ions l awn up ittman 1s were Glogical DECEMBER 15, 1949 Number 12 if the Volume 8 nserva m biol popula needed tensive THE PHEASANT SEASON IN THE PRESS mone) ----. • • lpated. * * • • * * * • The Iowa pheasant opening, as not as MISTLETOE game usual, depends upon the viewpoint. Hunters who bagged a limit with trol, or By Roberts l\la nn out much trouble are inclined to It is, Fore._t Prt-,t-n e J)l.,trit•t of Cook Count), llllno i'i ward the "plenty of birds" theory. method Others, less fortunate, believe ring popula· Among our cherished customs at necks are scarce in certain areas. creased Christmas time is that of deco- J ojective rating our homes with mistletoe, On the whole, it looks like the itat de· particularly with branches of it opening days could be termed at least fairly good. Reports from i which bung over doorways and from ceil d. ings. Why do we do this? From northwest Iowa, where pheasants whence came the custom of kiss are most plentiful, indicate shoot ing was good. DavenpoTt Times. !GELL ing under the mistletoe? Where did it get its name? f Pheasant hunting remains good, tttle by No one knows, nor can botanists .. tell us bow or where this strange although the birds are getting a lit te sport .. tie wild after a week's shooting. those plant originated. Its mysterious 15 habits of living and reproducing, Nearly everyone I talked to bas ~r the high up on the branches of trees, had good luck. It doesn't seem to eived a make any difference where they go of the caused it to be credited with magi 0 cal properties and regarded with . .L. there are pheasants aplenty this ruxnan year, it seem s.-Council Bluff tan age· superstitious fear or religious rev erence by prtmtttve and ancient N onpw·eil. peoples. During the feasts of Sa d both Local mmrods report pbeasanL t xnajor turnalia, in mtd-December, the Ro /. as plentiful but cagey and bard to Jf prac· mans ornamented their temples and dwellings with mistletoe to bring down. Most Cascade bunters men in The opening of Iowa's pheasant season, as usual, depe nds upon the viewpoint of the propitiate gods to whom it was hunter. Those who b agged the limit without much trouble say "good ." Others less for• have sec u red birds but have 1ge "·as tunate say " poor." worked hard to get tbem.- Cas ;nserva· sacred. In Norse mythology, too, there is a complicated legend in cade Pioneer. )Ul tbf - --~------conser· volving the death of Balder, son of Odin and Frigga, and the wicked Crawford County pheasant bunt .zations ers fared well in general over the oill was Loki, whereby the mistletoe was MOONLIGHT ULULATION condemned to be a parasite with no weekend as the 1949 pursuit of :b eon· power to cause misfortune, sorrow ringnecks opened Friday. M o s t ras eJC· While the music balls of the Iowa, has been chasing the wily hunters reported at 1 e a s t some fishing or death, and beneath which any country are readying things for an pheasants, and the majority came ciation. one might receive a kiss as an ringtails for 15 years, and be still other winter concert season, here finds each opening night more home with the limit.- Denison Re artedlY assurance that it was an emblem in the Midwest a group of sports thrilling than the last. He says t:iew. during of peace and love. The ancient Druids held nothing men are getting ready for some that coon bunters are prone, like 'be onll the more sacred than the mistletoe and sweet music of their own. This others among the great bunting Hunters were out en masse again ) 111 . it played a prominent part in the group thrills to the music of an and fishing fraternity, to tamper over the weekend in search of the ;\'bicb 15 open trailer under the star-studded with the truth when the occasion reportedly large crop of pheasants, • ta.'\ on ceremontes and religious sacrifices 'cor the at the time of their New Year. ceiling of Mother Nature's great demands. While you wouldn't come but their luck in general was only concert ball. Few of these music right out and say they are lying, fair.- Clmton Herald the ta.\ There is a very old tradition, in England, that the mtstletoe was lovers enjoy the gift of absolute you might accuse them of being once a "fair tree" in the forest; pitch, but they respond to the guilty of slight terminological in Many hunters have bad the best that from its wood was made the haunting notes of their favorite exactitudes. of luck, but with the pheasants cross upon which Christ was cru coon bound's bugling with a fervor The average Iowa coon weighs bearmg so much gunfire, they have cified; and that therefore it was that is matched in few other ac about 15 pounds, with exceptions become wary and harder to get. cursed and condemned to live for tivities. They have been bitten by running as large as 30 pounds. Danbw'tl R ctlicw. ever as the most despised of plants. the strange bug that produces a Then of course there are some like There are as many cur10us cus temporary nocturnal i n s a n i t y "the one old Blue 'un," "the b1g Pheasant hunters in Franklin toms, myths and traditions involv called coon bunting fever. The dis old three-toed 'un," and others that County are reporting varying de ing the mistletoe as there are races ease reaches its peak in late au must have weighed upward of 40 grees of luck in their quest for the and nations of people. It is dis tumn and early winter, but usu pounds. These, of course, were game bird. Friday afternoon the tributed over the earth in all the ally runs its course by spring. never treed. largest number of birds were killed Iowa Conservationist •---~------...w~...... ,; -,.·-;;.;--;:.;...:-.;;·-:;;-:.·;-,;;- ·-..,..;,;.-----• much cleaner than usual. Thus - Published Monthly By with little cover, they don't looJ; PIS THE IOWA STATE CONSERVATION birdy and many hunters havE COMMlSSION been passing them up. 914 Grand Avenue-Des Moines Iowa The season lasts up to and in No Rights Reserved) eluding December 5, and there wil be much good shooting After thE N WM S. BEARDSLEY. Governor of Iowa with G. K. Jr. pheasants fCPttle down again, fol· bas BRUCE F. STILES. Director mad JAMES R HARLAN Editor •------• lowing the opening weekend blast LOIS RECKNOR. Associate Editor the spott should pick up, and it ami The Iowa Conservation Commis- south Iowa. counties are tlpen I w11I help when you don't hav€ age l s1on predicted a record of 100,000 Palo Altt> Count.y we.~ tlrawling bl~er sl:io!Jte.rs charging into your 5klll MEMBERS OF THE COMMISSION hunters would open lhe pheasant last \vt!l'ktmd Wltli 1::>es Moines field from all sides without per· tho 1: G TR •ST C'1mrman Fo rt Dodg<> E. B. GA iJNITZ ...... Lansing season. W e believe they were rip-lit ea.rs a nd others from such places mission bun ARTHUR C. GINGERICH ...... Wellman and that 50,000 of thPm opened it as Council Bluffs and Boone. We For some reason, it seems tht and F. J, POYNEER...... Cedar Rapids I. D. REYNOLDS ...... Creston in P alo AltA County. Have never must have a reputation up here longer distance a man travel!: beiD C. A. OlNGES...... Emmetsburq SP'"n more shooters out, except- for having lots of birds, to lure frnm hdbie to hunt, the more lib a11Ilj MRS. DAVID S. KRUIDENIER...... Waukc3 mg those early three-day sessions hunters frnrn <~. o fat· H·om home erbes he feels free to take when me~ years ago, and what is a little Yeflfs ago there were more, prob he gets there.- Gib Knudson ~tril surprising about this is that there ably, in the block of northwest Emmetsb1ug D emocrat CIRCULATION THIS ISSUE 38.500 can be so manv In one place when Iowa counties surrounding Palo E t n I as qpcond cia matter at h most of the stale IS open territory. Alto, but we don't believe ring- I r o:.• v '""""' 01 D.,s Momes, Io wa Seple n.be. VIOLATORS PAY 22, 19.:7, und er the Act of March 24, 1912. Although many central and necks have been as thick in this Subscnpllor :1 40c per yoar .. 1n an unusually flagrant vioiabdn 3 years for S 1.00 • • * • • • • of tli@ ~tate's game la\\;s .. a pair of Subscript r ved at Conse rva h on Commtss1or., ~ ·4 Grand Avenu <;> Des West Virginia men patd tlrles total Moines, Iowa. Send cosh, check or money ing $400 for 11legal squ1rrel hunt oraer ing near Steamboat Rock. Arrested Sunday n!~kt hy Kay UNITED W E STAND Sctchell and Verne Hicks, state conservation officer and Pine Lake The conservationists who call park custodian, B J. Farley and themselves sportsmen and the con· M W Walthall of Hinton, West servalionists who call themselves Virgm1a, entered guilty pleas and land users are getting closer and paid fines in the justice court of J mat closer together all the time as they 1<1-ed Marshall at Union Monday as • find that their interests lie pre- fo11nw~ • bea cisely in the same pattern. Con- i!:lach man was pE!na1ized $10U tail ditions that bring about what each for exceeding the squirrel limit and fro1 seeks is good also for the other $100 for hunting without a iicensE., s group. When this gets to be a plus $4 costs each. They paid the any hunting and fishing paradise it is fines in cash and started on their ma1 very likely also to reach its peak "Th~ Iowa Cons~ rva t lon Commission predic:ted a rec:ord 100,000 hunlers would open way back to West Virginia. swa of productivity EstherVllle News. ~~! ~~:~~aannt ~h!:~~ · We believe that so,ooo of them opened It In Palo Allo Cdunty " Farmers in the area northwest of die! ------~- • • • Stearrlhaat Rt:Jek were arousPd by of ~:~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~.t€-l€:~~~~.t€~~-t€.t€~~"':~'"'~....,. ""' .. ~·"'•""""''"''"".-""-'"'-'"'-'""""""'""'"'.JP:~__ ,.______~ 1mmed1ate area in recent ::;easons the o u t --of sta t. e hun t"crs ' P i und" cr- the ~ ~ as in the two tiers of counties ing tactics. Officers reported that lOg ~ CHRISTMAS GIFT SUBSCRIPTION I south of us. they had 50 squirrels in the Steam- helJI ~ Do you enjoy your Tow A CONSERVATIONIST? There is an mcrease in ring- t boat locker m additio_n to what the;> blai ~ necks over last year Most shoot- killed Sunday. usmg 12-gauge the ~ Do you have a friend who would enjoy reading it ? ~ ers seemed to get their two-roost- shotguns...... of ~ Do you send Christmas gifts? ~ er limit the first aftemoon a The sqlllrrel da1Iy hmtt ts SlX son ~ Do you wonder what to send ? ~ smaller number connected for two with the possession maximum be- lai) Iii ld b 111 cocks Saturday, and on Sunday mg 12 ammals Eldora H ernld i 'n·vou you e remembered 36 successive months as well as ~ d PtQ tJI Christmas morning? ~ probably a lot fewer returned Lc gcr. wat 'H. ~ without their limit than with it ~:ye ~ If the an~~ers :r~ "y~~i~· fill ;n the blank below, enclose in an ~~ The mystery. what happened to 1 Over a million pounds of mus::~cl g1lt ~ enve ope WI a o 1 ar 1 , an mail to the Stale Conservation the numerous flocks of ring necks shells were taken f rom the I owa the streams during the biennium end ~ Commission. We will send a Christmas greelmg for you and be- seen Friday? W e saw more big he'! gm the gift subscription in January. bunches the opening afternoon ing July 1. 1946 These arc used for pCIII'I buttons and novelties. a t ------~ than we have seen in several years, ln01 Stale Conservation Commission~«= but from the manner in which Yol m "JOE BEAVER" By Ed Noft l s •~ 914 Grand A venue these pheasants ran far a head Opp gt Des Moines 9, Iowa Date ~ down the corn rows a nd flushed kitt Enclosed is $1 00 for a 36-month gift to have touched nes ~ subs~~.;~li~n th~· ~~~~ '~ ~ ~i!~ ~~a:::r;v;:~:~ S\\i ~ ~ Pheasan ts are among the smart- tlgJ "'- ~ est of game birds and on the sue ~~ CONSLRV \TIOXIST for · · · · · · · · · · · · . · · · ...... & ceeding days knew what to do to 1 !Same> &~ escape the lead barrage If it -- h1s -- rnu ~ ...... ~ weren't for this ability to survive, loq S'1 ~ they could never exist in a county iJ • ~ as heavily hunted as ours. lht anQ !! ...... ~ Hunters found birds in the ra1< :r (AdJ , n weed patches, a 1ong drainage ' ll fire blindly, gassing innocent by PISTOL PACKIN' PUSSY standers and generally stinking up SHOTGUNS ON THE HIGHWAYS By Ralph Pogue the whole neighborhood. HEADACHE No. I and · The skunk knows where his liq Missour i C'on serw1tlon Commissi o n here uid shrapnel does the most good ltter the No creature that walks or crawls so, when possible, he deliberately tain, fol· bas the easy-going, devil-may-care aims at the eyes and nose, blinding nd blast • manner of the skunk. Combine the and suffocating his enemy in one , and It arrogance of a mule with the cour action. Entering the eye, the musk 1',t have age of a jet-pilot, and you have the causes a painful, temporary· blind !Ito your skunk's personality. Intensify a ness. Entering the nostrils, it pro Jut per. thousand times a liquid stench of duces a swelling of the mucous burning glue, condensed sewer gas membrane, resulting in choking, ems thl and essence of garlic, capable of gagging, and sometimes vomiting. travels being sprayed ten feet. with deadly The musk was once used for nore lib· aim, and you have the reason. The medicinal purposes, in the treat te when mere sight of a skunk apparently ment of asthmatic conditions, but tnudson strikes terror in the hearts of b1rd was soon discontinued. The treat ment proved to be worse than the * * * disease! We pause here and pay ( tribute to woman, her powers never to be slighted. For years she's wor n 'olattan the lowly skunk's fur and called it pair ot "Alaska Sable." Now she's wear s total· ing skunk musk and calling it el hunt- "Evening in Podunk." S k u n k musk, deodorized, of course, is used as a base in the manufacture The d a ngerous pra ~t i ~ e of ~arry i ng loaded a nd assembled guns in aut omobiles is ~ur· by Kay rently the no. 1 en fo r~emen t problem of game o ffi ~ials . s, state of expensive perfumes. ne Lake Skunk musk is so potent that the ·- Anyone who took a look at the think of bunting without a license ·ley and " One more step a nd I' ll let you have Itt" skunk tribe has outlawed its use story in lbe Reporter last week or of knocking down a ben pheas n, West * * * * * in civil battles. Males of the spe- reporting pheasant. bunting ar ant will take a chance on carrying eas and * c i e s frequently fight, especially and beast. A dog, for instance, rests will notice nearly all of them a gun illegally in their cars. But ~ourt of during spring mating season, but may be brave in the face of bull, were for carrying assembled, un such transportation of firearms is nday as they rely entirely upon tooth and cased guns in automobiles or load as unlawful as any other violation bear or lion, but will likely tuck toenail, main strength and awk tail and slink shamelessly away ed guns in automobiles. of the fish and game code, and if ed SiOO wardness. Gas warfare is defi from the little stink-kitty. This indicates the widespread you're doing this thing prepare to .mit and nitely out. pay a fine when you get caught. licensE. Should you meet Mr. Skunk on Aside from its trigger-happy road hunting going on this season The game wardens are as wor paid the any warm, sunlit day, you will tendencies, the skunk is a lovable and also the risks a lot of the on their marvel at his nonchalance, h1s and useful creature. Not only is it boys are taking to get their birds. ried ~bout the risks to tbemselve s the bunters are taking when they .swaggering insolence as he wad a valuable furbearer, but it rids It used to be there were as many 3. do this as they are about the il ;nvest of ·dles about his business. A member the land of many harmful insects. pickups for bunting without a li cense as anything else, Conserva legal status of the act. mPd bv ·of the weasel family, be is about It is particularly fond of wasps, tion Officer Harold J obnson tells 1undH· the size of a cat; thick-set, carry crickets, grasshoppers and beetles Harold was telling about a case 11 us, but there have been few for ted that mg the hindquarters high and the - actually, such citizens of the up in Emmet County a week ago that offense this fall. head low. His heavy fur is jet crawly-clan make up over 40 per It was past the 4:30 shooting dead Ste"' n· Many shooters who would not hat tbey iblack except for a white patch on cent of its diet. Other staples in line when he spotted a car crawl :2-gauge the bead, from which white stripes clude berries and fruit, mice, grain ing down a grassy road with gun of varying 1 e n g t h extend back, and carrion. Contrary to popular clothing and bury at a depth of six barrels poking out of three win is sLx sometimes to and even along the belief, few skunks venture to raid feet. Bathe for two hours in a tub dows. turn be· tail. He will not run upon your ap the farmer's poultry. ful of strong lye-soap suds, being The bunters saw btm coming, Hernld proach but may stamp his feet and If you haven't made the skunk's sure to thoroughly wash the hair. and when he reached their car the watch you out of the corner of his acquaintance, this winter would be Sprinkle the body moderately with two men in the front seat bad un eye with the deadly caution of a a good time to do so. And if you the contents of a dime bottle of loaded their shotguns and jammed gunman loosening bts pistols in b a v e the misfortune of getting t o i I e t water and put on clean them in cases. But in the back • 111us:oel ,e Iowa their bolsters. Come too close and "skunked," you have this antidote clothes." seat was a boy about 14, who was lll'l end· he's apt to stiffen, facmg you with f r o m a n experienced Ozarkian: I And you'll still stink to high all thumbs trying to unload a used cor a beady stare, as if to say, "One "Upon reaching home, remove all heaven. Missouri Conservationist. lever-action .410. more step and I'll let you have it." He had the butt of the gun on You'd better take steps in the * * • * * * * .. the floor of the car, the muzzle opposite direction, for the stink pointing right in his face, and with kitty doesn't need to aim his busi his right band was working the ness-end at you. Throwing his lever as fast be be could, pumping swivel-hips into action be can fire shells out of the magazine. right over his shoulder 1 Johnson was so afraid the boy The skunk's formidable weapon, would kill himself be reached in his exclusive patent, 1s a liquid the car and knocked the gun out musk secreted by two large glands on the ground Fortunn.tely there was no accident, and Harold won located strategically under the tail. ders if there had been one, how 'The tail serves as a flag of battle, much of the blame for 1t the men and of warning- when the flag is in the front seat would have been raised, and the feet stamp, look 1 willing to s houlder out! Each of the two musk glands They were setting a dangerous contains enough ready ammunition example for a 14-year-old, not to for about six rounds, repeating ac mentwn the illegal aspects of tion. Both six-guns can be fired 1 carrying a loaded gun in an auto ~cpa rat ely or simultaneously at -· mobile. In hunting, as it is prac any angle up to 90 degrees of the ticed m northwest Iowa, there ar<> body The a1m is deadly at close few things more foolhardy and mnge, provided the skunk can see dangerous than carrying a loaded .his target Hamper his vision, thus Should you med Mr. Skunk on a ny warm sunlit day, you will marvel at his non~halance gun in a car, especially if there arE> ~poih ng his aim. and he's apt to his swaggering lns ol en~e as he waddles about his business ' ( ' o nl i n llt> U o p a gt• 19 2 1 Page 188 IOWA CONSERVATIONIST - RINGNECK REVERIE Anu ever mindful of the happi· ness of his hunting partners, our By L. Dale \.hern scout had made special arrange ments with the farmer who owned Bagging my limit of ringneck the largest, most strategically lo Wb roosters on opening day of the cated, and best stocked ranch in aften pheasant season this year looked the very heart of that pheasant John like a cinch from the first crack haven! pheas of dawn on that fateful morning So, with tantalizing visions of ';omu of November 11. That's the mo roasted pheasants filling our heads 1e SI ment we climbed into my new we approached what Derwood said :lumt Rilling Spectal and headed west was a ventable game preserve pick I ward. The first 50 miles I divided The nearer we got, the sharper fnght my time between drivmg, rubbmg our v1s1ons became. Wtth the sleep out of my eyes, and dtg "It seems a pity," I philoso the b ging Derwood's tall ones out of phized, "to get our limit so quick his fi1 my ears. ly. With a whole day to put into dy c We knew the season didn't open 1t and nothing to do but hunt, it until noon and that the bag hmtl seems a shame to knock off those L. was only two, but we had appre roosters too early. We'll m1ss the hensiOns of gettmg a late start baggE fun of hunting for them." one " Some bird s fell on opening day, some flew f aster and got away " J im Sherman Phot o. without our share of pheasant- But about that time we were infested huntmg grounds. We had entering Derwood's promised land ash sharp memories of some hunters of plenty Then, suddenly a OUTDOOR POTPOURRI in~ for another possible. The Illi- who scrambled out of the fields strange new note was sounded It - nots 'sportsmen saw the bird fall, ahead of us at noon last year with was something that Derwood was The best headline of the pbeas- I ran into the field, picked up our gunnysacks full of wild roosters mumbling to h1mself. The full sig ant season comes from the Grand pheasant and drove off I repeat, We couldn't forget how weanly nificance of it didn't hit any of us. right Junction Free Press "Some Birds the 'skunks'." Hampton Ttrncs. we combed those fields in a vain for about a mmute. Then we grew He sa the Fell on Opening Day, Some Flew effort to flush a bird after those panic-stricken Faster and Got A way " "After huntmg pheasants around human vultures had cleaned up "This is the road.... Yes, this fie~· Independence and noticmg t h e ahead of the opemng hour IS it. I'm sure of that, and I Ms~ The Waverly Independent re number of cars m the farm lots and This year, however, all signs can remember the way the trees ports a muskrat that starved when around fields, we suggest farmers and indications pomted toward a looked . . but I can't remember :~ a cartndge case 1 o c k e d in its borrow the parkmg meters in town successful hunt. I had my usual the name the farmer's name. . " Pag mouth. C. H. Rohrssen, who farms and install them around the farms opening day marksmen with me "What?" All three of us barked the~ near Denver, related the "Believe so that more hunters can park Derwood Darling, local claw and the question in unison. "You so met it-or-not'' mcident when he brought their cars. feather authority; Ken Galloway, don't know his NAME?" a her "Farmers could recetve some in- eloquent advocate of the theory Galloway began laughmg a bit Page into the Waverly I ndependent office hysterically. He'd drop his chin tbat t a dead ruuskrat that bad starved to come, too, in return for having that if one shot won't down 'em on his chest for a moment, then that death after bitmg into the casing their fields tramped over Charge there's no use wasting two, and p1tch his head up and back while of a .22 caliber cartridge. He found 50 cents or a dollar for half an Ken Ingvoldstad, who gels down donf:d hour, give the towns 20 per cent hearted if he doesn't score an eye emtttmg an eerie cackle. after the ammal near his corncrib. The I ngvoldstad was smoking a cig muskrat had its mouth open full for their usc Everybody would hit on two out of three birds had be happy The towns would make dropped with a rifle 1 arette. He made the mistake of firin<> Width, the empty cartridge keeping stickmg his finger into his mouth 1 ~ it forced open after the animal's more money, farmers some profit. I What gave us the most hope, an d pheasant hunters shucks 1 though, was the precaution Der But Derwood's feathers were teeth fastened in oppostte ends of A I What do they care about money, had taken Weeks before smooth as usual- not a ruffle in the shell Unable to get its jaws woo~ lloun1 tf they can enjoy the thrtll after opemng day he had scouted the them He just kept mumbling to closed, the muskrat starved to patr c finding parking space of marching brush-and-swamp country in north himself death. 'hot. down the cornfields abreast, seeing cent~al ~owa az;td . had brought us "I can remember the barn, and the wmdm1ll . . or was there a GUt the pheasants take flight 300 yards fascmatmg stahsllcs on the preva llay"Dl Reports rece1ved m Grinnell in ahead.. NcH London Journal. lence of game btrds m a certam windmill?" I felt the car lunging dtcate that Police Chief John ReiS secbon. (Continued on p~ge 192) Rex ~ stone ner is quite a sharpshooter. On one Watch out for this one! * • • • • • • • 'Dg fo hunting trip he took four shots and "I was told of an unusual pheas * bagged a pheasant, a rabbit and ant hunting inctdent this morning. • two quail. The next trip out, be Some Decorah hunters saw a likely took two shots and got his limit of looking hunting place and stopped t w o pheasants. Grinnell Herald to get permission from the farmer. Register. 'If you'll do me a favor first,' he said, 'you can hunt all you want.' Walter F. Kee, who lives five His request was that the hunters miles northwest of Knoxville, last shoot an old horse he wanted killed spring set a fishing goal for him but couldn't bring himself to do the self of 100 carp during the season. shooting. Frtday he caught his one-hun "These hunters sa1d they would dredth carp m the Des Moines be glad to comply. As they headed River for the field 10 which the horse was Be used various types of bait. grazing, they came upon another The largest fish of the hundred group of hunters from Mmnesota. weighed 10 12 pounds. All agreed to hunt together Then Last reports, Kee was out on the the first group decided they'd have river working on h1s second hun- 1 some fun with the second They dred.-KnoJTille Journal. didn't tell of the mission to slay the old horse. "Four skunks in a maroon coupe "Suddenly commg close to the with Illinois plates got at least one decrepit critter, one of the capri pheasant without firing a shot last cious Decorah hunters exclaimed Sunday Me 'n Verne Harris loudly, 'I wonder how it would feel flushed a rooster, hit it, and to shoot a horse!' Without further watched it fall in a field. Knowing ado he raised his gun, shot the old the bird was done for, we walked steed squarely in the head and " Ba gging my limit of rlngnec:k roosters on opening day of the pheasant season looked up the road a short distance look- (Contlnut>d on page 192) like a c:lnc:h on that fateful morning of November 11 .'' Jim Sherman Photo. - - IOWA CONSERVATIONIST Page 189 ~ happj. I pheasants flying over the road. ' ers, our PHEASANTS One of the birds hit the telephone lrrange. THE EASY WAY wire and dropped to the ground o owned with a broken neck. The hunters !allylo While picking up corn Tuesday got out of the car, ran over to the • anch in afternoon on his father's farm, spot where the pheasant fell and •heasant John Schildroth bagged a rooster were looking at it when another pheasant without the use of a gun. pheasant hit the same wire and ;ions of Coming to the end of his corn row, fell dead at their feet.-Mount ! he:tds. he spied pheasant feathers an a Pleasant News. lOd said clump of weeds. As he stopped to reserve pick them up, he realized that the sharper frightened bird was hiding there. Details of a story, how a pheas With one quick sweep he caught ant got it in the neck the hard way, philoso the bird in his hands, and it was came Monday from Cedar Rapids J quick· his first of the 1949 season. G7·un Public Improvements Commission ?Ut into dy Center Register. er David L. Williams, who didn't !hunt, it pot the bird himself but saw it hap ff those pen, and nearly died laughing. L. E. Page reported t h a t he niss the bagged two pheasants in the field This particular pheasant w a s skittering through a cornfield near e were one day last week without firing a shot. Keystone as Williams watched iedlan from his car on the road. In hot mly a "I was in a cornfield when a pheasant was chased over a bill pursuit, crashing through corn tded. It stalks, came one lone hunter. )Od was by some hunters on the other side. full sig· The frightened pheasant was flying "He looked about 18 or 19 years It's the t ime of year w hen a man will put on 20 pounds of clothes, 14 pounds of s hoes, right toward me," P age related. old," the commissioner remarked, carry 5 pounds of shells, a 1O·pound cannon, and walk 20 miles through a pouring rain. ay of us Jim Sherman Phot o. Ye grew He said that he crouched down in "and it seemed as if the bird had the cornfield and, as the pheasant been winged- one wing was drag- * • * * • * .. .. * es, thi> fiew over, he raised the barrel of ging." THE BEST SPORT GOING-AND COMING ~ and I his gun, striking the bird on the Suddenly the h u n t e r stopped, ae tree; wing. The pheasant fell to the rammed a shell in his 20-gauge, Yes, dear friends and gentle membe1 ground, he said. single-shot gun, and cut loose a hearts, the pheasant hunting sea bedraggled mess of feathers and bone into his wife's lap and say ne .... Page saw another pheasant on blast. The pheasant sped onward. son is with us again. It is the nonchalantly: barked the ground that had been shot by The youth gave chase again. He only time of the year when a man "Here, hon, clean it up and we'll "You somebody else. It appeared to be was gaining. will put on 20 pounds of clothes, a hen. Upon closer examination have it for supper, huh?" Then as the bird went through a 14 pounds of shoes, carry 5 pounds g a bit Page and the farmer discovered of shells, a 10-pound cannon, and There is, we must confess, some fence beside the road, it got stuck. thing different about hunting tis chin that the bird was a cock pheasant walk 20 miles through a pouring that had apparently been aban The h u n t e r came up and was pheasants. To us, it's the best 1t. ther reaching to grab him, but a final rain or snowstorm, come home 'k whik doned by the person who shot it wringing wet, triumphantly toss a sport going. And the funny part after mistaking it for a ben. Page desperate lurch unloosened it once of it is, most pheasant hunters more. don't have very good luck! You 7 h ad his two pheasants without a cig· fugitive was knocked unconscious ' firing a shot.-Waterloo Courier. "He dashed up the road and the hear stories, plenty of them, about take ot 15 or 20 feet away. mouth kid climbed over and started in "that time I went hunting up in running," W i I I i am s went on. It was a clear case, the com northern Iowa and got 17 pheas li were A telephone wire enabled five missioner added, of a pheasant get :uflle iD "When the pheasant saw him on ants, 4 quail and a rabbit in three Mount Pleasant hunters to bag a ting his goose cooked, but good. hours," but that kind of pheasant piing to pair of pheasants without firing a that side of the fence, it darted through again and kept on going." Cedar Rapids Gazette. shootin' never seems to happen to shot. YOU. lrn. and So the hunter climbed up, too. Gilbert Mason, Jr. and Sr., DUCK! The best YOU can do, it seems, there a At t he top he got desperate-drew Maynard Bittle, Cal Stichler and is a couple of wild shots at a flut lunging back his empty s hotgun and Rex King were driving near Key Each h u n tin g season brings tering ball of fire that later _) heaved it at the fleeang bird. stone after they had finished hunt many humorous incidents. This couldn't be truthfully identified as ing for the day and saw a flock of That was all, Williams said. The year has been no exception. H ere a hen or cock, and maybe the is one of the funnier ones that scalp of an unlucky cottontail that • • * • • • we've heard about this year. happened to be within range. Yet ~~~"~r!~~~ Three hunters sitting out in that's the lure of pheasant hunt their boat blind at Forney's were ing. When you do get a bird, or quite surprised by the large num two or three, you know the pheas ber of birds which started coming ant had a fair chance, better than in suddenly. All three raised their a fair chance, to beat the hunter guns. The quick action overbal at his own game. anced the boat and they all toppled Most birds are so wise by the over into the water. second or third day of the season Two regained their footing and they're gone before you're within were tt ying to get a shot lined up, a hundred yards of them. And but the third fellow was in their when you do snap your gun to way. your shoulder smoothly and crisp "Get down! get down!" they ly and the charge whams against shouted at him. the ngidity of your body and the "Get down, what the hotel!" be bird suddenly collapses in mid-air, snorted. "I'm up to my armpits the release of the tension in the now. If I get down any farther hunter's spirit and mind is a good I'll drown!" Council Bluffs Non antidote for the troubles of this pa rC'il machine age. (And let's not feel too 5orry for the demise of the I The fox family is equally distrib uted O\·er the countries north of the game bird, either. He leads a Equator, but there are -no true foxes good life, is polygamous, and has native to any of the countries south only to dodge hunters for about 15 of the Equator. full days out of every year. We Beauty helps to make strong the humans have to dodge automobile Do1ens of pheasants were hand·p lcked during the open season as they lay hidden In will to live-makes living seem more maniacs ALL the time. >-West heavy cover. lmportant.- H oward Braucher Branch Times. Page 190 IOWA CONSERVATIONIST - having trouble bagging tbeir lim FISHER SEASON OPENED IN Its over the last weekend. While NEW YORK earlier there seemed to be a good supply of birds, most of the corn One of Amenca's most valuablt bemg picked, coupled with warm or and rarest furbearers, the fisher windy weather, has made the has staged such a comeback with I game bard to find and hard to kick In recent years that the Ne" out of d e n s e cover f{inyslmJ York Conservation Departmen News Ttmes has declared a month-long trap ping season, according to the W1ld The pheasant season opened Fri- hfe Management Institute. day with the usual number of hunt- This is the first time since 1936 ers here from a distance, and the when the "black cat" of the norU reports were about as usual There country appeared on the wa) were lots of birds, more probably 'toward extermmation, that th1 this year than for several years. ammal has been off the protectet That is what the fellow thought hs l The season 1S re~tncted t< who got b1s hmit in a short time, e1ght counties and a hm1t of th.ret while the fellow who had trouble pelts per trapper bas been 1m getting any thought the birds were posed All furs taken must b1 pretty scarce It is the same every tagged by a game protector N< year - Titonka l'opzc open season bas been declared or the marten, which still remains 01 the danger hst. The sport of pheasant hunting seems to have berome almost um what we hear they bad good bunt As in previous years the usc of a good d og lnc:reased the pheasant hu nt er 's c: ha nc: es versal. The farms and fields are J im She rma n Phot o ing, too Fayette County Union sure full of hur.ters on opening ~Vest Umon • * • day, and the pheasants get smart (0~3 • hunter By nature's oldest rule, all at once, or they don't last un Hunters w e r e pleasantly sur ' Pheasant Season • • • "the survival of the fittest,' it is til the second day They are a fine BELLE IN A BASKET Speaking of cameras, we missed the shot of the year, and probably Jne of the funniest hunting scenes, After Bre'r Coon Is treed, the dog must ast week when a couple we know baric his noisy vigil until the hunte r crosses went pheasant hunting. They barbed w ire fences, swamps and a dozen stopped in Brooklyn, Iowa, to get mountain ra nges. some supplies. Dora Bell was said "We didn't bag any birds walking through the general store tod~y but they durn near bagged 'here when she stumbled and sat the oie lady at the general store." jown k er-plunk in an empty bush - Carlisle Citizen. >1 basket. We1ghmg close to 180 md being hardly 5 feet tall, it was Man reveals himself most fully in " We started out from a farmhouse, and for some reason which ! ain't figured out y~~ 1 neat fit . . . and took a little his worship and his play.- Howard we all had a !Jun. Th ey hand me a beaut which has on the side War Is Hell-1863 • oulling to get her out. Later, C. L. Braucher. Jim Sherman Photo. Page 192 IOW A CONSE R V A TIONIST Shotguns ... Reverie ...