253 KRIDER'S SPORTING ANECDOTES. 



ous shot, by the untimely presence of a single 

 black-duck among a flock of mallards or teal. 

 Again, on the other hand, how often, after hav- 

 ing arranged his reserved guns, and taken a last 

 look at the locks of his long torn, has he been 

 paddled by the cunning hand of a Wilson, a 

 Stinsman, an Everly or a Conner, under the 

 cover of some sinuosity in the shore, into the 

 very midst of a flock of sprig-tails, feeding on 

 the edge of a flat, at the bottom of some unfre- 

 quented cove ; and rising with mischief in his 

 heart, has poured the contents of the deadly 

 barrels in the thick of the affrighted game, 

 which, as if appalled at the sudden ap- 

 pearance of their enemy, cluster confusedly to- 

 gether as they rise : or early in October, how 

 often has he dropped down the river on some 

 clear, moonlight night, to set his stools, by the 

 first glimmer of dawn, on the upper end of Tini- 

 cum or Maiden islands, or upon Martin's or 

 Smith's bars, or some equally faA r orable spot for 

 the flight of the dusky duck, or the blue-winged 

 teal. Having hidden the skiff on the reedy 

 marsh, and heard the whir and rvhiz of passing 

 wings before it was yet sufficiently light to 

 shoot, as day breaks and the stools are more dis- 

 tinctly seen riding on the misty tide, with a 



