During the winter season, wild ducks are so plentiful around New
Orleans that a good wing shot can bag a hundred of them in a few
hours. I have often seen men coming in on the boats and trains
with hundreds of nice wild ducks, and at such times I would promise
myself to lay off and have a hunt; so one morning I took my gun
and about a hundred rounds of ammunition and went out on the L. &
N. Railroad to Lake Pontchartrain. I killed at least twenty-five
ducks, but only got six of them, as they fell in the water and I
had no dog to fetch them. I went back to the station with my six
ducks, and there I saw five Frenchmen and some dogs, and they had
about 200 ducks. I felt ashamed of myself, so I tried to buy some
of their ducks, but they would not sell. Then I thought I would
interest them in old monte until the train arrived; so I opened up
on an old fish box and soon had them guessing for the baby ticket.
One fellow wanted to bet a dollar, so I put up and he won. Another
put up, and he won. Then I pulled out a roll and offered to bet
them $50 against their entire lot of ducks that they could not turn
the baby ticket. They all talked French to each other for a while,
and then told me they would take me up. I told them to put their
ducks all up beside the box and I would put up the $50. They did
so, and all pointed to the same card, so I told them to turn it
over. One of them did so, but it was not the card they wanted or
thought it was, so they lost their ducks.
The train arrived; I got my ducks into the baggage-car and went to
the city. I had the game hauled up to a restaurant, and sent for
a lot of my friends, and I gave them all the ducks they wanted.
I sold some, and had some cooked for myself and my friends.
All the boys heard of my good luck. Some of them wanted to borrow
my gun, while others wanted to go out with me the next time I went
hunting; and there were some of the boys who knew me very well,
who said: "Devol did not shoot a single one of those ducks--he
either bought or won them." I insisted that I shot every one; and
as the Frenchmen did not know me, none of my friends ever knew that
I won them on the baby ticket.