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CHAPTER XXU—Contimced. 



YANGTZE NOTES. 



. 



ICHANG. 



By E. a. Aldridge, M.R.C.S. 

 /. M. Customs. 



ICHANG (^ ^) is situated on the left bank of the Yangtze about 370 miles above Hankow. 

 * Its surroundings are picturesque in the extreme, but the place offers few attractions to the 

 sportsman. There is, however, some fair snipe shooting to be had in the low-lying paddy 

 and in the cotton fields when the migrants put in their spring and autumn appearances. 



The autumn snipes begin to arrive in the middle of August, and the best shooting is 

 to be had in September in the paddy stubbles and the cotton fields. The number of birds 

 depends greatly upon whether or not September has been a wet month. In April, May and 

 the early part of June a certain number of spring snipes may be bagged, for they seem to 

 stay longer with us than in ports farther east, and an occasional bird is seen during the 

 winter. With regard to pheasant shooting, except as an inducement for a long tramp, it is 

 hardly worth the trouble to look for these birds in the immediate neighbourhood of Ichang. 

 An odd bird may, however, be flushed anywhere on the surrounding hills. The absence of 

 sufficient feeding ground seems to be the reason for their scarcity. At the Tiger's Tooth 

 Gorge, north bank of the river, I have brought down at the most three or four in a morning 

 among the long grass, firs, small oaks and chestnuts. At Nanto (^ ^) 16 miles up-river, 

 the same number may perhaps be got. At Hope Island and thereabouts, below Chihchiang, 

 a good bag has been made, but it is necessary to go there before the grass and reeds are 

 cut. Native gunners supply our small market : 200 birds a season would be about the limit 

 of their sales. That they have found no better ground has been proved by accompanying 

 them into the country and paying well for all birds shot or even seen. The hills are mostly 

 of conglomerate formation, and their sides strewn with loose stones, so that the ground is 

 very rough for walking, while the grass then in seed may prove a perpetual source of 

 annoyance to both gun and dog, nothing being seen like it at the other ports on the Yangtze. 

 It is hardly right to shoot over long-haired dogs until the winter has well set in, for even 

 with constant attention to feet, mouth, ear and eyelids, it is almost impossible to prevent 

 small abscesses forming afterwards from the seeds working under the skin. In my experience 

 a short-haired French pointer has proved the best dog to work with. 



