BATTERY SHOOTING. 435 



was the next day before he would venture within arm's 

 length of either of the gunners. 



In this marsh were found many sorts of ducks. Mal- 

 lards were perhaps the most numerous, and next after 

 these came the red-breasted teal. Pintails, shovellers, 

 redheads and greenwings were common, and later in 

 the season geese were often killed. The gadwall was 

 not a common bird. 



On certain marshes in New York State, and no doubt 

 elsewhere, when the water is high, marsh shooting 

 similar to this is practiced with a boat, which is shoved 

 through the grass and the weeds precisely as the skiff 

 of the rail-shooter is shoved through the corngrass or 

 wild rice. In bygone years we have seen good bags of 

 ducks made in just this way, the gunner standing in 

 the bow while the shover moves the boat forward 

 quietly through the rustling grass. 



This work of wading the marshes is better practiced 

 only in mild weather, since it is practically impossible 

 to keep dry while doing it. 



BATTERY SHOOTING. 



The battery is usually set out — "rigged" is the com- 

 mon term — in shoal water, from three to six feet in 

 most places, although sometimes in the South they are 

 put out in much deeper water. When this is done, 

 however, the wind may make trouble for the gunner. 



