268 DUCK SHOOTING. 



regularly visited by the geese on their migrations, the 

 practice of shooting over live decoys has been carried 

 to its highest perfection. Here are used not only live 

 decoys tethered in the water and on the beach, but birds 

 are kept also on the shore behind the stand, which, on 

 the appearance of a flock of wild geese, are tossed into 

 the air, and fly down to the captive decoys in the water. 



On a little hill behind the stand a man sits concealed 

 in a blind ready to throw the fly-geese, which are taught 

 to fly out, circle about and finally alight in the water. 

 As each one of these birds is thrown, the tethered birds 

 on the beach and in the pens set up a loud honking, and 

 the combination of the calling and the flying birds 

 usually brings the approaching flock to the water. They 

 do not always alight near the decoys, but even if they 

 are quite a distance from shore, the flying birds and 

 those seen on the beach are likely to draw them in. 



A very clear idea of the success which attends this 

 mode of decoying at Silver Lake, where one stand of 

 live decoys numbers about 200 birds, can be had from 

 an account of it published some years ago in Forest and 

 Stream, which reads substantially as follows i 



On the afternoon of November 15th, Charles and I 

 went to the lake with our traps. On the way we met 

 William, the crack shot, and were told by him that the 

 boys had killed eighteen geese that morning. Our 

 blood was up at once, for we had not forgotten the last 

 hunt. 



After supper we stood in the sand, when from out 

 of the sky came the faint, long honk of geese. There 



