THE BAG. 355 



mounds of grass, spear several musk-rats, which served 

 them as an occasional article of food. 



Late in the day Mr Shields and myself fell in with 

 two or three coveys of quails, but, as usual after the first 

 rise, they took to very severe cover. When they were 

 scattered, he imitated the call of the old bird to perfec 

 tion, and invariably obtained an answer, which enabled 

 us to have some sport. On meeting at my ambulance 

 when the day was done, the entire bag consisted of nine 

 quails or partridges, a couple of common wild ducks, a 

 wood duck, a couple of the English whole snipe, and a 

 squirrel. Of these the old frontier man to his share 

 obtained but the wood-duck, the squirrel, and, I believe, 

 one quail. Mr Shields, in addition to his being a 

 most agreeable companion, was a very neat and quick 

 shot at quail, but the hammer of one of his barrels 

 got wrong, which, of course, baffled him occasionally. 

 Davis never let me see him shoot, so of his proficiency I 

 am unable to speak ; but in kind attention and good 

 humour in those particulars, he vied with all my other 

 friends in St Joseph. My companions pretty well tired, 

 we drove home by a rougher road still. My mules 

 jumped some bad rills of water, and dragged the front 

 wheels into the mud and against the opposing bank up 

 to the axles with such a jerk as would have smashed any 

 vehicle of English manufacture ten times over. During 

 the day I had a view of a large bird of prey, but too far 

 for a shot, which Mr Shields told me was the bald-headed 

 eagle. From a dark night, and a darker road, we were 

 at last delivered to the still more undefined streets of the 

 town, intersecting the independently situated houses 

 through which I worked my way with the reins, Mr 



