Hide Article Text (OCR)
The Clav Ccuntv Leader Henrietta, Texas. Marrh 4. 1954»■*** *****KM***1 - mmmfi:EMORIES OR CLAY COUNTY52 Westndm-F igner. tn Ontre 58, Massn c h uset ts♦ W * %,ugh that the birds disliked to jlRussell and 1 went Prairiefourhad been a late oat cropPRAIRIE C«l( i i ! ,kc wing. We‘d pulled our corn,but of course some was missed..rvin hunting three ,i . M ufh of Postoak in iBXitno dog. but did not real-P ]v nod one (he chickens werethere, a hup flock vf them, andfor f. me reason they refused to;a large corn field with cot 1 U) fjfe a gun in the fieldtlt;.n field anti oat stubble alongnoWiI herea hit h never got tall enough tocut and we turned horses andcattle onto it Pa wasn't joking.j whenhe said that no one wasside They scattered and wc seldom flush up more than one to three at a time. Where was there ever a bird easier to bring down sn flight, away from brush”d , they were there. The morning the jehiekens came it was cold enough that all the stock went to woods for shelter and Pa said 1 might see if 1 could get a ohirk-and high timber? Wc got a rea-p*n.sonsblv glt;* d iag I had my old muzzle -loader while Hob had a iuiu\ bm * h loader. Neither of)us was too good a shot, though] r» • old gun was the better, jud-111*landing an old cap-and-nfle is slow business. First, one | fills the powder measure and empties it into the muzzle. Thenhe takes a hand-molded bullet,1 v wih.it it brought dow n, ^.^p.p^led and about as big iof the ;gmgLater Bob married oneRuswll girl* and moved to «elle- • “V,aiV.V-,'r I thiiiK, where he was killedaround as aIy.i *iifhtThose were the hist Prairielt; hit kens I ever saw. They werenot coming through as tl t v had1 wonder if they conic nuiz?!c* of the £un. He puts thiBB shot for »..« e gun (about a 22guess ) He wraps the corner of n lightly oiled rag around it and cuts it off \s ith his knife, the cloth is not too thick thebullet will exastly fit into theRICE-PADDY FISHERMAN A rhinto the shallow moat surrounding»w»»i ariM rnft, w7 If •vomcbofly nring in hail, and think uf me as yout*4 atitm.end of the steel ramrod against the bullet and slowly pushes it down until it rests solidly on the powder charge. He puts his marvelous what one sees ramrod back sn place, cooks hisIf load my gun. Pa saw my thick*i cn, loaded the gun for me, and suggested that he try his hand. He'd been in Fores** ( avalrv.m.He was a good shot, too. In hadan hour he brought in twonot as cleanly shot in the he*;Hilar itistwhen he has no gun. About 1X82 gun. and puts a percussion capthe onlv gun we had was a small r,n the tube. If the gun is clean* ap-and-ball rifle We had the and the powder not too coarse| luncmine. I tried it again and found parlt;it much harder tlt;* get near them than it had been among the corn stalks* 1 got one more. By thatin 1nitvMhullct-mold for it and the pow- there should be grains of powder tirn,‘ 11 mon flock W(ifder hlt; rn with a measureiust the right amountthatofmthe tube mouth OneMisinever put the «*,ip on with thepowder for .» load. The barrel gun on hair trigger. He lowerswas octagonal or eight sided, and the hammer, sets the hair triggerwellIt worked on a dou- and looks for something to shoot.t ie, or hair trigger, and had veryfine and accurate sights. Add** • m jpr--: w 1had mighty good eves and became a “dead shot” with It. 1 did fairly well but did not knowfor several years thatThat cold morning I loaded the rofle and started out, well wrap- ter Pa gotThe ehiekens were cock- * pretty well their peculiar wav, inm*hdd astig- volume to make one ft matic eves and could never be- thousands of them were in the come a really good rifle shot, *'***»» rtalks. Holding mv gun at With nothing else to shoot at. lhe ready 1 started out I had dif-the greatest Prairie Chicken Acuity getting sight of a chicken flight I ever saw and probably on ,*u ground, I hey the best and longest Texas ever i ^ ,*1C* ('°lor of dryrose.as if on a signal that every one of them got at the same second They flew across the prairie headed south. They did not return until Spring, and thenonly m pairs Every Fall there were flocks, large ones, and af-a shotgun we didamong them. That “Injwas* the largest flock I «•»*“saw.mu ivisitHnvMFallguesMrsorsMr. Mrswere nearcornFloranee Dunigan,and Mrs Ed Dunigan of Dallas, niur pent the wet kend with friends ChamVsaw, came to Tenmile. It came flPd whatever else there was to with a norther that was a hum-. hide them Often I ve walked dinger but dry. It was cold e- along a prairie slope where grass-*''wmROBERT SHUT!IKKWORK. Service calls a day. Contracting.•hoursIN’SIRANCK — BONDS REAL ESTATE LOANSTelephone r»2lt;»Just westPof EdwardsLibrarySCHICK INSURANCEAGENCYHenrietta, Texas»ppers rose before me to flyon ahead and light, then rise andfly as I approached. There was an arch of flying grasshoppers a-head of me as I walked. Well, that morning the Prairie Chickens were like that—not as thick j as the hoppers,hut behaving like]them. If Ed had a shotgun I couldn’t have missed. But 1 had a rifle* with just one bullet in it Finally I saw one sitting in abunch of grass arwl took my timeto aim it his head I got him, but at the crack of the gun the roar of wings was startling. The entire flock rose and went intothe adjoining wood lot. thousandsof them it seemed to me I was cold, l he house was two-hundred yards distant, I hurried in to re-Patronize Your HomeSafeSoundCfirs! MaficHenrietta, Texasmm*1?200 Peyfor,«4*
Newspaper Details
Henrietta Clay County Leader
Henrietta, Texas, US
Thu, Mar 04, 1954
Page 6
Full Page
Clipped by
Max B.
USA 10 Apr 2021
Other Publications Near Henrietta, Texas
Henrietta Clay County Leader
