DUCK-SHOOTING. 257 
quires more practice than even shooting from 
“ noints ”—exacting from the sportsman not merely 
readiness in handling the gun, but activity of mo- 
tion and accuracy of balance. The gun, at full 
cock, is laid in its rack across the thwart; or, as I 
prefer, from one thwart to another, with the trig- 
gers up; the sportsman, standing erect on the stern, 
wields his pole with care, avoiding noise, and never 
by any chance touching the side of the beat with 
it, for nothing alarms the birds so much as rapping 
on the side of the boat, although it is not easy to 
avoid doing so. He faces forward, raises the pole 
carefully, and replacing it without a splash or a blow 
on the crackling stems or leaves of the lilies, uses 
his body as a fulcrum as often as he wishes to alter 
the direction of the boat. He works his way against 
the wind as much as possible, and, casting his eyes 
in every direction, is always on the alert. Suddenly, 
with a roar like distant thunder, a wood-duck, gene- 
rally the male, starts from the weeds, and with a 
curious ery, like that of a wailing infant, makes the 
best of his way from the approaching danger; in- 
stantly the sportsman drops the pole, wherever it 
may be—in mid air or deep in the mud, just planted 
or at its full reach—and springing to his gun, raises 
it with rapidity but deliberation, and, if the bird 
has not already gained a safe distance, discharges 
it with the best effect he is able to command. Fre- 
quently, at the report, another bird will start, and 
offer a fair and generally successful shot. 
To one accustomed to kill quail, this shooting, 
