254 PEAIKIE AND FOREST. 



ing, eighty-four brace of mallard duck. In the spring" 

 of 1866, when in Iowa, the first day of thaw, I 

 went for a stroll, scarcely expecting to find game ; 

 but when I got on the prairie land, I was perfectly 

 astonished at the clouds of wild-fowl arriving from the 

 south, some of the ponds being so densely covered 

 ^ with duck that the surface could scarcely be seen. 

 These birds were all coming from the south, where 

 they had passed the winter. If any of our readers 

 intend to go in for work, and do not object to roughing 

 it, I should most decidedly say that the wild-fowl 

 shooting is good enough to justify a visit ; but let him 

 not be induced to keep in the vicinity of settlements ; 

 but let him and his attendants commence housekeep- 

 ing on the margin of one of the northern Minnesota 

 lakes, if in summer (remember one that produces an 

 abundance of wild rice) ; but if the reverse season 

 should be selected, the southern lagoons of the 

 Mississippi will afford him abundant sport, and any of 

 the hospitable planters will deem it a favour if he will 

 do them the honour of making their home his. 



When living on the upper portion of Lake Coucha- 

 chin, Simcoe district, from the beauty of an afternoon 

 and the coolness of the weather, I was induced to 

 shoulder my gun, and start cross country to Lake St. 

 John, with|the hope of killing some ducks to add to 

 the fare of our already sumptuous table. I had never 

 visited this place before, and as I left the clearing, 



the last words of H were, " Take care you do not 



get lost." With an amount of confidence, " usually 

 denoting ignorance," I responded that I was too old 

 to be guilty of such a green proceeding. With little 

 trouble I found my destination. Game was abundant 



