RIVER SHOOTING. 335 



the birds then cease to fly and resort to the open water 

 and sit there until dark. 



RIVER SHOOTING. 



River shooting is practiced with great effect in many 

 parts of the country where narrow streams, flowing 

 through deep beds, permit the gunner to walk along 

 their winding course, and to shoot the ducks as they 

 rise before him. In the same way, in the South, and 

 indeed in many portions of the country, from the 

 Southern States to California, river shooting is prac- 

 ticed by paddling along narrow streams, keeping close 

 to the banks, and shooting the ducks as they get up. 

 In this last form of the sport two men are usually re- 

 quired, one man sitting in the bow with his gun, the 

 other handling the paddle in the stern. Usually the 

 gunners take turns, one paddling for an hour, and then 

 being relieved by his companion, and shooting for an 

 hour. In the narrow sloughs of Ohio, Illinois, Indiana 

 and Minnesota the same sport is practiced. During the 

 migration, these sloughs, which are often bordered by 

 wild rice, or, at all events, produce abundant vegetable 

 food, are resorted to by the ducks, and often the 

 stream's course is so tortuous that the birds rise not 

 more than twenty or thirty yards before the boat. 

 Shooting of this description is usually easy, since the 

 birds spring into the air and give the gunner a straight- 



