228 



AMERICAN" GAME BIRD SHOOTING. 



Continent, yet its favorite haunts are the regions beyond 

 the Rocky Mountains, where it may be seen in herds 

 numbering from ten to a thousand. These herds are so 

 tame that tliey frequently fly close enough to the land to 

 enable persons to shoot at them, and even on the water 

 they are rather unsuspicious, comparatively speaking, 

 and are much more easily approached in a sneak-boat 

 than either ducks or geese. The market hunters of 

 the Pacific Coast shoot them for their plumage alone, as 

 this brings a good price, swans-down being largely used 

 for trimming the garments of fashionable ladies; it is 

 also exported in considerable quantities by the Hudson 

 Bay Company, as it meets a ready sale in France and 

 Eussia. Few sportsmen kill adult swans for the sake of 

 their flesh, as it is rather dry and tough, but that of the 

 cygnets is quite palatable, though inferior to the meat of 

 young ducks and geese. 



One cause of the toughness of the adult is, that the oil 

 contained in the skin dries into the flesh, unless the bu'd 

 is plucked immediately after being shot; but if that is 

 done, and the carcass is hung up until it gets a little 

 high, a hungry man would have slight cause for criticis- 

 ing the daintiness of roast swan. The carcass should be 

 allowed to hang as long as possible, especially in winter, 

 as the frost seems to take away much of tlie fishy taste 

 which it has in the autumn and early winter. The 

 greatest enemies of the swans on the Pacific Coast are 

 the Indians, for they slaughter them at all times, and 

 even devour the eggs, if they can find them. One sav- 

 age is more destructive to these birds tlian a dozen white 

 pot-hunters, for the latter have some scruples, but the 

 former has none. Some of the littoral Indians of the 

 Pacific kill large numbers, of all ages and sexes, in July 

 and August, when the young broods are unable to pro- 

 tect themselves, and tlie adults are so defenceless from 

 moulting that tJiey can neither run nor fly. The red 



