76 The Confessions of a 'Poacher. 



Of all species of poaching, that which en- 

 sures a good haul of pheasants is most beset 

 with difficulty. Nevertheless there are silent 

 ways and means which prove as successful in the 

 end as the squire's guns, and these without break- 

 ing the woodland silence with a sound. The 

 most successful of these I intend to set down, 

 and only such will be mentioned as have stood 

 me in good stead in actual night work. Among 

 southern woods and coverts the pheasant 

 poacher is usually a desperate character ; not 

 so in the north. Here 

 the poachers are 

 more skilled in 

 woodcraft, and 

 are rarely sur- 

 prised. If the 

 worst comes 

 to the 

 worst 

 it is a 

 fair 



stand-up fight with fists, and is usually blood- 

 less. There is little greed of gain in the night 



