SNIPE SHOOTING 329 
birds. I have been told by men who have hunted with 
him that he is a most indefatigable walker, and pos- 
sesses extraordinary quickness and accuracy in the use 
of the shotgun, snapping the birds almost on the instant 
that they take wing. 
In that land of game abundance, at that day, it was 
not considered unsportsmanlike to kill all that the 
sportsman pleased to kill, for however great the bags, 
there was no apparent diminution in the numbers of 
the birds. If the sportsmen killed many, their neigh- 
bors derived the benefit of it. The killing, too, was at 
irregular intervals, differing from the steady drain 
made on the bird supply day after day by those who 
shoot for market. 
This circumstance of the record bag was a happen- 
ing of many years ago, when the sentiment concerning 
game preservation was different everywhere, North and 
South, from what it is to-day. 
As to snipe shooting, and the way of it, the proper 
manner to shoot them is to go forth and shoot them. 
In other words, the set manner of doing this thing 
and that thing, as taught by some writers, is all very 
well if one can do no better. 
There is no rule whereby snipe shooting can be 
made soft and easy, and there is no sportsman with 
proper ambition who will care to have his skill less 
than the best test that the bird can offer. If the sports- 
man’s skill is equal to the test, practice will improve 
it. In any event, there is at least the pleasure of try- 
ing to cope with the conditions. The proper skill is 
