THE DKOWNED LANDS. 217 



forehead, as he was wont sometimes to do when m earn- 

 est, and raised liis rifle to his shoulder. A second of 

 pause, and the crack of the piece sounded. The duck 

 had arisen perpendicularly until it had reached a height 

 that gave it free passage over the reeds, and then taking 

 its direction, was bearing away in a straight line, gra- 

 dually decreasing in size as its velocity increased. At 

 the report of Mike's rifle it fell over and over, striking 

 the water with a splash, while in the air where it was 

 flying one or two feathers floated away on the wind. 



" "Well, done, that !" cried Jackson. 



Lou said nothing, but her kindling eye rested on the 

 marksman, while a smile lit her whole face, and the party 

 separated for the hunt. 



The Drowned Lands were formed by the sea banking 

 up with a sandbar the outlet of a stream that ran through 

 a low country. This natural dam flooded the lowlands 

 on either side for several miles, and the soil being sandy, 

 with a slight deposit of alluvial matter from the descend- 

 ing fresh waters, many varieties of grass and aquatic 

 plants sprang up, and formed attractive food for the 

 myriads of water-fowl that here passed the winters. 

 Patches of cane grew on the marshy land not yet covered 

 with water. Osiers and rushes sprung from the shallow 

 water, and a long grass, with a tassel like the onion, 

 opened its crown and scattered its oily seeds over the 

 water. Now and then a floating log, or some still living 

 bulb that had come down the stream had taken root in 

 the shallows, and formed an island, on which rose one or 



10 



