412 SPORT IN EUROPE 



and to post the guns in the direct Hne of flight, which is Hable 

 to change every year, according to circumstances. The mode of 



proceeding is as follows : — 



Shooting- on ,.,, • i i • i 



J 1 Ti When notice has been oriven that sfeese are arrivme 



Lake Ilmen. t> ^ & 



in fair numbers, the members of the club come down 

 and settle in specially -prepared house -boats. The operations are 

 based on the fact that the lake is in flood at that time of year, 

 owing to the melting of the icebergs, and the country is deep under 

 water for miles around, where in summer one goes out snipe shoot- 

 ing. If the flood comes on gradually, higher ground remains for 

 some time above water, and these places, which appear to be islands, 

 and are, as a rule, covered with stubble, afford capital feeding grounds 

 for the geese, which settle on the ice in the middle of the lake, and 

 come over to roost to these isolated resorts at early dawn and in the 

 evening, sometimes remaining there all day. The guns are naturally 

 posted behind artificial " blinds " at these spots. Five or six tame 

 geese (or, better still, wild geese that have been caught) are tethered 

 by cords, and are placed round the gun. As soon as they see their 

 comrades approach, they invariably call them down, and the shooting 

 begins. In this manner five or six guns have succeeded in bagging 

 over three hundred geese in three days. I have myself secured over 

 thirty in less than an hour. Swans are also numerous ; eight have 

 fallen to my gun in one morning. A curious incident, which might 

 have ended in dramatic fashion, occurred to me one day as I was 

 lying low after geese on one of these small islands. It was thawing 

 fast, and birds were flying over regularly. In my excitement I 

 had failed to notice that the water was coming up fast, and was 



