BLUE- BILL. 151 
breaks up and floats down the river. The ice parts from 
the bank, and stretches into black and white cakes from 
shore to shore; it rubs together, clashes and crumbles, 
piles over and surges under, forming ice-floes of every 
conceivable size, description and shape. Then it is 
they are enjoying themselves the most, and, clambering 
into one of these floes, in immense droves or flocks they 
will float down the river in indolence, taking things easy, 
while receding banks and trees form a panorama that 
seems very enjoyable to them. Then it is that the 
hunter standing near an inland pond, or secreted in some 
well protected blind, wonders what has become of all the 
ducks, and plays with his gun or consoles his dog, with 
the assurance that it willsoon be four o’clock, and then 
the evening flight will surely begin. At this same time 
the hunter in the scull-boat is helping himself to the 
cream of the day. By steathily propelling his scull 
through floating ice, with his boat loaded with ice, re- 
sembling an ice cake, he guides it lithely, stealthily, and 
ina serpentine manner through narrow channels of great 
cakes of floating ice, and kills duck after duck. While 
they enjoy this floating down the river, it is simply a 
diversion from the more laborious, yet necessary part of 
their existence, viz.: earning a living. In the wide, deep 
river they find nothing to eat, neither do they try. They 
simply come here to have a picnic and doze the time 
away. After enjoying their fun, they settle down to 
business, and repair to the ponds, little lakes and shores, 
there satisfying their sharp appetites. Thenis the time 
to shoot them over decoys, and decoys in profusion 
should be used, —the more the better, as the water will 
be from three to ten feet deep. Wooden decoys must 
be used. They should be placed in the open, plainly 
