SEA DUCKS. 221 



within a mile or two of our blind or of our house, and the question 

 is how to get our boat there with its load of decoys. It may be 

 mentioned here that in duck shooting none but a flat boat should 

 be used, as this is the only one that can go in shallow water, be 

 hauled on shore or transported without trouble in a wagon. In 

 order conveniently to transport your boat over the ice, nail two 

 thin strips (about an inch thick) on the bottom of the boat, as run- 

 ners, and then thin them from the centre to each end, so as to form 

 a sort of oval. To these runners fasten iron about an inch wide, 

 and let this iron be what is termed half oval, (which can be pro- 

 cured at any hardware store). The runners should be as long as 

 possible, and placed about three or four inches from the edge of 

 the boat, and they should not be nearer than four inches to the end 

 or point of the boat. With a boat tixed in this manner, the least 

 force exerted will make it slide rapidly over the ice. In going with 

 a boat on the ice from one place to another, never pull it with a 

 rope by walking in front of the boat. This is the way that all 

 novices will act, but it is dangerous, from the following reason, 

 viz : that no matter how thick the ice may be, there are always 

 some thin places, and these will give away as soon as one gets on 

 them with his full weight ; in such a case you will get a good 

 ducking at the best, and run the risk of a more serious disaster. 

 To avoid all these risks, you should push the boat from behind by 

 placing your hands at the stern, and have your body thrown well 

 forward ; in this case, if the ice gives way, you can easily jump into 

 the boat without risk, or at the most have only a wet foot. 



It is still better to remain in the boat and to be provided with 

 a short pole armed at the end with a sharp hook, which you can 

 strike into the ice and by means of which the boat is easily moved 

 over the surface. By sitting well forward in the boat and using 

 this hook you can go along rapidly with very little exertion, and if 

 the ice should give away you are safe in the boat. In case you 

 break in, it is easy with an ice hook to pull your boat upon strong 

 ice. On arriving at the place where you wish to shoot, you can 

 either build a blind out of ice, or use the boat as a blind. In the 

 former case, pile up cakes of ice about three feet high, building a 

 semi-circular wall, and then by placing a few boards on the ice, 

 or bags of straw, you have a comfortable shooting place. If the 



