal. Crossing over : 
to Hinch's camp, he found Al and Young eating lunch, 
and after hearing his story, Al said he could find the : 
doe. . They returned to Wadley brook and took up the 
track again, when Al succeeded in finding the doe, . 
where she had dropped, right near the brook. Those : 
backwoods fellows know their book thoroughly. Wad- 
ley brook is three miles from the camp, but Frank car- 
ried the deer without assistance, stopping twice to ; 
breathe straight. It is no child's play to tote a deer 
over a rough road. 
Ed, the youngster, by the aid of a field glass, located i 
a small bunch of deer way down river feeding in the : 
old field. He dropped into the canoe with Allie in the ! 
stern, and they drifted down quite handy to the deer. 
By carefully working along to the shelter of sOme : 
alders, they were able to get within shooting distance. 
The boys fired together, dropping two of the deer, the 
fawn did not run, when one more well placed shot ended i 
its career. A small spikehorn and his doe, with the j 
fawn, made a good load for the trfp. upi river. Thus I 
does luck run at times. 
Schofield has been accompanied by his wife on his 
trips for some years, and she has become skillful with 
the rifle, always killing her own game. She does not 
go very deep into the woods, confining her trips to the i 
river banks and edges of the swamps, but she rarely ; 
returns home without her complement of deer. She 
shot a fine spikehorn handy to the camp, and also one 
of the best does taken out this season. She is an ; 
enthusiast when talking of life in the woods, for she 
has built up' her constitution wonderfully since she first i 
began to accompany her husband on his hunting trips, i 
The air of the Maine woods has done more for her 
than the skill of the practitioner. 
Young was the luckiest of the party. He started out 
early on the new snow Nov. 7, and following a good- 
sized track, soon had in the snow a buck that weighed 
155 pounds dressed. Not very big as bucks go, but we 
were all envious just the same. We noticed, when on ; 
the train for Boston, that Young occasionally emitted a j 
low, atnused chuckle, as though he was tickled over | 
something. ] 
We all had a jolly good time and were loath to 
leave. We had lots of partridge stews and roasts, and 1 
heaps of fun climbing trees for spruce gum. Many 
pleasant hours were spent in exploring old logging 
roads and visiting deserted camps; or finding fox tracks 1 
in the stiow and following them for hours; finally cotn- ; 
ing back near where we started in. It is remarkable 
what the snow shows to an observer 'Tn the line of ; 
tracks.. Here, eight ahead of us, a hedge' hog took i 
the straight road „over the ridgCi His is the most • 
curious track of all. There are two distinct furrows i 
reaching put on both sides, one ^lowing into th« snow ' 
:;far beyond the line of the other. He must have ^ had ! 
a hard; time. fprging through the drifts before he finally 
reached his old tree. We failed to bring cameras "this ; 
year, and thus lost a fund of much future plea^urei I 
