MORE ABOUT FOWLING ON LONGSHORE. 287 



This was enough for me, and I at once proposed 

 returning. Rather to my surprise, they were ready 

 at once ; so, although we started with great ex- 

 pectations, we came home without firing a shot. 



After a heavy gale, when the fowl can feed, 

 they do so voraciously ; and there is then a vast 

 amount for them to feed on, for the slub and 

 sand get stirred up to some considerable depth, and 

 a whole host of marine creatures with it. The 

 fowl then fill their stomachs and retire into the 

 marshes to rest in the most expeditious manner, 

 without coming so close inshore as they would 

 do at other times. There is another matter to be 

 taken into consideration. On those clear nights 

 when the sky is indigo - blue overhead, the fowl 

 can see you distinctly although you cannot see 

 them. I have found a moonlight night, with cloud- 

 scuds passing over the moon, the best time for 

 night-fowling, if you know where your companions 

 are posted, and can trust implicitly to their keep- 

 ing their places. Terrible accidents have taken 

 place from this important matter being neglected. 

 No shore-shooter, if he is worth the name, ever 

 places himself within range of his companion's 



