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OMAHA LLLUSTRATED BEE. July 10 , 1800.
Fur and Feather Tales
Omaha IK tliu homo of a number of thor
oughly ojiortmnanllko huntora to whom Mr.
Hamhlcn Soars' now book "Fur nnd Feather
Tales" ( Hnrpor At. Hrotherfl ) will bo most
wolcune , anil If his work comes Into general
circulation It will bo almost certain to
awakun In the breasts of many others a
ill-Biro for sports nflold with the gun. Mr.
KonrH line the "hunter's Instinct" a wonderful -
ful gift that ban but llttlo to do with Rood
marksmanship. It consists , above all , ol
Imperturbable good nature , patlonco nnd a
quiet Bcnso'of humor ; for the greatest
pleasure of hunting la not shooting , but clr-
( iiipttlniicm preceding and mirroundlug It.
It IH the descriptions of thoBo qualities , as
In a manner that would not only attract
wild game , but would bring the gun to your
Hhoillilur as you walked along the shore In
hl.H vicinity.
"After bringing thoBe strange waddi'lng
petH of lil to a maudlin H'ato of lameness ho
never failed to set up a moat complicated and
continuous series of duck < | uacks and calls
whenever bo throw out tholr food. It was
not long , therefore , before the birds associ
ated corn with Henry'H extraordinary Imita
tions of duck bedlam , nnd as any self-
respecting bird Is bound to quack vocifer
ously Immediately upon peeing focd , It bo-
cnino , a consequence quite within the coin-
pat of the duck mind to Infer that when-
thp French kings that are HOMOa stirvlv.il
of another age.
Another character worth knowing In this
book Is William , the North-of-Mnlno guide
lind hunter , a Yankee with u trace of In
dian blood In him. Mr. Stnis went with
him after moose , nnd brought down the
gamn he sought , but hero again the charm
of the narrative lies as much In the de
scription of William's personality and the
life In camp as In the account of the stalkIng -
Ing and shooting of the moose.
The same may bo paid of Vlgdal of the
Jotunhclni , the Norwegian hunter and
guldo with whom the author went after
reindeer.
In the closing sketch. "A Llttlo Upland
Game , " wo are taken to Robins Island , and
Mr. Soars gives us a good sketch of the
Ideal sportsman :
"It Is probable that there is no greater
test of the gentleman In a man than when he
acts the host on his own preserves. Any one
may bo a gentleman when ho Is In a theater
Ilro or on a wreck at sea. He may oven keep
bis Instincts of chivalry In a foot ball game ,
but when ho can take a friend for a day's
shooting over his own uplands nnd keep his
anger , his sarcastic smiles , his Involuntary
criticism and his gun from Interfering until
II o'clock in the afternoon ho has actually
proved himself worthy to stand by the side of
a Uayard or a Charlemagne.
"My host did himself proud. He gave his
guest the left side of the dog , so that he
could swing easily as the quail : jumped off
to the left. The guest missed , heaven knows
how many times ho missed that day , and
George did not crack a smile. I fired at a
bird that was half a mlle away two or three
times and spoiled bis shot , and the dogs only
received a reprimand. Finally I fired at a
cock pheasant and missed him because of the
unforeseen , Interference o a largo tree , and
when ho brought him down my host Insisted
that it was my shot which laid the bird low.
Any othcr mortal , after such occurrences ,
would either have thrown down his gun and
stamped on It , or would have shot his guest ,
but George did neither. Ho only said that
sometimes you could shoot nnd sometimes
you could not , and that this was his bad
day.
"However , we started cut a second time ,
and at perhaps fifty yards from the house ,
as wo were in the act of breaking our guns
to put In a couple of cartridges , ono of us
neurly stepped on something that moved ,
rose , fo/1 , rose again higher , and then made
a prodigious nolso among the bushes. This
particular person stood a moment in amazement -
ment as a huge creature rose and Hew di
rectly away from him. Ho did not even close
his gun until the agonl d cry of the host of
'Shoot ! shoot , man ! Why don't you shoot ? '
came distinctly to his ears. Then ho closed
his gun as the bird disappeared. The dog
stood stock still and cocked ono eye at him ,
and George put another cartridge In his gun ,
remarking in bis placid tones that that was
pretty sudden go near the house , you know !
It was a pheasant , a beautiful cock. "
Looking for a Job
The Cincinnati Enquirer says that n sol
emn-looking Irishman entorol a busincHi
house the other day , and , walking up to ono
of the men employed on the lower floor ,
naked :
"Is dhoro nnny chanst for a man t' get a
Job nv wur-rk hero ? "
"I don't know , " answered the man ad
dressed ; "you'll have to see Mr. Hob.irt. "
"An1 pfwero Is ho ? " asked the Irishman.
"Up on the second Hoar , " was the answer.
"Shall 01 walk up an' talk f him ? "
queried the seeker for employment ,
"No need of that , " replied the man. "Just
whlstlo In that tube and he'll speak to you , "
pointing nt the same time to u speaking
tube.
The old Irishman walked over to the tube
and blow a mighty blast In It. Mr. Hobart
heard the wills tie , anne to tlu tube nnd
Inquired :
"What's 'wanted down there ? "
" ' ! " answered the
'TIs Ol , Paddy Flynn
Irishman. "Ar1 yo th' boss ? "
" 1 am , " replied Mr. Hobart.
"Well , thin , " yelled Flynn. "sthlok yer
luwd out v th' secoml-sthory windy 'Whollo '
01 sthep out on th' soldowalk ! 01 want to
talk t' ye ! "
Hissed a President
The only president to be hooted at and
hissed between 1840 and 1S70 was Andrew
Johnson , relates the Chicago Inter Ocean.
Johnson , by ills speech nnd conduct on
Inauguration day , March 4. 1805. had In
vited the censure nnd excited the distrust
of many men In public life , and , while he
bfcnmo president a few weeks later , there
was strong prejudice against him , says the
major.
"His attitude on party questions strength
ened the prejudice , and his open and violent
opposition to congress so Inllnmcd the people
ple that when Mr. Johnson 'SWHKS round
the circle' In August , 18CC , ho was mot with
i.olsy demonstrations of disapproval. In
fact , the decision of the president to make
Uio cornerstone laying of the Douglas mon
ument In Chicago the excuse for a stump-
speaking tour In defense ot nls policy , was
accepted by the people as a challenge , and
they met him , wherever he was announced
to speak , prepared to express their senti
ments freely.
"There Is nothing in history that corresponds
spends to that wonderful swing of Presi
dent Johnscn from Washington to Chicago
by way of Uobin Hood's barn. iMr. John
son planned the trip with infinite cunning.
He prided himself on being a commoner ,
and ho bolloved that ho understood the
people- , and that If he could meet them face
to face ho could convince them that the
president was right and congress wrong. To
get the love of the people ho carried with
him General Grant , Admiral Farragut , General -
oral Custer and other men well known to
the people. He reasoned that , accompanied
by the popular Idols of the day , ho would
be sure of enthusiastic reception every
where. That was all ho asked. Give him
a big crowd , and ho was confident that he
could win them over.
"At ono point a crowd of fiO.OOO people
had gathered , mainly to see Grant , Farra
gut and Seward. There was tremendous
onthuslnsm over the party and the presi
dent was elated. But when he arose to
speak the crowd hooted and hissed and set
up a great shout for Grant. The people
rail seen through the president's scheme
and were turning the tables on him by using
Grant and Farragut to humiliate and pun
ish him. The president saw the strategy
of the move , and ho was as furious as ho
was.helpless. . . In every Interval of quiet he
would attempt to speak , but every word ho
uttered would bo lost In the thunder of the
shouts for Grant. It was a painful spec-
laclo and everybody was embarrassed. The
ttowd would not listen to the chairman or
any other local celebrity.
"General Custer , then at the height of his
popularity , stepped forward In his dramatic ,
Imperious way , believing that ho could quiet
the tumult. The crowd was friendly , but it
howled him down , and the dashing cavalry
man took his sent , with the remark that ho
would like to clear the grounds with a
brigade of cavalry. Johnson , looking down
on the tu'nult , saw smiling , contemptuous
faces , but no hatred. He turned to Grant ,
who had retired to the rear of the platform ,
and said , petulantly : 'General , you will
have to speak to thorn. ' General Grant said ,
decisively , 'I will not. ' Then the president
said , more graciously : 'Won't you show
yourself , general ? ' Grant stopped forward ,
and , after a round of cheers , the people
were na quiet as n church In prayer time.
. l .l > ll.rrA Hrollur.
( MIII " 1'ur mill F > lliirTn1 ' From" Pur . , , .1 F .ll , r T.W >
A CUUIOUS PUT. MEETING FOR THE START.
Mr. Sears found them In his companions ,
that give his "book the charm It undoubtedly
possesses , anil , seemingly Incidentally , ho
gives us at least three character sketches
that will bo remembered for many n day by
him who reads this very clover book.
First of all , tliero Is bis Capo Cod friend ,
Henry Kldrldge a wheelwright by trade , n
hunter at heart and a genius by birth nnd
the capacity to take Infinite pains. Mr.
Sears went duck shooting with him and
found that ho was a true sportsman , for "he
did not shoot to kill ; ho had the truest
sporting spirit , the spirit that enjoyed trick
ing the game , and he was as satisfied with
ono duck well shot ns with a hundred merely
slaughtered. " Henry used tame ducks ns
decoys , which Is "simply a much more ex
citing , vastly more skillful piece of work"
than shooting over wooden decoys , and bo
had a carefully regulated plan for training
his decoys that was a constant source of
Interest and surprise to Mr. Scars :
"When carefully nurtured the Intelli
gence of such a stupid bird as a barnyard
duck Is something extraordinary. Hut the
training must bo constant nnd dally and
before a bird Is lit for decoy work prac
tically two seasons have boon consumed.
The lessons begin and turn on the question
of food. Henry made It IIH | first study to
compel his friends to trust him BO thor
oughly that ho could pick them up and put
them In hlu pocket head downward , nt any
time , with the certainty that on being re
turned to the ground they would simply
riiHllu tholr feathers nnd shrewdly
cock ono eye up at him to
await the neverfallinghandful of
corn. It has always ( boon a question
with mo whether ho himself had not moro
of the duck In him than the human being ,
for ho could Imitate duck calls of all kind
ever Henry quacked corn was near at hand
and shortly to be forthcoming. The result
was an Instantaneous symphony.
"Having proceeded thus far , It became
his next duty to teach the birds to llyn
sulllclontly original occupation to Illustrate
the extensive scope , the many-sided charac
ter of Henry's genius. This ho practiced
gradually with each bird in his barnyard ,
always apppeallng to the duck's appetite.
Ho would grasp ono of them nroujid the
body with both hands , her head meantime
pointing outward. Then bending his knees
anil lowering the neophyte close to the
giound , ho would rise , steadily but swiftly
nnd hurl the bird Into the air. Instinctively
Blio put out her wings and circled around
the barnyard , descending gradually and at
the same tlmo getting up a most hopeless
racket , naturally starting the other twonty-
nlne , who fancied this was Henry calling
them to dinner. As the duck's wings were
clipped , she naturally could not lly away ,
'henco ' she soon alighted near by and wnd-
dled comfortably back Into the yard to so-
curo. the handful of corn.
"After months of trial and tribulation ,
with sometimes a broken back and a con
sequent duck funeral , the birds grasped the
meaning of thin peculiar flight , and Henry
could then stand behind his barnyard fence
and , by throwing up ono bird after another ,
give you and any stray wild ducks Hying
past the Impression that there was a duck
Walhalln In tlnv vicinity. "
Quite dllferent In treatment , but not a
whit less Interesting , Is Mr. Sears' account
of stag hunting In France , where alone this ,
probably the noblest form of sport , can bo
seen In UH perfection. First there Is a dis
cussion of the kennels , the dogs and the
head huntsman ; then follows a description
a of the hunt Itself , the favorite pastime of
Lte
KIUIII ' Fur > n.1 FMtlwr TIM. ! " Coi | > right , | S , If I l ri | r .1 llr. llirri.
IN AT THE DEATH ,
Waiting an Instant , Grant raised his hand ,
made a gesture toward Johnson and said ,
clearly : 'The president of the United States. "
"Tho Incident was a simple one , but it
spoke volumes. Grant's face was full ot In
dignation and reproach , and the crowd , ac
cepting his rebuke , listened to the president
for an hour. And the president did not
spare the people. He scolded them to his
heart's content , replied to all their taunts ,
talked back to every man that opened his
mouth , and seemed to enjoy the performance
as a warhoreo would a .battle. The people
took the scolding In good part , and realized
that they had come in contact with a new
sort of president. They heard him in re
spectful silence , but they disapproved of
him , as the president knew when the votes
were counted at the elections that fall.
Not the Ocean
Chicago Post : It was the morning after
their arrival at a seashore resort.
"I have often heard of the roar of the
ocean , " she said dreamli'y , "hue I never
knew It sounded like that. " .
"That's not the roar of the ocean , " KU-
swered her moro experienced husband ,
that's the roar of a departing guest who has
just been presented with his bill. "
Jones Knows How
Detroit Free Press : "Isn't Jones a llt-
tl'e penurious when It comes to supplying
money for household expenses ? "
"I won't say as to that , but I'll tell you
what happened. His wife told him that
the parlor carpet had become so worn and
fuzzy that It was impossible to swoop It
any moro without making It worse. Some
men would have handed out money for
more. Jones got the lawn mower and run
It over the carpet "
.n , . % . - . . '
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Kroui " Fur md Ftatku T I . " Copyright , lJ9Jty lUrper & Brotheri.
THE GAME IN SIGHT.