DAYS ON THE ILLINOIS 55 



night. Darkness would often overtake me several miles 

 from the nearest towai. At Henry only I remained over 

 night at a hotel. I generally stopped at cabin boats on 

 the river with hunters and fishermen. I enjoyed doing 

 this. A sort of Don Quixote of the river, seeking adven- 

 tures on the way. 



It was a beautiful day when I started and I bagged 

 my first ducks at Sugar Island, a pair of mallards near 

 the upper end, and further along a third one. I missed 

 one shot at a pair. (I use a double gun. No pump or 

 automatic for me.) 



Sugar Island is one of the finest islands on the river. 

 It is high ground, never affected by overflows, and there 

 is always game of different kinds there. 



There had been a severe storm a few days earlier, 

 driving the birds down from the North, and there were 

 a number of nice flocks of mallards along every little 

 ways, and a few bluebills. 



I here explain that on the lower river the ducks do not 

 (except sometimes bluebills or other deep-water ducks) 

 frequent the main channel of the river at all, and often 

 do not follow its course except generally when flying. 

 On the upper river they frequent the main channel, mal- 

 lards and all other varieties more or less. i 



That night, at the end of my first day's journey, while 

 resting in a hay stack up on the river bank in the moon- 



