Rensselaer Semi-Weekly Republican, Volume 37, Number 18, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 7 March 1905 — Page 2

USE OF LIVE DECOYS

THE METHODS OF TRAPPERS WITH ANIMATED LURES; AH Kinds of Animr.ls Trained to In the Capture of Their Own Spe-cies—-Odd Scheme Ihy Which Cro.wa anti Jays Are Snared. One of the curious ways in which man has utilized the animals about him is as living decoys t.> a^sist-Jiiiuin the. Spture of wild animals. This is done a number of ways am! with animals of all kinds, from butterflies and fishes to elephants. It is something quite different fr«>m teaching animals to capture their prey far the benefit not of ‘thOfi’selvos, bti't Of riieir. masters, as do trained ■cheetahs, falcons, cormorants. otters,and other predatory creatures, .since what 1 now . have in view is the attraction of game within the hunter's reach, not its ? chase. European bird catchers have immemorially practiced hanging live sung birds in.cages beneath or aiming their shines or tymg them to perches in order to attract strangers by their voices. >The Japanese kimw low to d > this to perfection. In catching larks and other cage fblrds in England the principal reliance •Is placed upon flat nets s > arranged ithat when a Y shaped cord is pulled ■they will fall down together, confining anything between them. Several stuffled birds are usually planted in the epace between the nets as if feeding, while a live one, known as a “jockey,” Is fastened to a hinged perch that is made t>> sway up and down by pulling 4 cord whenever any larks come near. •The Jockeys are trained to sit contentedly on these perches and sing, and they seem to understand what is expected of them. The best call birds at the beginning of the season are worth from $3 to $5 apiece, and a bullfinch, is on record which was the means of encaging 350 captives in four seasons. By a similar method the Maoris of New Zealand obtain their kaka parrots. This large, handsome and intelligent parrot was at one time a pet in many households. | The commonest method of catching kakas was by means of a trained decoy kaka, which called wild parrots to perches skillfully arranged around the concealed trapper, who had only to )jull a string in order to capture his bird. These perches were often elaborately ornamented, and the birds manifested “extreme fastidiousness” in choosing some and avoiding others. In view of tliis it is curious to read in Ogllby’s quaint “America,” published in 1072,. how natives of Cuba originally captured a like sort of bird: “The parrots which breed here used to be taken by the natives after a strange manner. A boy holding a bundle of herbs about his head climbs up to the top of a tree, holding a parrot over his head, which by gripping he forces to make a noise and thereby draws others to come flying about him, upon which, being expert in this art, he throws a string with a noose made fast to a stick about them and pulls them to him.” A part of the pleasure of falconry in India, where this sport is so cleverly enjoyed and practiced by the nobles, is the catching of the hawks, which are used only for a single season and then set free. Some, such as the laggar, are taken by smearing a long twig ’ with birdlime and arching it over an unhappy sparrow tied to a peg, but the cherrug must be caught more skillfully. The one thing the high spirited chevrug cannot endure is to see a laggar in peaceful possession of some food or enjoyment that he has not, and the invariable result of the discovery is for the cherrug to pounce upon it and rob the poor laggar, if possible. It is through this jealousy that the hawk catchers obtain their prized clierrugs. They fasten to the feet of a laggar a bundle of very strong horsehair nooses garnished with feathers, then paste bits of parchment over his eyes and turn him loose, whereupon, being blind, he “rings,” or circles, straight up. This ■has been done because a cherrug had been perceived as a mere dot in the sky, and when that jealous and covetous cherrug sees this laggar, apparently carrying a rich prize, coming straight up he thanks his stars for his luck and swoops upon the intruder into his airy domain. The result is that two surprised and indignant hawks come tumbling to the ground, screaming and scratching. Yarrell tells us that the European shrike got its familiar specific name, excubitor (sentinel), from its use by the continental falconers during the autumn and winter when trapping falcons. “The shrike is fastened to the ground and, screaming aloud, gives notice to the falconer (who is concealed) of the approach of a hawk.” A curious variation of this, where an unwilling bird becomes both lure and ’ trap, was described by Alexander Wilson in his great "American Ornithology-" , Wilson says that “crows have been employed to catch crows by the the following stratagem: A live crow is pinned by the wings down to the ground on his back by means of two sharp forked sticks. Thus situated, bis cries are loud and incessant, particularly if any other crows are in view. These sweeping down upon him are instantly grappled and held fast by the prostrate prisoner, with the same instinctive Impulse that urges a drown,ing person to grasp at everything within his reach. The game being disengaged from Ids clutches, the trap is again ready, and, by pinning down each captive successively as soon as taken, in a abort time you will probably hnve a largo flock streaming •above In concert with the outrageous prisoners below.” I hnve seen It stated that jays have

been made to catch jays in England !u the same fashion. ' ■ ■ A similar utilization of live trained decoys in otlaining wild fowl has long I beetmfap.ilTiar to tin; Japanese and is now pursued l iy’Wealthy, men in tlh t country as a . sport, and a lively one it • must be. A typical arrangement for ■the purpose, amoue the rice tie! Is near Tokyo, consists of a pond some 1Q1! yards long by SO yards bt’bad. surrounded by a dtfgh-bank covered with _-a - dense growth - t>f bushes. A dozen narrow, irregular trenches or channels lead from the pond through the bank, each ending abruptly :tt a bush con coaled watch but. Two tiny windows in each hut give a view of tile channel, and there is also a low chute down xvffidi. i.Alli t..s<y.’d .is.shot.xm to the water as a .bait, Besides these, ail observation hoiist commanding the whole p >nd> is hidden among the Iw’-os ott top of the bank. At a suitable time a number _o£ tame .ducks were brought frohr'the owner’s aviary ;ind set afloat upon the pond, whore there is sooncollected a clamor ous host. of mallards, widgeons, teals and eihe” waterfowl. ..-These arc o.b . served through peepholes by iLiuttiLia. • the lookout,. win.) has beside him. electric buttons governing signal wires that run to a hut behind the bank where the sportsmen await information as to which channel the birds are entering. The attendants in the watchhouses also can telegraph a signal when .the decoy ducks have brought the wild fowl itfto their trenches. Meanwhile, warming themselves in the early morning around a glowing brazier of coals, and their pipes alight, the sportsmen sit with their eyes on i the annunciator. At the door are standing a number of nets, with eight foot handles, each a deep bag of large mesh suspended in an open fork, giving an opening of two feet or so across. Close beside them crouches one or more servants, each holding on his gloved hand a hawk, alert and perfectly aware that it will have a share in the fun. How this fun begins is brightly told by a correspondent of the' London Field: “For some moments past we had noticed a gamekeeper stooping down with his eye to the loophole in one of the butt banks, when suddenly a sharp click was heard, and the number of the watchhouse where he was standing dropped into view on the signal board, and if that had not been sufficient we should have known where the wild fowl were from the frantic way in which the man -was waving his arms and dancing about with excitement. There was only room for three people on each side of the trench, so six of us, hurrying down the path, got into position as silently as possible behind the banks at the edge of the channel and stood with our nets ready for action. “The man who had signaled ran quickly round to the thicket end of the putting and dropped a net across the water.- As he did go there were a flutter and splashing in the trench, and with a sudden rush and a confused whirring of wings the wild fowl rose toward the bank from the water. Now was the moment when a quick eye and steady hand were necessary, and with a circular swing of the nets three of us had caught a duck apiece before it had gone’ the length of tile net handles. One of the birds managed to run the gantlet by dodging between two nets and got away over the mound at the end of the channel; but, like an arrow from a bow, the hawk was slipped from the falconer’s finger and. rising over the mallard, struck it and brought it to the ground. The dcoy ducks remained floating on the water.” The use of the little dog to assist the decoy man reminds one of an old fashioned method of procuring canvasback ducks in Chesapeake bay, known as “tolling” them inshore by means of a dog. Wilson gave a description of it, as he saw it done about 1810, which can scarcely be improved upon. “The dog if properly trained,” he says, “plays backward and fprward along the margin of the water, ducks, observing his maneuvers, enticed perhaps by curiosity, gradually approach the shore until thej* are sometimes within twenty or thirty yards of the spot where the gunner lies concealed and from which he rakes them, first on the water and then as they rise. If the ducks seem difficult to decoy, any glaring object, such as a red handkerchief, is fixed round the dog's middle or to his tail, and this rarely fails to attract them.”—New York Bost.

Mixed Up the Two Websters.

During Daniel Webster’s visit to England he was taken one day to see Lord Brougham. That eminent jurist, however, received him with such coolness that Mr, Webster was glad to get away and took his leave at the first opportunity. The friend saw him to his rooms and then returned to Lord Brougham.and in some anger said: "My lord, how could you behave with snrh unseemly rudeness and discourtesy to so great a lawyer and statesman? It was insulting to him end has filled me with mortification.” “Why, what on earth have I done and whom have I been rude to?” asked Us lordship. “To Daniel Webster of the senate of the United States.” “Great Jupiter, what a blunder!” exclaimed Lord Brougham, realizing the mistake he had made. “I thought It was that fellow Webster who made a dictionary and nearly ruined the English language.” Then, It Is said, the great chancellor sought out Mr. Webster, explained and excused his conduct, which the latter generously accepted.

Modesty of Erin’s Daughter.

1 English Lady (to Irish girl)—How is It that you never speak of belonging to the Irish race, my dear? Irish Girl—--1 Because It Is sinful to boast, madam.—. Boston Commercial Bulletin.

MAHOGANY WOOD.

Hie Way It Chine t<» Be I'ned In the Milking-of Furniture. Chippendale owes his reputation to the l act 11 >a t he ;o■! •i i -in-0 a b< >■ ik -vs designs . with ' over 200 copperplate engravings, so that today-any oite who wishes may get them and reproduce them exactly or with such changes and improvements as suit his fancy. That they are capable of improvement Chippendale himself was the first todeclare. Chippendale was one of the first makers of mahogany furniture. Before his time this precious wood was valued only for the medicinal qualities it was supposed to possess. The idea of making furniture of mahogiwiy. wood appears to. have, been ...the result of chance. A certain physician in London had a great many mahogany planks, and. wanting a candle box, he sent for a cabinetmaker ami instructed him t i use the mahogany for the required article of furniture. Tlie man objected -tlmt the wood was too hard for his t ics. and tiie ductor told him to get .harder tools. The man .-did so,, and. wli<m the doctor saw the box he was amm:<-d. at its beauty*.. Patients and friends talked about it, and at last the Duchess of Buckingham came to see it. She was enraptured and persuaded the doctor to give her wood for a similar box. As a result fnaliogauy got to be the fashion.

HORSEPOWER.

•The Unit as It Was Originated and Defined by Watt. When steam engines were employed to drive mills, pumps and other machinery Which bad been previously driven by horses, it was natural to attempt to express the work done by them in terms of the working power of the horse. James Watt was the first to define the unit of horsepower, which by experiment he found to be 33,000 foot pounds a minute. In other words, a one horsepower engine would raise 33,000 pounds one foot every minute, and so on proportionally to the number of “horsepowers” indicated by the engine. He arrived at this conclusion by observing the work done by heavy dray horses in breweries working eight hours daily and found that a horse going at the rate of two miles and a half an hour could raise a weight of 150 pounds by a rope led over a pulley, which is equal to 33,000 pounds raised one foot in one minute. Watt, for the credit of his engines, selected horses of more than average power.

THE ELDER TREE.

In Days I.onjc Gone by It Was Held In Disrepute. In olden days to be crowned with elder was a disgrace. - In an old play we read, “Laurel for a garland and elder for disgrace.” This may have been due to the story which Shakespeare has noticed that Judas hanged himself upon an elder tree: Well follow’d; Judas was hanged on an elder.—“ Love's Labour's Lost.” Thi£ legend was generally accepted. Ben Jonson in “Every Man Out of His Humour” has, “He shall be your Judas, and you shall be his elder tree to hang on,” and Nixon in his “Strange Footsteps,” “Our gardens will prosper the better when they have in them not one of those elders whereupon so many covetous Judases hang themselves.” Shakespeare also makes it an emblem of grief: Grow patience And let the stinking elder, grief, untwine His perishing root with the increasing vine.—“Cymbeline.” , Telegraph.

Miseries of the Red Sea.

In the waters of the Red sea the cessation of the engines on a steamer for an hour means extreme physical suffering for passengers. For a day it would involve absolute torture. The wind which prevails every day is a hot, asphyxiating blast, and its continuous directions are from north and south toward tlie center. As a result every passing vessel is subjected to two days of almost intolerable heat, followed by two days oUeomparative comfort, but Instances have been known of croxvded liners being compelled when traveling with the wind to turn round and steam back for an hour or so in order to give the passengers even a brief respite from the sufferings Induced by the dull, dead, unbearable atmosphere. —London Tit-Bits.

Deflaace.

A little boy in Deering, Me., was brought before his father recently and accused of killing a chicken. “Who told you about it?” asked the boy. "The hen did,” said the father. Nothing more was said that day, but the pext morning the hen was found dead, and the boy, being accused of killing It, qdmitted it, saying in defense, “Yes, I did kill the hen, and I’ll kill every hen that tells on me.”

Justified.

City Editor—Why do you say he ran into the police station "puffing and blowing?” “Puffing" and “blowing” are synonymous. Reporter—Not at all. There’s a vast difference—for instance, between puffing a man up and blowing him up.—Philadelphia Ledger.

His Matches.

“You told me this horse had won half a dozen matches against some of the best horses in the country. He can’t trot a mile in six minutes to save him.” “It wak in plowing matches that he took the prizes, sir.” A look of intelligence in a man Is what regularity of features is in women; it is a style of beauty to which the most vain may aspire.—La Bruyere.

fyp nooß e Tihi careful Specialist of 40 years constan -pr-seUe* has-tee-ite 1 ia—Beasselaer, Indiana and will itevo n liis,timejand skill Lb treating tin tolowia-j diseases: fl Consumption, Scrofula— Can be permanently c >n-d if taken in time are often In advanced stages by method! e-’lrely our own, the result or years of c: 1 reful research and large experfenc -. •■’hort delays are often dangerous. H eart — Hundreds are dropping dead every dax from Heart Failure, whose lives might have have been saved by proper and timely treatment. Tn most cases relief Is certain Stomach— Indigestion, ’uicerattp'i and all othw troubies atf-'eting this Iran irtan. organ ar treated with abso l ute success. <>ld reme dies and methodi have been abolished better ones have been introduced 4.11 ar< modern sale and certain Nervous troubles—of > kuds nave been treated wlthnmarkable success for 10 years. Nose and Throat— With recent met hod * and appliances atfei tlons of these Impoitaht and sensitive or gans are quickly relieved. Kidneys and Bladder— Bright’s disease, Diabetes, etc. These us ually fatal ma’adies can i-ositlvelr b» cured. Here a short delay Is often fatal Call and lie examined while relief is cos stble. Ear—- ' 11 diseases ofthls delloata czgatEhandler with care and saoces*. Piles ■ And all othes diseases of tile Rectum cured quickly surd with but little jMia. Females — The Doctor hoi bad a rsntarftaoie recorc in treating successfully all .diseases pecu liar to women. Failing Vitality— Fro u whatever causa pernanently curt Epilepsy and Cancer — Fornerly two Incurable diseases are ix> treated with great assurance of success The Doctor’s facilities and resources a-e al most without limit: Oxygen Gas, Oxygei Compound, compressed Air, Insuttlatloti Atomization with every appliance necessary to relieve the afflicted. Beet ofreferences given. The only place in the citv wheie you can buy a good bulk Rio coffeb for lo cents a pound is at Johr Eg era. For Sale: The Indian Asphalt Company cottage in the Jaspe l county oil field, New, complete!) furnished, and thor ughlymidern; entry hul’, living icom, dinint rcom, kitchen and pantery on low-t-r floor, and six bedrooms and t'alli on fecotd and third floors Grreat opportunity for boarding house, as there will be renewed activity in the oil field in the spring Very advantageous terms to ree pat sible partit s Caller address, Indian Asphalt Co, Asphaltum, Ind Notice of Election of Trustees. Notice is hereby given that at a meeting to be held in the Firs’ B ptiet church of Kensseliur. Ind on the 12th day of March 1905 two trustees will b-* elected to serve for such a period of time as may Le dts’gnated bv s-id church. G B Porter, Clerk.

60 YEARS* '= F J gJ smm JIW ■ j t IHRk ■ ■ 1 TRA DE M ARKS Designs V Copyrights &c. Anyone sending a sketch and description may qutckly ascertain our opinion free whether an invention ia probably Patentable Communications strictly confidential. HANDBOOK on Patents sent free. Oldest agency for securing patents. Patents taken through Munn & Co. receive special notice, without charge, in the Scientific flmerican. A handsomely Illustrated weekly. Largest circulation of any scientific Journal. Terms. a year: four months, Sold by all newsdealers. MUNN &Co. 36,Broadwa ’’New York Branch Office. 625 F St, Washington, D. C. Pay McColly and Coen. The grocery firm of McColly & Coen will be diasolved on April 1 by the retirement of J. W. Co m. It is therefore necessary that the accounts i f the firm be s -ttJed by ihatdite. All perions knowing themselves indebted to said firm, please call and settle, without de lay. McColly & Coen. dw2lmarp. NOSCE Having disposed of our busiaet'S in Rensselaer, all accounts are now due, and all persons knowing themselves to be indebted to the undersigned firm will pleaee call at office of said firm at once and settle their indebtedness either by cash or bank able note. All book accounts are payable lo Wm. Donnelly. dwAp 1 Donnelly Lumber Co. The DeLaval cream Separator leads iu every cout st others ony following. B. D. Comer Agent To Rent An improved farm three m»les east and one mile north of Fair Oaks, Indiana. For terms apply to Foltz & Spitler Rensselaer Ind. w2tp

--— — ; ARE YOU A READER OF j I The Indianapolis i *■ 1 j News i If Not, You Do Not Know What You Are Missing 3 ... | * METROPOLITAN DAILY 1 J t ■ • FOR TRE HOME AND THE PEOPLE j FOURTEEN TO TWENTY-EIGHT PAGES DAILY 3 t ALL THE NEWS FIT TO PRINT 1 E s FROM ALL POINTS OF THE COMPASS < |~< AST w EST goUTH j ! ' ■ : THE GREAT DAILY OF THE MIDDLE STATES : • - - - - ; : • » SOLD EVERYWHERE DELIVfiREDjEVERYWHERE I ! ; SPECIAL RURAL EDITION ' I— —“-I | William Marion Chas. Payne K | MARION & PAYNE I j Plumbers and... | I General [Repairers | V' - 0 7“ IN WHITE & MARION’S OLD STAND j? S CULLEN STREET, OPPOSITE HEMP- | | , HILL’S LIVERY BARN. | " ■ '' fyj S All C-dh Answered Promptly In Town or Country Regard- £ lees f Weatner, 8> | Satisfactory Work Guaranteed I | | S 9 Well and Windmill Work Given Special Att. nt oo — Telephone calls to 241 or 312.’ §5,

Horrible x suffering from Weeping Eczema

Weeping Eczema soon cured. I suffered with weeping Eczema In Its worst form for about two years, in which time I tried several remedies and pet prescriptions, until I had spent about ClUOand found no permanent relief. Naturally I became skeptical and hesitated when a new remedy was offered me. “You will have to show me,” as the Missourian says, when Mr. McDonel. of the Pioneer Drug Store, claimed he could cure mo with D. D. D. I was shown photographs of cases before and after taking D. D. D.. together with the story of a remarkable cure of a man working in the Valley Ax Works at Alexandria, which came under the personal observation of Mr. Jordan. I commenced using the medicine as per directions. After using the fifth bottle I was cured. I have never had any return of the disease. Many come to me asking what D. D. D. did for me. and I always tell them if they want to be cured "Use D. D. D. as per directions.” J. E. WUERSTEN. Montpelier, Ind., Nov. 3, 1903.

We not only sell at retail, but also supply druggists at wholesale prices. D. D. D. costs but SI.OO a bottle and la guaranteed to cure or money refunded.

WE VOUCH FOR THIS In the case of J. E. Wuersten shown here, his leg was almost entirely covered with Weeping Eczema. It raged for two years, and was afterward entirely cleared away in about six weeks time by D. D. D. and co taint of the disease has appeared since. We know this to be exactly as stated. This result can be accomplished with any skin affection. Barrels of blood medicine can do nothing for a skin disease. Nine out of ten manifestations in the skin are local —parasitic in nature and absolutely curable by this new prescription.. D. D. D. is a clean liquid prescription sopped dr atomized over the affected spots twice daily. This preparation has our unqualified endorsement. We are recommending It with most excellent results. The cures already effected are having wide-spread Influence in this section. If you have a skin affeotlon-come to the store. It will be the means of making you a happier human being.