THE WILD GOOSE. 335 



difficult thing to do, but when as liable to come into the 

 field from one direction as another, one must be some- 

 thing of a contortionist and acrobat to be in the best 

 position to shoot every time. It is also much more 

 difficult to judge of distances while lying flat in a stubble, 

 or below it, than when sitting upright in a pit. This 

 reminds me that the hardest lesson you will find to learn 

 is to know when the geese are within reasonable killing 

 distance. Ordinarily, a flock of geese 100 yards away do 

 not look to be over fifty, and the deception is even greater 

 when coming head on. You will find your greatest fault 

 and lack of success if success is lacking will be due 

 to shooting too soon. I can not impress this fact too 

 strongly. Let them come in. When once headed for the 

 decoys, let them approach as close as they will before you 

 move a muscle to shoot. When they sheer off, or have 

 gotten as near to you as it is possible for them to get, then 

 let them have it. Just as long as they keep approaching, 

 don't you move, no matter if you are positive that they 

 are within fifty feet of you; otherwise you are extremely 

 liable to discover that as a goose-hunter you are not a 

 glittering success. Often the geese will come into a field, 

 and pass within 100 yards or so of the decoys with 

 the appearance of not having seen them, or, if they have, 

 with no intention of coming any nearer something after 

 the manner of canvas-back ducks. Keep low, give them 

 time to circle around a few times to investigate the gen- 

 eral appearance of things, and your patience will be 

 rewarded. They are just as anxious to see what that 

 other flock (decoys) have got for supper as you are to 

 have them. Don't spoil it all. 



The flight of wild geese is very deceptive. To the 

 casual observer, they have the appearance of a slow and 

 lazy flight. Nothing could be further from the truth. 

 The rapidity with which they can cover five or ten miles 



