54 



JOURNAL OF MAINE ORNITHOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 



present time, after walking miles of 

 the same coast, you will be fortunate 

 if you see a specimen of many of our 

 coast species, and your hunger would 

 be something appalling if you had to 

 wait until you shot a bird before it 

 could be appeased. 



While the coast gunner has continu- 

 ed his persecutions, his companion of 

 the interior has not been idle. Every 

 brook, river, pond and lake, has been 

 subjected to the same persecutions for 

 the species of ducks and other birds 

 which frequent such places. 



Owing to the freezing of the inland 

 waters, gunning could not be carried 

 on in that section during ihe winter 

 months, as it was on the coast, but 

 with the return of spring, as soon as 

 a hole melted through the ice large 

 enough for a duck to light in, it met 

 the same reception as those peculiar 

 to the coast. 



While dummy decoys have been the 

 curse of the coast birds, the gunning 

 float has acted the same for our rivers 

 and estuaries, or wherever smootli 

 enough to be used. 



The gunning float as it is called, is 

 a small boat usually about twelve 

 feet in length, decked over about a 

 third of its length, sloping toward the 

 stern within a few inches of the water 

 line, and so modelled as to sliow as 

 little heiglit above tlie water as possi- 

 ble. 



Around the sides on top of the gun- 

 wales, are what are called water cants. 

 These are strips of boards some five 

 or six inches wide and sloping toward 

 the water line on either side. 



If ice was floating around, small 

 pieces were placed around the water 

 cant, and on the deck, to disguise the 

 float as an ice cake. 



At other times, turf cut from the 

 marshes or upland with grass intact, 

 or other vegetable debris that would 

 serve to I'epresent the surrounding 

 conditions. 



The float is propelled in this way. 



The gunner lies on his back on the 

 bottom of the float, his head resting 

 against the stern board so that his 

 eye will come on a level with the top 

 of the float. Through the stern board 

 (usually on the left side) just above 

 the water line is the sculling hole 

 which tits the shaft of the sculling 

 paddle. The handle of the paddle is 

 passed through the scull hole from the 

 outside, and comes under the left arm 

 of the gunner and is grasped by the 

 shaft with his left hand while his 

 right grasps the handle. With a 

 motion of the hand and wrist, the 

 paddle blade is made to resist the wa- 

 ter with first one hand and then the 

 other, which propels the float ahead at 

 the will of the gunner. 



So steadily can the float be propelled 

 in this way, that if the water is not 

 too rough, hardly a motion or ripple 

 from the float can be seen. If the 

 ducks have not been deceived too 

 many times by a float, they can be ap- 

 proached within shooting distance, and 

 often much nearer. As decoys are the 

 curse of our sea ducks, so is the gun- 

 ing float of those that inhabit our 

 estuaries, rivers, and ponds. 



The Golden-eye Duck (Clangula 

 clangula americana) once plenty in 

 our open rivers and estuaries dulng 

 winter, is in many of them seldom if 

 ever seen, and when found there is 

 usually only one or two individuals to 

 represent the hundreds that once fre- 

 quented the same locality. 



The Bufllehead (Charitonetta albeola) 

 has become so rare, that seldom is 

 there heard of a specimen being taken. 



The Bluebill (Aythya marila near- 

 ctica) is fast following the last named, 

 as are the Green-wing Teal (Anas ca- 

 rolinensis) and Blue-wing (Anas dis- 

 cors). 



The Baldpate (Anas americana) and 

 Pintail (Daflla acuta) although never as 

 plenty as the already mentioned 

 species, will be looked for, many days 



