DUCK-SHOOTING. 259 
of the sportsman. The wild rice has a greenish- 
yellow stem, with longer joints and without leaves ; 
it branches at the end into the seed-receptacles, and 
is not found in such large patches. The deer- 
tongue grows in deeper water, and retains its green 
hue till the weather intimates that winter is present. 
It has a leaf like a dull spear-head, that projects but 
a few inches above the surface; and its stout stems, 
springing up close together, constitute a serious 
obstacle to the advancing boat. There are also 
scattered patches of weeds, usually called grass 
because they are green, but with a round, hollow, 
tapering stem, or leaf, that has no resemblance 
whatever to grass. 
Early in the season, when there are few birds fly- 
ing over the points, and the young, tender, and gen- 
tle wood-ducks crowd the marshes and will permit 
an easy approach, it is customary to employ a pun- 
ter, who poles the boat while the sportsman sits on 
the forward thwart, gun in hand, ready in a moment 
to cut down the feeble birds. But if any of the 
shooting is to be done from the points, the punter 
will be found in the way, increasing the unsteadi- 
ness of the boat and augmenting the danger, already 
sufficiently great. Although by no means proficient, 
I always prefer poling myself, and will never permit 
any guns in the boat but my own. 
On the day more particularly referred to in this 
chapter, we found the birds plentiful, although ra- 
ther wild, and had grand sport, starting the crying 
wood-ducks and the quacking mallards from their 
