The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, December 21, 1902, Page 7

AXXE the train that goes morth to Bacramento and get off at Oluta It is nothing more than a little water tank station a few miles this side of Suisun, but there you will find = launch, that is, If you are expect- ed, that will take you up & winding slough for a ride of about three-quarters of an hour. It is a good-sized launch that will bold about twelve people and speed up at a pretty good clip, even when loaded, ®0 if you know anything about launches at all that will give you & very good idea of how far you travel in three-quarters of an hour before you come in sight of, first an ark set up on stiits, high and dry above the water, and then & cluster of bulldings that looks like § © country club bouse. This was Charley Fair's private duck hunting grounds. Before he went to Paris he designed all the plans, even to the ordering of carpets and furniture. The latter was selected by Mrs. Fair. The entire cost of the preserves was over $12,000. Mr. and Mrs. Fair expected to bave some great sport there when he came back, but he was killed in an auto- mobile accident with his own machine be- fore be ever saw the grounds completed. It bas now passed into the hands of his old-time friend, Joe Harvey. lsunch runs up close to the main bullding and you land at a sloping gang- way, which can be raised or lowered to meet the tide. The overseer of the place, & Bwede—Julius, they cail him—who has been notified that you coming, meets you and takes your thi into the guest chember. There are t the house. One was Mr. private room. The ot! two were for guests. They are fitted up with every ides of comfort. Take the one shown in the picture on this page, for instance. It contains everything & fellow could wish for. The bedstead is of polished trass, clean and comfortable and warm. On the well beside it is a bracket lamp, conven- ient to hand. At the foot of the bed are slippers, for “solid comfort” after the day’s shoot, & pair of bluchers, a sort of alf-bopt, heavy weather, a pair of bber boots that cover the legs to the s, to wear when duck shooting, while the w there is a ful’ suit of cordu- roy, crush hats—in fact, all the things that make duck hunting a delight After you have attended to yourself in he guest room Jullus takes you to the roum. In one corner is a side- which, during the duck season — the time of the he Fairs expected to en- fends lavizhly—is stocked nink of. One en over to re- er man, wi es to mix them pal- uces, pickles, iake the meal rice itself is of the dishes. of which there kinds, are of a fan of fine new china. In fact, there &re luxuries of all sorts. To =dd to the finished effect of the whole place the walls and the ceiling of ies and other things to 2ppe the @ning room are done in hard wood, painted white. Now the curious thing about this country house is that above this ceiling there is an inside roof, and above that, again, the outside roof, all three separated from each other by about & foot of open space to allow the air to circulate freely. 'So that no matter how hot the weather may be not only the din- ing room, but all the other rooms as well, are always cool, for the house is built on a long, narrow plan, with the kitchen at one end and the private room of the host at the other. There is a door opening from every room onto the veranda and a door connecting each room, so that they can be used en suite or single. From the dining-room Julius takes you to the sitting-room, where you can smoks and make yourself quite at home. It is the largest room in the house, lighted with & swinging lamp. In one corner thcre 1s @ music box with over a hun- dred plates, so that you can have a fres concert. In the other corner are some ‘Japanese things stuck up on the wall Opposite this is & big fancy looking glass. Everywhere are big, comfortable, old- fashioned chairs. The dining-room opens Into the kitchen T B on one side and into the gunroom on the other. In the gunroom there are eight guns set in neat little racks on the wall, none of which cost less than $300 aplece, because they are all of the new hammer- less variety with the safety attachment. The one on the bed in the picture cost $700. There you can take your choice of the gun you want to use in the morning. Then you are taken into the kitchen, which is the most completely fitted up rcom in the house. There are pots and pans, lemon squeezers, meat saws and broilers and skillets of all kinds. Next to the stove in the Kkitchen there is a window looking across the marsh, and there you can see Charley Fair's ark drawn up out of the water. That's where the cook lives. At each corner of the wide veranda be-" hind the house are two small buildings, where the stores are kept in refrigerators —steaks, chops, roasts, fish and game of ali kinds. Between these two small houses ia located the water tank, which can just be seen above the center of the house from the slough. It is just high enough 80 that there 18 & good pressure of water in every room. It is a strange thing that in & country that is all mud of the dirtlest, thickest kind yon can bore down “'.V(/ W A{/ A GUESTS ED RoOM™ - S — T TIE CLOD NOUSE M FROM THE LaunNCH] THE DiNirzg R é Kooxa through it and get the finest water you ever tasted in your life. Then you can enjoy yourself as you like, but if you have come to hunt ducks Julius wakes you the next morning at 4 o'clock sharp and brings you a steaming hot cup of coffee and toast. In the meantime the decoys and the grain to tempt the ducks at the ponds have been put out. There are three duck ponds, each about a block square. They were all hand-made at great expense, for there was not a foot of the ground but what had to be dug up and carted away to a depth of about twe feet and a half. This has been a great advantage, however, for the hunter can wade out to any part of the pond In case the dogs fail and be sure of a firm foot- ing. Besides this, there is a ditch over a mile long and about four feet wide and three feet deep which conne the slough at a point near the house with each of the three duck ponds. It is along this ditch that the assistants take the grain in a scow boat, walking along a narrow plank walk and dragging the boat by means of two guide ropes. As grain costs bout §2 a sack and as ten sacks a day are required during the hunting season, it 1s not hard to understand why private duck-hunting grounds are such an expen~ sive luxury. Then, as soon as you are properly dressed, Julius leads the way, accompa~- nied by two dogs, both very valuable. One 1s sald to have cost Fair over $300. At the duck pond you are stowed away In a comfortable blind, made of cement, dry and cozy. There you will find the gun and ammunition which you picked out the day before s awalting you, to- gether with a good bottle of Scotch and & sipbon of soda. With plenty of clothes to keep you warm you can sit there and shoot all you want to, while Julius loads the guns and handles the dogs. From here you go to the other two ponds, and when you get tired of the sport return to the house for a good breakfast and & change of clothes. In fact, everything Is so well ordered that you could leave the city in a dress suit and patent leathers and nothing else in the way of baggage and make the whole trip and return without rumpling even a halr. Everything requisite is pro- ‘vided on the grounds. _ et e i ——— ‘ 2UNE DAY FEED ey FOR THE B\RDS A