AN " OLD DODGE." THE MALLAED. 261 



Closer and closer we cowered behind our screen ; nearer 

 and nearer the game came within reach of our destructive 

 weapons. Our breath was held, and our impatience curbed, 

 till the leaders of the host were but forty yards off, when 

 both simultaneously rose and poured in four barrels. In a 

 moment after, seven birds were struggling or laying dead 

 upon the water, while the remainder, instead of instantly 

 leaving, hovered over their stricken comrades till both of 

 us had obtained a second double shot. I have long known 

 plover to be guilty of such foolish want of regard to their 

 safety, never previously brent. 



THE MALLAED. 



In my protracted rambles about the world, I know no 

 portion where the mallard cannot be found. I have always 

 been passionately fond of wild-fowl shooting, and the bags 

 that I have made in the United States and Canada of this, 

 noble bird far exceeded those obtained elsewhere. As wild- 

 fowl are nearly all migratory by inclination, or are com 

 pelled to be so from the changes of the seasons, it is of 

 great importance that you should visit the various haunts 

 at the proper periods of the year. However, the rule is, 

 for successfully carrying on war against the web-footed 

 families, go north in summer and south in winter. In 

 June, July, and August, the wild rice-fields of the numerous 

 labyrinths of lakes of Minnesota and the North-West 

 territory, perfectly swarm with wild-fowl, while in December 

 and January they will be found equally numerous on the 

 j&rpe bayous and lagoons that surround the mouth of the 

 Mississippi. Of course, in the intermediate portion of 



