288 FRANK FORESTER S FIELD SPORTS. 



pressed, he can pass with such ease and celerity among the 

 close stalks of the water-plants, that the sharpest dogs cannot 

 compel him to take wing ; and so thoroughly is he aware of this 

 advantage which he possesses, and. of the peril he runs in rising 

 before the gun, that it is utterly useless to attempt beating for 

 him with dogs on foot, or to think of walking, or kicking him up 

 from his lurking places, when the tide is down. 



As soon, however, as it has risen high enough to allow a boat 

 to be forced through the partially submerged, partially floating 

 grass, unable to run, from want of a solid substructure on which 

 to tread, or to swim, from the denseness of the vegetation, he 

 has no choice but to rise, which he does reluctantly, and not until 

 the bows of the boat are close upon him. 



His flioht is then slow and heavy, with the leefs hanffing: down, 

 and the wings heavily flapping, and it is rarely protracted to 

 above thirty or forty yards of distance. It is exceedingly easy 

 to kill him, therefore ; so much so, that as soon as he mastered 

 the slight difficulty of getting accustomed to the motion of the 

 boat, and got what a sailor would call his sea legs on board, the 

 mei'est tyro, who can cover a bird on the wing in the slowest 

 conceivable motion, and pull an inexpert trigger, can scarce fail 

 to bag many of these birds in succession. 



The boat used is a long, light, flat-bottomed, sharp-built skiff, 

 — flat to draw as little water as possible, sharp to force its way 

 through the heavy tangled water-plants. In the bow of this the 

 shooter stands erect, balancing himself in the ricketty rocking 

 egg shell, for it is little more, while the pole-man stands behind 

 him, propelling the vessel with his long punt-pole, the more ra- 

 pidly the better, through the weeds and grass. 



The pole-man's duty is to steer and urge the boat, both of 

 which are done by the same instrument, to mark the dead birds, 

 and collect them, and to get the advantage of all other boats for 

 his shooter. This marking is by no means an easy task ; as the 

 vast expanse of level green herbage affords no points, or marks, 

 by which to identify the spot where the l^ird has fallen ; and, 

 moreover, the reeds and grass are so thick, and ?o similar in 



