26 UPLAND SHOOTING. 



frequent the whole coast. It is expert in diving, and 

 goes under "shuts the door" so quickly that it is hard 

 to shoot. Its flesh is tough and fishy, like that of the 

 coot. It accompanies the coot in its migrations, and its 

 food and habits are similar. Wherever there is an 

 abundance of small clams and mussels, there the old 

 squaws select their feeding-places. They remain with 

 us till the weather is severe enough to form ice, and so 

 prevent their getting any more food. Long Island Sound 

 abounds with them, where long lines of boats are ranged 

 for their destruction; but their chief flight extends along 

 the open sea-coast, and they may be seen at all times 

 skimming across the ocean waves or winging high in air 

 their ceaseless flight. Sometimes they will pass in wavy, 

 wide, long lines, like an immense undulating serpent, 

 and at other times passing on in dense phalanx and 

 solid columns, like an immense army. Neither the 

 broad-bills (scaup-duck) nor the brant seem to join in 

 their flight. In numbers the coot and old squaw tribes 

 seem to be countless, exceeding any species of fowl that 

 sweep the air. They have these in the North, on sandy 

 islands, as well as the curlew and others of the snipe 

 tribe, where they find their food in the salt deeps, and 

 deposit their eggs in the sand, and these find deadly foes 

 in the provincial poachers, who rob their nests of the 

 eggs without remorse. These men land on the sandy 

 islands at sundown, and then trample all over the sands, 

 destroying all eggs that cover the ground, and on the 

 following morning they revisit the spot and collect all 

 the fresh-laid eggs, with which they load their small ves- 

 sels, and so proceed with their plunder to Boston or 

 other city markets. The brant and geese, however, are 

 more wary, do not resort to those sandy islands, but 

 retire to inaccessible swamps and marshes, where they 

 deposit their eggs and raise their young in perfect 



