CANOE SHOOTING. 



pole to support him, and assists the dog in collecting 

 the killed and wounded ; taking care to secure first 

 the outside birds, lest they should escape to a creek. 

 During this time you are left in charge of the punt ; 

 and should, if possible, keep a look out, in order to 

 see if any more birds fall dead, or wounded, from the 

 company, before they have flown out of sight. 



The gunner generally calculates on bringing home 

 the half only of what he shoots, from the difficulty 

 of catching the whole of his winged birds, which he 

 calls cripples, and those that (to use the pigeon 

 phrase) fall out of bounds, which he calls droppers. 

 If birds fly up he generally declines firing, knowing 

 that the moment they are on wing they become so 

 much more spread* that he could seldom get more 

 than three or four, for which it would be hardly 

 worth while to disturb the mud ; particularly as 

 wigeon, by night, if not fired at, will probably settle 

 again at no great distance. 



The Poole men sometimes go partners, by which 

 means they can, with a very light punt, use two 

 poles at a time, and shove up a creek that is nearly 

 dry, and then fire two guns to a whispered word of 

 command. This they call a " double gun," and, by 

 such means, they, some years ago, could frequently 

 secure forty or fifty wigeon at a time. 



But, within these very few years, Poole harbour, 

 as well as almost every other part of the English 

 coast, has been ruined for all the poor hand-gunners, 

 by the introduction of punt-guns, that carry from 



