CHAPTER XII. 



MALLARD SHOOTING AT HOLES IN THE ICE WINTER. 



" Big counts " are frequently made at the holes 

 in the ice where .the ducks roost and come to 

 drink, and also at the shallow, open water at 

 the mouths of spring creeks whose bottoms are 

 covered with sand or gravel, and which the ducks 

 seek as aid in digesting their food. This sport 

 seldom lasts very long, as the air-holes freeze 

 over quickly in cold weather if the ducks are 

 kept out of them, and the ducks are thereby 

 forced to leave and hunt open water elsewhere. 

 But few directions, not heretofore given, are ne- 

 cessary to the novice in this branch of the sport. 

 The providing of the blinds has been described in 

 the chapter relating especially to them. All the 

 decoys that can be conveniently procured should 

 be used, the dead ducks being set on the ice, 

 near the edge of the hole, with their heads upon 

 stakes or under their wings. There is consider- 

 able danger attending the sport, however, and it 



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