Hunting
A Missourian and graduate of the University of Missouri, DOROTHY OTIS WYRE lived in Germany for several years after the war. She now makes her home in Conway, Arkansas.
by DOROTHY OTIS WYRE
DURING two years’ residence in Germany I had the opportunity to study the art of hunting under several skilled Kreisjägermeister (county hunt masters) — Herren Jägermeister Schumann, Benkert, and Hit ter becks, Jäagermeister are elderly gentlemen who like walking, riding, smoking, eating, drinking, and hunting, all of which are provided by the Americans. Jägermeister, in spite of advanced age, blow mating calls on horns, which they provide.
Herr Jägermeister Schumann taught me how to handle a gun before taking me into the field. Visual education was used as I observed the sacred rites of cleaning and polishing guns. Herr Jägermeister Schumann’s gun accidentally discharged a bullet which shattered a beer stein and lodged in the living-room wall. This was a lesson in exterior ballistics as well as safety.
The first field trips were for Rehe (deer). Herr Jägermeister Schumann, and the others, believed that cold, gloomy, rainy days are the most favorable for Americans to hunt Rehe. Rehe hunting is classified into three types: sitting, walking, and riding.
Sitting. The hunter sits in a tree stand, and the Rehe sit as far away as possible. Tree stands, constructed of rotten wood, are reached by climbing decayed ladders which hold up decayed trees.
Walking. The hunters and the hunted walk around, but never close to one another. This gives the Jägermeister a chance to blow his horn, thus warning the Rehe. Jägermeister have amazing eyesight which enables them to gather vital statistics from invisible antlers of invisible Rehe.
Riding. The hunters ride through the forest peering into the trees. Military Government sedans are more comfortable than jeeps. The Rehe walk around peering out of the trees. Lpon sighting a sedan, they run deep into the forest, a feat even a Volkswagen cannot successfully imitate.
The second group of field trips was for Wilde Schweine (wild pigs). Beaters are used in hunting Wilde Schweine. Beaters are young men, with time on their hands, who like walking, riding, smoking, eating, drinking, and hunting, all of which are provided by the Americans. The beaters drive the Wilde Schweine out of the bushes with slicks. Beaters provide their own sticks. Eight times out of ten a beater, not a Wildes Schwein, emerges from the bushes. It is difficult to differentiate between them. The best way to distinguish one from another is to watch for smoke. Wilde Schweine do not smoke.
Herren Jägermeister Schumann, Benkert, and Ritterbecks believed that cold, gloomy, rainy days or nights are most favorable for Americans to hunt Wilde Schweine. Wilde Schweine hunting is classified into daylight or night hunts, with or without a moon, with or without rain or snow.
Daylight. The hunters and the hunted walk around, but never close to one another.
Night. The hunters and the hunted walk around, but never close to one another.
1. With moon. The hunters and the hunted never walk close to one another because il is easy for Wilde Schweine to spot the hunters first. It is cold at midnight in a potato field. German pigs like potatoes, and they are skillful at munching them while keeping an eye on the hunters sitting in the moonlight.
2. Without moon. The hunters and the hunted walk around, but never close to one another. It is difficult to determine how close since it is impossible to see anything. Sometimes hunters carry powerful lights which blind them but do not disturb the Wilde Sehweine. The lights indicate the exact locations of the hunters.
Rain. The hunters and the hunted walk around, but never close to one another.
Snow. The hunters and the hunted walk around, but never close to one another. The snow is useful for four purposes: 1) blinding the hunter; 2) causing the toes and fingers to drop off; 3) showing hunters where the Wilde Schweine have just been; and 4) showing the Wilde Schweine where the hunters have just been.
According to Herron Jägermeister Schumann, Benkert, and Ritterbecks, there are three reasons for hunting Rehe and Wilde Schweine. 1) To acquire antlers which are mounted on small plaques and hung up somewhere. 2) To acquire pigheads which are mounted on large plaques and hung up somewhere. 3) To acquire a bunch of Wildes Schwein hair which is mounted on a hunting hat that is hung up somewhere.
