IN THE PACIFIC. 115 



the back of the town for several miles parallel 

 to the sea-beach ; some of these lagoons are 

 brackish, others quite fresh, but in all of them 

 many varieties of duck are to be found, besides 

 snipe, curlew, ibis, spoonbills, coots, &c. 



Leaving the ship at daylight, it was no un- 

 common thing for one gun to bring back from 

 six to eight brace of ducks before breakfast, 

 by which time the sun is generally too hot to 

 make shooting agreeable. There are a few 

 alligators in these lagoons, but we never found 

 them molest us, although they would occa- 

 sionally take down a wounded duck or a dog. 



Notwithstanding that many native sports- 

 men, who make a living by shooting, frequent 

 these places, and kill a. great quantity of ducks, 

 there is always sufficient left to satisfy a 

 sportsman who goes out for exercise and plea- 

 sure, and is contented with a moderate bag. 

 There is also good flight- shoo ting to be had, 

 by posting oneself in the line of flight about 

 sundown, when the ducks come in from the sea 

 to the pools. 



i 2 



