306 AMERICAN GAME BIRD SHOOTING. 



what caused it, we were surprised to find ourselves almost 

 in the midst of a huge bed of ducks, which must have 

 numbered several thousand. This unexpected meeting 

 stupefied us for a moment or two, as we did not antici- 

 pate such good fortune, but even if we had known the 

 ducks were there I doubt if we could have seen them, as 

 the moon had sunk behind the forest, so that the stream, 

 which was as tranquil as a mill-pond, gave back none of 

 its reflections. 



On recovering our wits we seized our guns and fired 

 four barrels into the mass of feathers that whirled above 

 us in the air, and a moment later we could hear the 

 splashes of several ducks as they struck the water, and 

 the frightened squawks of the crippled as they fluttered 

 helplessly down the river. We set about picking up our 

 birds at once, and in this we were aided considerably by 

 one of the retrievers that had remained in the boat, seem- 

 ingly asleep, and which went to work without even being 

 asked to do so. Through his exertions and our own, we 

 managed to secure seven dead ducks and two cripples, but 

 these, evidently, were not all we had brought down, judg- 

 ing by the splashes in the river, and the opportunity we 

 had for making a large bag. Having concealed the boat, 

 we returned to the blind with our trophies, and received 

 the congratulation of our friends for bringing them such 

 early indications of good luck. The guide said he " reck- 

 ned " we should have *' piles of shootin'," and he also 

 "reckned"the wind would freshen about sunrise, and 

 that the ducks would come booming towards us; but he 

 wasn't "sartain sure" of the wind, as "it mought, and 

 then it moughtn't freshen afore noon, or maybe evenin'." 

 His prophesying was soon cut short l)y a large dark cloud, 

 from which emanated a loud whistling sound, that passed 

 overhead at a high altitude, but when it cleared the blind 

 it sunk rapidly downward until it struck the water, not 

 three hundred yards from our position. 



