122 • ORNITHOLOGICAL RA]\IBLES. 



towards us in a joyous sort of flight, as if to say 

 " you are welcome, I liave been waiting for you 

 a long time, come and begin at once." And 

 truly he was more confiding than ever, following 

 me from one marsh to another, and evidently dis- 

 tinguisliing and appreciating the respective perfor- 

 mances of man and dog. It was not Jong before 

 he discovered that the capture of a wounded 

 snipe was attended with far less trouble to him 

 than the pursuit of a sound one, and he soon be- 

 came so fastidious in this respect as to allow 

 those birds which were sprung out of shot to 

 depart without giving chase to them, while he 

 looked to me to put such a detainer on some of 

 those which rose near me as should render the 

 completion of the work an easy matter for him. 



When the snipe was killed dead he never 

 meddled with it, but if it fluttered and fell at a 

 distance, he would frequently drop on it as it 

 touched the ground, and begin plucking and de- 

 vouring it. I made it a rule never to interfere with 

 him on such occasions, unless I wished to keep 

 his talents in reserve for an aerial exhibition, in 

 which case the nimble-footed Pat would run for- 

 ward and bag the snipe as quickly as possible, 

 before the little hawk had fairly commenced his 

 meal; although when he perceived our intention 

 he would generally succeed in carrying it to some 



