The Confessions of a ^Poacher. 77 



enterprise, and liberty by flight is the first 

 thing resorted to. 



It is well for the poacher, and well for his 

 methods, that the pheasant is rather a stupid 

 bird. There is no gainsaying its beauty, how- 

 ever, and a brace of birds, with all the old 

 excitement thrown in, are well worth winning, 

 even at considerable risk. In a long life of 

 poaching I have noticed that the pheasant has 

 one great characteristic. It is fond of wan- 

 dering ; and this cannot be prevented. Watch 

 the birds : even when fed daily, and with the 

 daintiest food, they wander off, singly or in 

 pairs, far from the home coverts. This fact I 

 knew well, and was not slow to use my 

 knowledge. When October came round they 

 were the very first birds to which I directed 

 my attention. Every poacher observes, year 

 by year (even leaving his own predaceous paws 

 out of the question), that it by no means follows 

 that the man who rears the pheasants will 

 have the privilege of shooting them. There is 

 a very certain time in the life of the bird 

 when it disdains the scattered corn of the 



