A duck's stratagem. \(^i 



indeed through it, to the very bottom, that scarcely a 

 fish could be coaxed from his hiding-place. Onr 

 boats and ourselves also threw strong shadows, suffi- 

 cient to frighten less wary fish than trout. We how- 

 ever took enough for breakfast, and started for home. 

 By the way, is it not a little singular that fish should 

 eat their own flesh; the/r5^ one we caught served as 

 bait for the others. 



As we were returning, Mitchell left the main 

 stream and entered a narrow and shallow channel, 

 that by making a circuitous route, reached the lake 

 close beside the outlet. Passing silently along, we 

 roused up a brood of ducks among the reeds. The 

 mother first took the alarm, and seeing at a glance 

 that she could not escape with her young, left them 

 and fluttered out, directly ahead of our boat. She 

 then began to make a terrible ado, striking her wings 

 on the water, and screaming, and darting backwards 

 and forwards, as if dreadfully wounded and could be 

 easily picked up. I instinctively raised my rifle to 

 my shoulder : then thinking the shot might frighten 

 the deer we were after, I turned to Mitchell and in- 

 quired if I should fire. " I guess I wouldn't," he 

 replied ; ''she has young ones." My gun dropped in 



I 



