466 DUCK SHOOTING. 



five miles wide, it was exceedingly difficult to find it in 

 this marsh unless one knew just where to go. The 

 writer of the account had made three previous efforts 

 to find the place, and was only now, at his fourth at- 

 tempt, successful. The journey to the marsh was made 

 in a yacht, and the island was reached after various 

 adventures. The writer, using the pseudonym "Duck 

 Call," goes on to say : 



About two o'clock Friday afternoon we came to an- 

 chor, and then we landed with three boats — one for the 

 pond, if we should find it, one for the slough which 

 was on the island, and one to ply between the yacht and 

 the shore. Our first move was to haul two boats over 

 a narrow strip of land to the island slough, which feat 

 we were not long in accomplishing, and were soon row- 

 ing along the slough with our boats loaded with de- 

 coys, ammunition, etc. 



My instructions were to row south along this 

 slough about half a mile, and then to land and strike 

 out directly east, and I would find the pond. Now, the 

 next question, how to judge a half-mile on this narrow, 

 winding slough, which had a generally southerly di- 

 rection. We kept on rowing until we came to an al- 

 most impassable obstacle in the shape of an immense 

 pile of drift tule, wood, etc., which completely blocked 

 the slough from bank to bank, so we decided that we 

 had rowed a mile ; at least, we did not intend to carry 

 over or around the mass of drift and stuff before us. 

 So, landing on the east bank, we tied both boats, and 



