USA > Kansas > The northern tier: or, Life among the homestead settlers > Part 4
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language of the original hymn and the parody composed for the occasion.
That was a memorable campaign, and well do I remember the first meeting which transpired at White Cloud. £ After the speeches by the candidates, and the hilarious entertain- ment at "Liberty Hall" by its hospitable occupants, near midnight we assembled in front of the hotel. The moon had descended behind the grand old hill overlooking the village; eastward stretched the winding, sedgy valley of the Missouri river, bordered by the tall cottonwoods, the gray branches of which were brightened by the fading moonlight, and the song commenced. When the chorus was reached, the voice of Samp Nodkins, higher than the others, could be heard far up and down the valley, starting the wild fowls from the marshy pools of "Rush Bottom," while the dusky, belated travelers to their huts on the Reserve, mistook the echo for the voice of the "Great Spirit," or their departed chief, whose memory was embalmed in the name of the town, call- ing them to the happy hunting-ground.
Those were not only halcyon days, but halcyon nights, when that old song rang out clear on the midnight air all along the river border, at the base of the traditional promon- tory at Iowa Point, among the cottonwood shanties of Charles- ton and Columbus, and beneath the shadow of the stately
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·elms that stretched their huge branches over Main street, in Elwood.
The end of the campaign was a victory for the Republican party. But the comrades and companions of those early times are separated. Samp Nodkins and others have gone from earth to "that undiscovered country from whose bourne no traveler returns." One is doing duty in a foreign coun- try, and others still remain in the county, as if loth to leave the land of their adoption and first settlement in the troublous times of the Territorial days. Among the latter is the pioneer editor whose weekly paper still notifies his old companions and friends of his whereabouts.
"Still o'er those scenes my memory wakes, And fondly broods with wiser care; Time but the impression deeper makes, As streams their channels deeper wear."
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CHAPTER 6.
NORTHERN KANSAS BIRDS.
I am not an ornithologist, but this book would be incom- plete without a brief description of the game-birds and some of the feathered songsters of Northern Kansas.
First is the wild-turkey, that noble American bird, which Franklin desired to adopt as an emblem on the flag. This bird is truly American, being first discovered in his native forest on this continent. From the shores of the great lakes of the north to the last cane-brakes of the south, and from the head-waters of the Hudson to the foot-hills of the Rocky Mountains, wherever a grove of timber skirted a ridge or bordered a stream, this native bird found a dwelling-place, long before Captain Smith explored the James river or the Puritans landed at Plymouth Rock. His gobble in the deep wilderness guided the stealthy Indian to his retreat, and for more than a century has caused the frontier settlers to smile, when the supply of game was diminishing in their cabins. While this bird's domestic barn-yard relatives have formed the basis of Thanksgiving dinners for more than a century
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in New England and elsewhere, the native wild-turkeys have occupied a conspicuous position on the rustic, home - made tables in the rude cabins on the Western frontier, around which gathered the family, relatives and friends.
Occasionally a Yankee whose perseverance had induced him to immigrate to the frontier for the purpose of securing land for his children, still clinging to the traditional custom of his juvenile home in New England, on Thanksgiving day assembled his relatives to feast on a native gobbler he had succeeded in bringing down with his rifle, in the forest or about his remote corn-field, for the occasion. The blessing he invoked upon his household and relatives, and the thanks he returned for the bountiful repast, as they assembled around that rustic table in the primitive cabin or dug-out, was as piously and reverently announced and gratefully uttered as the thanks he had heard around the tastefully decorated festal boards in his ancestral home in the East.
When Northern Kansas was first settled, the heavily- timbered and woodland bluffs bordering on the Missouri river, and the timber along the streams in the interior, abounded with wild-turkeys. During the spring and sum- mer they remained in the dense forest and thickets, and in early autumn visited the wheat-stubble and oat-fields, and as winter approached they often appeared in large numbers, as
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if on a foraging expedition, in the remote corn-fields. Then followed rare sport for the hunters among the settlers, besides supplying the table with delicious game. To bring down a wild-turkey from his perch on the highest tree, or with shot while on the wing, was a feat of no ordinary marksmanship.
During the spring and autumn the wild-geese and brant stopped for a month or more, during their migration north or south, alighting in the fields by day to feed on the green wheat, and remained about the sand-bars and eddies of the Missouri at night. As they flew to and fro they were an ex- cellent target for an expert at shooting on the wing, and many a noble gander has disarranged and demoralized the triangular flight of the flock by an involuntary tumble to the earth from a well-directed shot of the sportsman.
Wild ducks in great numbers were migratory companions of the geese, with the exception that the ducks usually re- mained longer in the spring, after the geese went north, fre- quenting small streams, ponds and lakes.
There are several species of wild ducks in Northern Kan- sas. The mallard resembles the domestic or barn-yard duck. The male mallard has a green head, and very much resembles the barn-yard drake. The female is of a yellowish-brown color, with spots or bars, like the female of the domestic duck. They breed in limited numbers in Northern and Western
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Kansas, but a very large majority of them go to the far north late in the spring, returning in September, and remaining un- til the streams are frozen, when they continue their flight to the south ward.
The canvas-back ducks are less numerous in Northern and Western Kansas than the mallards, but are fine game birds. I have seen a number of them about Lake Sibley and the salt marshes in Cloud and Jewell counties.
The widgeon is frequently found along the small streams and about Lake Sibley and the salt marshes.
The pin-tail ducks are abundant in the spring, usually associating with the mallards.
But the most delicious ducks for the table, though small, are the blue-and-green-winged teals, which are abundant in Northern and Western Kansas.
The wood ducks are found along the Missouri river and streams that are bordered with timber. They are beautiful birds, crested, with purplish-green heads. They differ from other ducks in their habits, building their nests in hollow trees, and rarely mingle with other ducks, save with the teals.
A brace of ducks was a trophy of no small value in the game-bag of the weary sportsman, during the early settle- ment of Northern Kansas.
The noblest bird of the prairie is the pinnated grouse, or
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prairie chicken. It is a larger bird than the ruffed grouse of the Middle States, and its flesh is darker. The color of the pinnated grouse is light brown, with dark brown spots on the back and uniform bars on the breast. The males have a bunch of dark feathers on the front part of the neck; and a yellow or orange-colored sack on each side of the neck, which they have the power of inflating; and in the spring, during the mating season, they assemble on some bare spot of ground, making a thrumming noise with their wings that can be heard at a considerable distance. Their nests are usually made in the prairie-grass, containing from twelve to fifteen eggs, of a light color, with small spots of a darker hue. In Northern Kansas they hatch in May, and if the season is favorable the young birds are two-thirds grown by the first of August, when the proper shooting season begins. The young remain in the original covey, unless misfortune befalls them, until late in autumn, and when flushed will scatter in different directions, alighting at no great distance, when they can be flushed by a dog separately, by which means the sportsman can secure the whole covey, permitting the parent bird to fly away and mourn for her lost brood in lonely solitude.
Grouse-shooting on the prairie is rare sport. The best plan is for two or more sportsmen to procure a light wagon,
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with a competent driver, and drive over the prairie, letting the dogs range far and wide to the right and left of the team. A well - trained dog will range at the proper distance, and when he scents a covey of birds will stop suddenly, with a peculiar stationary attitude, and generally one fore-foot raised from the ground, and no confusion or noise will disturb his motionless position, save the voice of his master, as he ap- proaches and urges the dog forward to flush the birds. If the birds are not easily flushed, the faithful animal moves forward cautiously in the direction of the covey until they arise, and then the sportsmen take their shots; but the dog remains motionless until bidden by his master to move for- ward, or "Find dead birds." If the covey is all flushed, the birds generally alight at different points, and can then be flushed separately.
In autumn, when the birds have attained full-grown size, flocks embracing several coveys congregate about the stubble- fields, and pillage the corn-fields, or on and about the green wheat-fields ; during which season they are wild and watch- ful, and rarely ever lie close for a dog, but most frequently rise and sail away in their freedom before the sportsman is near enough to bring them down, unless he risks a long shot. The gun must be charged with larger shot as the birds be-
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me full grown. Occasionally during the Indian-summer days, an old bird, in tall grass, will lie close for a dog, when suddenly he rises, often near the sportsman, and with a quick movement flies away toward an adjacent ridge, uttering his- defiant "cluk-cluk-cluk," but it requires a good shot to bring- him down. As the season advances and the weather becomes cold, in the early morning they are often seen in large num- bers upon the branches of the trees along the creeks and: ravines, apparently enjoying the morning sunshine.
When traveling over the extensive prairies of Northern Kansas, with nothing to disturb the monotony of the scene, the occasional flushing of a pinnated grouse causes a transient. thrill of pleasure; and as he sails away in his free flight,. reminds one of Hogg's lines-
"Bird of the wilderness, Blithesome and cumberless, Gay be thy matin o'er moorland and lea ! Emblem of happiness, Blest be thy dwelling-place- Oh, to abide in the desert with thee."
The sharp-tail grouse resembles the pinnated grouse in size, but its color is lighter, and it has no gular sack on the neck. It is feathered to the first joint of the toes, while the pinnated grouse is feathered only to the toes. The habits of the sharp-tail grouse are the same as the pinnated grouse-
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making their home on the prairie, feeding on the same food, and though not so numerous, are often found with the pin- nated grouse.
The quail of Kansas is too well known to require a minute description. From the Missouri river to the extreme western settlements in Northern Kansas, quails are found in great numbers in the groves of timber and about the stock-yards and fields. If not disturbed or frightened, they will come near the dwelling house, and are often seen in the barn-yard, picking up the scattered grain. During the hatching season the male bird is often seen perched upon a fence post or wheat shock, whiling away his lonely hours, at short intervals pip- ing forth his familiar "Bob White!" regardless of the rattling and clattering noise of the reaper driven by the farmer in an adjoining field. The young birds are generally full grown by the first of October, when quail-shooting begins by per- mission of the laws of the State.
As a general rule, a dog well trained for setting and flush- ing grouse, is good for flushing quail. There are exceptions, however, and a dog that has been trained principally for quail-flushing, is not at all times an expert at grouse-flushing. Some sportsmen prefer quail to grouse-shooting; but owing to the activity of the flight of the quail, it requires a better and quicker shot to bring it down than a shot at grouse, as
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the chance is often taken through brush or timber. New beginners and inexperienced sportsmen generally prefer grouse - shooting.
It is grand sport to flush a covey of quails in the timber, causing them to alight in the prairie, and then flush them separately with a careful dog, and bring them down sharp before they reach the timber. Let two or more genial, social sportsmen, on a mild October day, bag a number of quails, spread their luncheon in a grove, build a fire, and each broil a couple of birds on forked sticks at the fire, and they have a dinner that duplicates a meal at the most fashionable res- taurant. The guns leaning against a tree, the dogs bathing in a stream near by, the landscape and surrounding scenery, the healthful breeze, the lunch in the woods, the story, joke and hilarity-all combined, make it an occasion of real en- joyment long to be remembered by the participants. No true sportsman will ever net a quail or trap a grouse. A sportsman never shoots grouse or quail for market, and rarely shoots more birds than he desires for his own table and as a gift to his non-sporting friends. As a general rule, in Northern Kansas, more quail are annually destroyed by net- ting and trapping for market than by all the sportsmen, who procure their birds by wing-shooting for the love of the sport.'
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Another game bird of the prairie in Northern Kansas is the curlew, a species of upland snipe or plover, smaller than the grouse, of a snuff color, with long legs, and a bill from four to six inches in length, with long wings. They are generally found in flocks or coveys ou the upland prairie, in the spring, on newly - burnt prairie, or where the grass is short. I have seen them in pairs. Being wild and watch- ful, they cannot be flushed by a dog, and the only successful manner of shooting is to drive a wagon until opposite the flock, or by the solitary hunter in a seemingly careless man- ner approaching on foot in a diagonal direction, and as the birds arise risking a long shot to bring one down, the others flying to an adjacent ridge with a shrill-screaming whistle. It is a feat to bag a brace of these birds out of a flock. Their flesh is of delicate flavor, of a lighter color than that of the grouse.
The plover is a small bird, with long bill and a body formed like the curlew, but much smaller, with white breast interspersed with small spots, and a dark-gray color on the back and upper surface of the wings. It is the smallest of the game birds of the prairie, but its flesh is delicious. In the spring they appear in large numbers, and frequent ground that has recently been burned over, along the roadside, and in the short grass. In the early spring their long-drawn-out
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whistle is heard over the prairie, denoting that the warm spring days have come. They fly rather swiftly, and when they alight, after touching the ground, make a peculiar bow- like motion with their wings. A sportsman can approach within a few yards of them before they arise, and as they fly away are an excellent target for wing-shooting. They are migratory, going south in autumn and returning again in the spring. Their flesh is as delicious as the quail, but true sportsmen in Northern Kansas generally ignore them on ac- count of their small size; and it is well, as they should be permitted to multiply as destroyers of grasshoppers and other insects, thereby aiding the farmer, for they feed largely on those pests.
The feathered songsters of Northern Kansas are numerous. The lark is the harbinger of spring and warm weather. As. the bright, warm spring days appear, his melodious notes are heard at early dawn on the prairie and about the farm; and frequently he perches upon the garden gate or housetop, and sends forth his morning song to awaken the drowsy land- scape and the inmates of the dwelling. They remain during the summer, hatch and care for their young, make war on the insects, go south in the autumn, and return again in the following spring.
I have not yet seen many robins west of the Blue river
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and its tributaries, but they are numerous in Northeastern Kansas along the timbered streams, and about the orchards and groves surrounding the farm houses. It is a pleasure to have them about the orchards and groves, building their nests, rearing their young, and flitting among the branches or hopping along on the ground in search of insects. A farmer can well afford to permit them to carry away all the cherries and fruit they desire, for their company, and as a partial recompense for the insects they destroy.
The jay, next to the hanging-bird or Kansas goldfinch, has the brightest plumage of the small birds of Northern Kansas. It is of the same size and color of the jay of the Middle States. They are numerous among the timber along
the streams or groves about the farms. They are not migra- tory, but remain during winter. They feed on berries, seeds and grain in the fields during summer, and in the winter pillage corn-cribs and granaries. They are rather destructive and warlike, and I have often seen them waging war on other birds, and even giving battle to large hawks when they in- vaded the grove inhabited by the jays. The jay is a beautiful, strongly-formed bird, but not a pleasant singer; his notes are harsh, with a constant chatter when danger is near.
The redbird is a winter bird, remaining in this latitude during winter. The male is of a bright-red color, crested,
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with red beak; the female a pale red, or light-brown color. They inhabit the timber along the streams in Northern Kan- sas as far west as the Little Blue river and its tributaries. They remain in the woods during summer, and in winter, when the snow covers the ground, they are often discovered purloining corn from the crib, when they can be caught in traps for caging. They make a beautiful household pet when sufficiently tamed to become accustomed to the cage, and on rainy days, the gloomiest of the year, when outdoor scenes are not inviting, the lively notes of the redbird sent forth from his cage in the hall -translated as follows: " Wet year !" "wet year!" "wet!" "wet!"-serve to revive the drooping spirits and banish melancholy reflections.
The hanging-bird, a species of goldfinch, is an inhabitant of Northern Kansas. It is called the hanging-bird from the singular description of its nest, which is composed of moss and fibrous material, suspended from a twig by two threads or fibers ingeniously attached to the twig or branch. The male bird is of a brilliant-red color, with black wings; the female is light-brown, with gold-colored wings. They are beautiful birds, and tolerable singers. They flit among the leaves and branches in search of insects, while they continue their chattering as if in conversation with each other. They often pay a hasty visit to the shade trees about the farm
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house, and if cherries or other berries are in the vicinity, they carry away a few as a partial compensation for the exhibition of their beautiful plumage among the farmer's shade trees and shrubbery. Anyone who admires birds, appreciates the daily visits of the hanging-birds.
During the spring and summer, blackbirds appear in large flocks on the prairies and about the farms. In the spring of 1877, when the grasshoppers had hatched in great numbers, on a lovely Sunday morning, early in May, I was awakened at early dawn by a confusion of sounds, and on going into the yard, I beheld countless numbers of blackbirds on the ground, devouring the young grasshoppers. The alleys and vacant lots of the town (Concordia) seemed to be one living mass of birds. I approached very near them, and observed them closely. There was no doubt of the fact that they were breakfasting on young grasshoppers. On the succeeding morning they again made their appearance as numerous as before, and remained some two hours. The grasshoppers disappeared about that time, and not enough arrived at ma- turity to do any serious damage to the crops. Some attribute their decay and destruction to the wet, damp weather, and heavy rains that prevailed about that time. I am confident, however, that the most destructive agency was the black- birds; and I am of the opinion that in Northwestern Kansas,
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in the spring of 1877, more young grasshoppers were de- stroyed by the blackbirds, larks and plovers than by any other one cause. The male blackbird has a beautiful orange color on his wings, noticeably visible when he is flying.
There are many other small birds in Northern Kansas, too numerous to mention, that sing sweetly-particularly the little prairie sparrow, that is so often seen perched upon the top of a sunflower or other wild weed of the prairie, sending forth his musical notes.
The birds that should be appreciated more than they are in Northern Kansas, are the little snow -birds of winter. Whenever a cold snow-storm is imminent, the little snow- birds suddenly appear in vast numbers, flying about or hop- ping along on the ground, in the road, street, or about the barn-yard. They only appear in the coldest weather, or when snow covers the ground. I have often wondered what protected their little feet from the extreme cold, unless it be the texture of which they are composed by nature for that purpose. They are very tame, and will hop along only a few feet from a person walking. They disappear when win- ter is past, and they must go far north to the cold regions during summer, as they reappear each winter with the cold weather. They are pleasant and welcome visitors about the barn-yards, streets and commons when the summer birds are
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gone, and the bleak winds of winter cause the brown prairie to look like a cheerless, dreary waste.
There are over two hundred different species of birds in Kansas, many of them useful as insect destroyers. What would the isolated groves of Northern Kansas be without birds? Gloomy haunts, with nothing to disturb the melan- choly silence save the sighing of the wind among the branches.
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CHAPTER 7.
THE REPUBLICAN LAND DISTRICT.
The act of Congress establishing the Republican Land District in the State of Kansas, was approved July 7, 1870; the boundary of which district included all the territory be- tween the east line of range 8, east, and the western boundary of the State, and between the Nebraska line and the township line dividing townships ten and eleven. Immigrants had crossed the Big Blue river in great numbers, and the coun- ties of Washington, Republic and Cloud were being rapidly settled; and in order to provide a land office more convenient to the settlers thau the one at Junction City, at the mouth of the Republican river, the new land district was created. The land office for the new district was established in Sep- tember, 1870, at Concordia, the county seat of Cloud county, a village consisting of three small cabins, situated on the south bank of the Republican river, on section 33, town- ship 5, range 3, west.
A clever writer has said, "There is something very fasci- nating in public office." There may be, but I have failed to
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discover it. It is a species of servitude in which the honor is neutralized by a constant fear lest the occupant will receive a reprimand for every error committed, if not an absolute dismissal from his position. The unstable tenure of office under the infallible rule in American politics, that rotation in office is the legitimate custom in every political campaign, together with the intrigues of the "outs" to displace the "ins"-especially those "outs" who imagine they have been ingloriously "left" by an ungrateful republic-requires the utmost vigilance on the part of an officer to maintain friendly relations with those who possess the power and influence to cause removal and dismissal at any time.
The same writer says: "An honorable ambition to serve one's country is one of the highest and most ennobling pas- sions that can govern the human mind." In the civil ser- vice, I doubt if that type of ambition was ever the controlling influence that prompted an individual, however honest and trustworthy, to accept a subordinate position in the civil de- partment of the Government. Abolish the fees and salaries, and the' subordinate offices would be declined and deserted. In the military department there are exceptions. In that department there are many, in time of war, who serve their country at the peril of life, with no other motive than an honorable ambition to serve faithfully and win distinction -
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