476 DUCK SHOOTING. 



leased by the widow of the late Commodore Spence, of 

 the United States Navy. This lease, which was per- 

 petual, was later, by order of court, transferred to 

 James Moir, a Scotchman, for annual rent of less than 

 seven hundred dollars. The lease was afterward pur- 

 chased by Colonel William Slater, and was held by 

 him and by his widow and her estate until about 1880, 

 when the present club took hold of it. 



There were shooting and a club at Carroll's Island as 

 long ago as 1830. This continued under Colonel Sla- 

 ter, and in 1856 the Carroll's Island Company was in- 

 corporated, with Wm, Slater, C. Beatty Graf, Wm. P. 

 Lightner, Robert Purveance, Jr., Geo. Hugh Graf, 

 Wm. F. Giles and Geo. G. Brewer as incorporators. 



The membership of the present club is made up of 

 men from New York, Philadelphia and Baltimore. 



When the new club took possession of Carroll's 

 Island it rebuilt the club house, which is large and com- 

 fortable. The ammunition house is at a distance from 

 the club house ; it is lighted by a reflector from outside, 

 and the usual precautions against fire and lights which 

 are employed in all modern clubs have long been in 

 practice there. 



In old times this was the heart of the best shooting 

 in Chesapeake Bay. All the shooting was done from 

 the shore, much of it from blinds along the marsh, and 

 over decoys; yet often for a time there was no. decoy 

 shooting, and all ducks secured were killed from the 

 bar which runs out into the Gunpowder River from 

 the island. The blinds from which the shooting was 



