304 FRANK FORESTER S FIELD SPORTS. 



such a case must generally be a long one. The fowl are conti- 

 nually coming up and disappearing again, which confuses him, 

 and unless he knows the depth of the water, the only way to find 

 out how long they are under, is to watch the most marked or 

 detached of the flock, and then choose his devoted pair. If the 

 water is very shallow, those below are sure to perceive the flurry 

 made by their friends at the top, as soon as you commence 

 your last run, and instantly join them in their retreat. In such 

 cases it is always best to try for a distant sitting shot, fmm the 

 nearest refuge you can safely reach, among as many as you can 

 get in line. But by attempting this, there is always a risk of 

 losing the chance altogether, and it should never be resorted to 

 except under such circumstances, or with Dun-hirds,* who keep 

 more close together, and thus present a better opportunity for 

 a heavy sitting shot than any other divers. 



" Of all wild-fowl, a flock of Dun-birds is the most agreea- 

 ble to the sportsman's eye. They are the most stupidt of all 

 the diver race. I have even seen them, after having been 

 driven from their feeding ground, return in the face of the 

 shooter, who had only lain down without any covering or con- 

 cealment whatever ; they have begun diving again within thirty 

 yards, and of course given him a capital shot. I never wish for 

 assistance in manoeuvring any other kind of water-fowl, but 

 these may be herded like sheep ; and, if feeding on one side of 



* The Dun-bird, or Pochard of England, is the same as onr Red-head, Fuli- 

 gula Feriua, which is with ns a sea Duck, only frequenting the bays and 

 estuaries of large rivers ; although, like the Canvass-back, it is found westward 

 far inland, on the upper waters of the Ohio, Mississippi, and Missouri. 



t This agrees well with what we know of the facility with which they are 

 toled, as it is called, by the most simple artifice, even the waving of a hand- 

 kerchief, into gun-shot, on the waters of the Chesapeake Bay. I do not see 

 but that this hint may be found available in Bay-shooting. I know that Brant 

 Geese may be driven by a man rowing, at such a distance from them as not to 

 alarm them into taking wing, up to the very muzzle of a concealed sportsman's 

 gun. This is, I think, a recently discovered habit of the Brant ; but is now 

 regularly acted upon, on the south side of Long Island. On the first opportu- 

 nity I will certainly try it with Red-heads. 



