EALLID.E — THE RAILS — PORZANA. 373 



a height of teu feet, covering tracts of many acres in extent, the stalks growing 

 so closely together that a boat, excepting at high water, can hardly make its way 

 through them. The seed of this plant is long and slender, white in color, sweet to 

 the taste, and very nutritious. When the reeds are in fruit the Eails in great num- 

 bers take possession of them. At this season a person walking along the banks of 

 the river may hear their cries in every direction. If a stone is throAvn among the 

 reeds there is a general outcry and a reiterated kuk-kuk-kuk, like the scream of a 

 Guinea-fowl. Any sudden noise produces the same effect. None of the birds, how- 

 ever, can be seen except at high-water ; and Avhen the tide is low they keep secreted, 

 and a man may Avalk where there are hundreds of them without seeing a single one. 



On its first arrival this bird is very lean ; but as the seeds ripen it rapidly fattens, 

 and from the 20th of September to the middle of October is in excellent condition. 

 The usual mode of shooting it on the Delaware is as already described for the Ilacken- 

 sack Kiver and marshes. The sportsman requires a light skiff, a stout and expe- 

 rienced boatman, and a pole fifteen feet in length, thickened at the lower end. About 

 two hours before high-water the hunter and his companion enter the reeds, and each 

 takes his post, the former standing in the bow, the latter on the stern-seat, pushing 

 the skiff steadily through the reeds. The Eails rise, one by one, as the boat is moved 

 along, and only at a short distance in front of it. Each bird is instantly shot down, 

 the boatman keeping his eye on the spot where the bird fell, directing the boat for- 

 ward, and collecting the game while the hunter is reloading. In this manner the 

 sport is carried on ; the boat being pushed steadily through the reeds, the birds are 

 flushed and shot, the hunter alternately loading and firing, and the assistant pushing 

 the skiff and picking up the fallen game. This is continued until an hour or two 

 after high water, when they are compelled by the fall of the tide to retire. In these 

 excursions it is not uncommon for an active and expert marksman to kill from a 

 hundred to a hundred and fifty Eails in a single tide. As two birds rarely, if ever, 

 rise together, each must be shot singly. 



The flight of the Sora Eail among the reeds is usually Ioav, and, shelter being 

 abundant, is rarely extended to more than fifty or a hundred yards. When winged, 

 and uninjured in its legs, it dives and swims with great rapidity, and is seldom seen 

 again. On such occasions it has been found clinging with its feet to the reeds, under 

 the water, or skulking under the floating vegetation with its bill just above the sur- 

 face. This bird is apparently weak and delicate in everything except its legs ; but 

 these possess great vigor ; and its body being remarkably thin, it is able to pass 

 readily between the reeds. Though its flight seems feeble, yet it occasionally rises 

 to a considerable height, stretches its legs out behind it, and flies rapidly across the 

 Delaware Avhere it is more than a mile Avide. 



In Virginia, along the shores of the Eiver James, in the tide-water regions, this 

 Eail is found in the fall in prodigious numbers ; and there it is usually taken at 

 night, and in a different manner. A kind of iron grate is fixed on the top of a stout 

 pole, which is placed, like a mast, in a small canoe, and filled with some light com- 

 bustible. The man Avho manages the canoe is provided with a paddle ten or twelve 

 feet in length, and, about an hour before high-water, enters the reeds. The space 

 for a considerable extent around is well lighted, the birds are bewildered, and as 

 they appear are knocked down with the paddle. In this manner from twenty 

 to eighty dozen have been killed by three negroes in the short space of three 

 hours. 



This Eail is frequently met with at sea between our shores and the West India 

 Islands. Mr. Lewis, in the " American Sportsman," refers to a living example taken 



