THE CANVAS-BACK DUCK. 419 



passing steamboat, and then, flying, make an almost com- 

 plete circuit around the boat, to see if there wasn' t some- 

 thing they had overlooked. I have seen them alight far 

 outside of decoys, then, after gradually swimming nearer, 

 at last boldly swim among the decoys, within fifty feet 

 of our concealed boat. It fills the soul of the hunter 

 with delight to see them dart down to decoys. Down they 

 come, aided by the strong wind, at a 100-mile gait, flying 

 past the decoys as if they did not see them, just out of 

 gun-range; then, with a wide circle, return up-wind with 

 a speed almost as great, and with set wing and unabated 

 speed slide into the water, shoving the water ahead of 

 them in crested foam. 



They are very cunning when wounded, great divers, 

 and cripples should at once be shot. There is no bird in 

 the world, that is hunted as a game bird, that so taxes the 

 endurance of a dog, and the dog, to retrieve them, must 

 be brave as a lion, entirely devoid of fear, hardy enough 

 to withstand cold, snow, and to retrieve among floating 

 ice as well as in early fall. When a man has a dog like 

 this, he is blessed with a jewel almost beyond price. 



I will forbear the discussion of the breed of dogs to 

 use, the kind of guns best adapted, and the charge to be 

 used, for Mr. John Gr. Smith, in his most excellent article 

 on " Inland Duck-shooting," has given his views on those 

 subjects, which fully accord with my many years of 

 experience in the pursuit of wild fowl. 



There is a charm in duck-shooting which defies the 

 pen of the most gifted writer to explain, and only the 

 experienced can enjoy; and to-day, as I write this article, 

 seeing before me the little group of red-heads that 

 appear in this article, they recall to mind many days in 

 departed years, when the frost had gilded the meadows, 

 and I had sat reclining in my boat, watching red-heads 

 basking in the October sun, while starlings and black- 



