WILD GEESE. 245 



either screens his ''gopher hole" with a white sheet, 

 makes a blind of the same material, and lies in ambush 

 behind it, or else dons it as a garment and fastens a hand- 

 kerchief around his hat, and then throws himself flat on 

 the earth, until the unsuspicious birds come near enough 

 to be shot. A person whose dress does not harmonize 

 with the landscape in hue, rarely gets an opportunity of 

 bagging them, unless he is concealed in a blind made of 

 straw, in a thicket, or in a sink-box, for the goose, not- 

 withstanding its supposed doltish intellect, is one of the 

 most vigilant creatures that traverse the air, and is 

 almost sure to notice any unusual color on the ground, 

 and to give it a wide berth. This is why experienced 

 hunters wear white clothing in winter, and drab or buff 

 at other times of the year. Large numbers of geese are 

 killed near air holes in the early part of winter, by 

 making blinds of ice blocks, but this system is so much 

 like pot-hunting that few sportsmen care for it. Wh(!ro 

 the birds are not molested much, they become so tame 

 that a man may ride to within shooting distance and 

 bang away at them, for they seem to consider that a per- 

 son on horseback or in a wagon is much less dangerous 

 than one afoot. 



Geese are generally found feeding on the plains and 

 stubble-fields during the day, especially in wet or murky 

 weather, but they return to the sand bars of rivers or the 

 sea-shore, and the margins of ponds and lakes, in the 

 evening. Many are slaughtered on their roosting 

 grounds on moonlit nights, as they will often stand a 

 good deal of shooting before they decide upon leaving 

 for safer quarters. This is particularly the case if food 

 is scarce, if they have been shot at much in the fields, or 

 if the weather is cold and boisterous. "Fire-hunting" 

 them is a favorite method with some persons, who prefer 

 large bags to sport. These men build fires on the roost- 

 ing grounds of the birds on dark nights, using the driest 



