248 AMERICAN GAME BIED SHOOTING, 



sail-boat, a steam-cutter, a sneak-box, or a sneak-boat. 

 The sneak-boat used in Western streams and lakes is a 

 narrow, canoe-shaped craft, which has a length of from 

 ten to fourteen feet, and is so light in draught that it 

 would almost float in a basin of water. The wild-fowler 

 lies on his back in this, and by sculling over his left 

 shoulder with his right hand, and with a short oar which 

 is run through a hole in the stern, he is able to bear 

 down on the feeding gaggles, as the boat seems to them 

 to be nothing more dangerous than a floating log. They 

 soon learn their mistake, however, for the man reserves 

 his fire until he is in their midst, and then opens uj^on 

 them with two heavily-loaded guns, which may bring 

 from ten to thirty out of every gaggle or skein, and as 

 these are worth from six to twelve dollars per dozen, 

 wholesale, it is easy to see that tlie business of killing 

 them is a paying one. Some persons who try to steal 

 upon the birds in a boat in open water, cover the bow 

 and sides of their craft with reeds or bushes to give them 

 as innocent an appearance as possible, and are thus en- 

 abled to scull upon a gaggle before their character is de- 

 tected. They are more successful at night and in the 

 evening or morning, than at any other time, as the 

 birds are then easily approached; and by moving from 

 gloom to light, the roosts can be seen long before the 

 inmates have any idea of the danger that threatens them. 

 Shooting them over live decoys from a sneak-box or a 

 blind is considered legitimate sport, as it gives them a 

 chance for their lives. The sneak-box is simply a rude 

 wooden coffin or float, about six feet in length, in which 

 the wild-fowler lies while awaiting the arrival of the 

 birds. It is buried in the ground until it is even with 

 the surface, generally near some spot which the geese fre- 

 quent or pass over in their morning and evening flights, 

 and where they are sure to see and hear tlie tame decoys 

 employed to lure them to death. These decoys are con- 



