Duck Shooling in Calcasieu Parish. 
A few years ago, before a great industry had 
been developed in the vicinity of Sulphur City. 
La., the natural conditions in that locality were 
favorable to the increase of migratory game. 
The ground was low and marshy, but generally 
quite flat; forests of resinous pine spread over 
a considerable portion of the country. In some 
places the trees grew to immense size, their mas¬ 
sive trunks ascending to seventy-five or eighty 
feet without a branch. The soil in such locali¬ 
ties being free from underbrush and covered 
with thick layers of pine needles yielded pleas¬ 
antly under the step like a soft plush carpet. 
Currents of air caressing the treetops imparted 
the sound of the surf beating the shore at a dis¬ 
tance. Stretches of open prairie covered with 
tall grass furnished feeding spots for large flocks 
of ducks and geese. When the attention was 
not too much absorbed with large game one 
might frequently hear the jacksnipe emit its 
peculiar whistle as it shaped a zigzag course in 
its flight. Other game there was in less abund¬ 
ance. 
I engaged an old ‘"red bone ’ to act as my 
guide. Legrand—the name by which I will in¬ 
troduce the new acquaintance—was really a 
Creole, but was said to have a cross of Indian 
blood, just enough to cause him to detect signs 
which escape the common eye. A faithful, quiet, 
uncomplaining man, but an excellent hunter ac¬ 
cording to his lights, Legrand took no liking to 
new-fangled notions of modern sportsmen. He 
could crawl through the brush or long grass with 
all the stealthiness of a cat, every sense alert, 
and in spite of wet, cold or any kind of dis¬ 
comfort would doggedly stick to his task until 
his game was secured. 1 o this old-fashioned 
hunter every cartridge must represent something. 
He was not satisfied with “punching holes in 
the air.” A story is told of Legrand upon which 
I would not care to stake my reputation for 
veracity although somewhat characteristic of the 
man. 
A ranchman living in that locality noticed a 
small bunch of teal that were in the habit of 
using in a pond not far from his dwelling. He 
requested Legrand to try his luck with them 
the next morning, when they could be easily 
found. Legrand, however, was short of ammu¬ 
nition, so the ranchman gave him a shell which 
he jokingly remarked was enough for a good 
shot, and he expected him to come back with 
the whole bunch, numbering six. On the en¬ 
suing day Legrand departed before sunrise, but 
returned to breakfast empty handed. “No ducks, 
Legrand?” He shook his head; “No ducks.” 
The next morning the result was the same. 
“No ducks. Legrand?” “No ducks.” 
The third morning a shot was heard. Legrand 
returned with three beautiful blue-winged teal 
hanging from each shoulder. 
“Legrand, how did you manage to have so 
much luck all of a sudden, when you were not 
able to get anything the two preceding morn¬ 
ings ?” 
“To-day,” he replied, “was the first time I 
could get them lined up so that I could bag 
them all at one shot.” 
It was my good fortune to make another in¬ 
teresting acquaintance in a somewhat singular 
way. One afternoon, when shooting on the edge 
of a marsh close by the house where I was so¬ 
journing, I became conscious of someone near 
at hand. Turning around I discovered an 
elderly man of dignified bearing, whose round 
ruddy face, ornamented with a long white flow¬ 
ing beard, rested upon broad shoulders and 
sturdy frame. The expression of his counte¬ 
nance was mild and kindly, possessing a reflec 
tive cast, which was somewhat accentuated by 
a habit of slowly stroking his beard. Much 
impressed, I regarded him with a feeling of 
reverence. Had I been present at a revival 
meeting, the pose and genial appearance would 
have suited the occasion, silence having been 
secured by the exhortation, “Let us pray.” 1 
broke the magic spell by politely asking the new 
arrival whether he was a sportsman and fond 
of shooting. “Can I shoot?” By- (a blue 
streak a yard long imparted all necessary 
emphasis). “Young man, before my eyes went 
back on me old Uncle Dave could hit any living 
creature.” After a brief conversation my new 
acquaintance cordially invited me to visit him, 
ahd also extended the privilege of occupying his 
lodge at a place called Sabine Pass, about twenty 
miles away. This is not the noted Sabine Pass 
in Texas, but merely a local name. All reports 
seemed to confirm the reputation of Sabine Pass, 
so I concluded to fit out an expedition. I chart¬ 
ered a prairie schooner and secured two horses 
which the guide said he could get for nothing. 
I was willing, however, to pay for what I got, 
but was put off with some dignity. The old 
saying, “Never look a gift horse in the mouth” 
seems somewhat in point, so I will be sparing 
of comments. It was a very safe team, but not 
much at annihilating space. A young man was 
engaged as cook. There was no other addition 
to the party, save that of an old one-eyed dog. 
A long, wearisome day’s travel brought us to 
a sheet of water which surrounded the lodge. 
This resulted from the great ' quantity of 
moisture that had accumulated from heavy rain¬ 
falls. The cook rode ahead, exploring the way. 
The team tremulously negotiated the pass, but 
were soon in difficulties. One of them falling 
down in about four feet of water energetically 
strove to rise. Legrand, jumping into the icy 
water, began to fix the harness, which was no 
easy task. It was too dark to do anything, so 
the horses were uncoupled from the schooner 
and driven ashore. I mounted one horse be¬ 
hind the cook. The animal became refractory 
and varied the monotonous experience of the 
day by bucking for a brief space. Finally the 
shipwrecked crew were able to leave the 
schooner in safety with a few things absolutely 
necessary, but by no means with all that were 
desired. 
The bright glow of a fire in the open hearth 
of the lodge dispelled the gloom and discomforts 
of our surroundings, but Legrand was chilled 
to the bone and looked peaked and miserable. 
My sympathy was excited and I prescribed a 
liberal dose from my flask which immediately 
revived him. Fortunately we had taken the pre¬ 
caution to cover the contents of the wagon, 
which otherwise would have suffered on account 
of the rain that fell during the night. Our 
meagre repast finished, it was not a great while 
before one after another dozed off into fitful 
slumber. One blanket covered the forms of 
three men, and in place of under bedding and 
spring mattress we had the board floor. The 
steady pour of the rain resounded continually 
upon the roof, while the snap of the pine fagots 
mingled with the hiss of drops of water fall¬ 
ing on the burning embers. It is not easy for 
three persons to sleep under one blanket rest¬ 
ing upon a hard surface. The disposition to 
change position became a fixed habit with all 
three, but invariably the one who attempted it 
met with unreasonable objections and muttered 
protests from the other two. If one turned over 
all three had to follow suit. It seemed to be 
a case where the minority ruled while the 
majority swore at the minority. The one-eyed 
dog, becoming restless from the cold when the 
fire went out, repeatedly attempted to find a 
place for himself under the blanket, but dis¬ 
covered that a triple alliance had been formed 
to eliminate him completely. Finally he offered 
to compromise by lying down on the outside of 
the blanket above our prostrate forms, but this 
accommodation was likewise unfeelingly rejected. 
During that awful night every man’s hand ap¬ 
peared to be against his neighbor and all three 
united against the dog. 
I was at length awakened from a semi-con¬ 
scious condition by Legrand who was about to 
light a fire. 
“What is the matter, Legrand?” I inquired. 
“Are you getting cold?” 
“It’s time to get up.” 
“What time is it?” 
“About 4 o’clock.” 
How he knew I could not guess, but I was 
only too ready to accept any excuse that would 
rescue me from almost the worst night I ever 
experienced. It was pitch dark, but the rain 
had ceased, and the noise of game stirring out¬ 
side betokened the coming dawn. A dense fog 
hung over the prairie and when light began to 
make an impression it was like illuminating an 
opaque substance. It was impossible to distin¬ 
guish anything over six yards away. Having 
removed everything from the schooner the prob 
lem of dragging it to dry land did not concern 
us. W'e acted on the maxim, “Never do to¬ 
morrow what can be done just as well the day 
after.” 
The growing day was heralded by a perfect 
Babel of voices. Invisible flocks of ducks num¬ 
bering thousands frequently stirred the air with 
the rapid movements of their wings which 
sounded like an express train. The measured 
honk of wild geese gave evidence of their 
presence in no beggarly numbers. At intervals 
