SHOOTING IN THE ICE. 455 



in which the hunters are to conceal themselves. The 

 decoys are anchored at a convenient distance, and the 

 boat, drawn into a little cove of the ice, is covered with 

 a white cloth. One does not have to wait long for a 

 shot, as the ducks fly in great numbers. The cold is 

 often intense, and the frozen spray stiffens the clothing 

 and covers everything with an icy armor. A wind 

 break of blocks of ice is often an absolute necessity. 

 But, despite cold and discomfort, it is sport, and every- 

 thing goes. 



Large numbers of ducks are shot in this way, but not 

 all the slain are retrieved, for the launching of a boat in 

 the wintry seas is a dangerous operation and a capsize 

 is something to be carefully avoided. 



SHOOTING IN THE ICE. 



On many of our northern streams, when the ice 

 breaks up in the spring, and even during a thaw in win- 

 ter, ducks are frequently found searching for feeding 

 grounds that have not already been exhausted. In 

 such places, fairly good gunning can be had by men 

 who are willing to work hard, and to endure discom- 

 forts of cold and wet. Mild, still weather is desirable 

 for work of this kind ; while usually, of course, the 

 worse the weather the better for ducking. The boat 

 used for this is either a low, flat-decked ducking boat, 

 or something in the nature of a Barnegat sneak-boat, 



