796 



TIIK AAIHKK'.W SCAll' DICK. 



molested upmi entering tlieir feeding gmunds, fell easv \iclinis as thev en- 

 deavored to breast the spit at sunset. 1^'ire hnnting was also a faxorite method. 

 The ducks, at rest upon the water after nightfall, and dazzled hv the glare of 

 a light at the l.)iiw nf a canne, allnwed tlieniscKes to l)e clubbed ny s])eared by 

 the unseen foe. 



But the ingenious methods of the savage were as chilli's pla\- in conipari- 

 son with the pump guns of his more insatialjle brothers. I'lluebills are still 

 common, or so we account them, but we onlv know a tenth i)art of their 

 former numbers. Indeed, how silly we all are to carry out upon the present 

 scale a slaugiiter wliich can ha\e onlv one result, \iz., the practical extermin;i- 

 tion of tlie wild fowl I We are a spendthrift breed, we .Vmericans, liorn with 

 gold spoons in our mouths, and reckless of riur inheritance, the amplest ever 

 provided the sons of men. but no more inexliau'-tible on that account than were 



* If P 



;.w,wc.vuK«u.->K.... -. ^.W-ita-S;;:^ ■ ^!f 



BI,UEBILLS AT IJI.AINI;. 



Photo by the .-iiilhor. 



