CAROLINA RAIL. 115 



river at this season, you hear them squeaking in every 

 direction like young puppies ; if a stone be thrown 

 among the reeds, there is a general outcry, and a reiterated 

 kuk, kuk, kuk, something like that of a guinea fowl. 

 Any sudden noise, or the discharge of a gun, produces 

 the same effect. In the mean time none are to be seen, 

 unless it be at or near high water ; for, when the tide 

 is low, they universally secrete themselves among the 

 interstices of the reeds, and you may walk past, and 

 even over them, where there are hundreds, without 

 seeing a single individual. On their first arrival, they 

 are generally lean, and unfit for the table ; but, as the 

 reeds ripen, they rapidly fatten, and, from the 20th of 

 September to the middle of October, are excellent, and 

 eagerly sought after. The usual method of shooting 

 them, in this quarter of the country, is as follows: 

 The sportsman furnishes himself with a light batteau, 

 and a stout experienced boatman, with a pole of twelve 

 or fifteen feet long, thickened at the lower end to 

 prevent it from sinking too deep into the mud. About 

 two hours or so before high water, they enter the reeds, 

 and each takes his post, the sportsman standing in the 

 bow ready for action, the boatman, on the stern seat, 

 pushing her steadily through the reeds. The rail 

 generally spring singly, as the boat advances, and at a 

 short distance ahead, are instantly shot down, while 

 the boatman, keeping his eye on the spot where the bird 

 fell, directs the boat forward and picks it up as the 

 gunner is loading. It is also the boatman's business to 

 keep a sharp look-out, and give the word " Mark ! " when 

 a rail springs on either side without being observed by 

 the sportsman, and to note the exact spot where it falls 

 until he has picked it up ; for this once lost sight of, 

 owing to the sameness in the appearance of the reeds, 

 is seldom found again. In this manner the boat moves 

 steadily through and over the reeds, the birds flushing 

 and falling, the gunner loading and firing, while the 

 boatman is pushing and picking up. The sport continues 

 till an hour or two after high water, when the shallow- 

 ness of the water, and the strength and weight of the 



