FURTHER NOTE ON CHESAPEAKE BAY DOG. 613 



flying very well. Flock after flock of widgeon came 

 up to the decoys in the narrow pond, where Mr. Purdy 

 was tied out, and a number of birds were being killed. 

 The flocks came so frequently that it was impossible 

 to recover the wounded birds, which fell in the marsh, 

 but the gunner, his boatman and Harrison watched 

 them, and counted five that went down at different 

 distances before the flight lulled. When the birds 

 stopped flying, the dog, without a word from any one, 

 started off across the pond and into the marsh, and 

 making five trips, brought back to the blind five 

 widgeons, which he had marked down and recovered. 

 Then he lay down by his pile of ducks. 



To any one familiar with the work of these dogs, the 

 accurate marking down of the birds will not appear re- 

 markable. But that he should have made five trips and 

 brought five birds — all that there were — and then 

 should have stopped, does seem odd. Those who wit- 

 nessed the performance believe that he counted the 

 birds, and knew when he had brought them all, but 

 perhaps it is not necessary to assume this. 



What seems possible enough is that the dog, having 

 marked down these birds, may have carried in his mind 

 the different directions in which they went, and have 

 remembered them all. For a man, this would be a 

 difficult task, but it must be remembered that the dog 

 had all his life been accustomed to doing just this 

 thing, and the recalling of the several spots in which 

 the birds fell may have been natural enough. 



Again, it is conceivable that the dog may have gone 



