i8o The Water-fowl Family 



first aggregation is composed largely of young 

 birds. On their arrival, tame, readily coming to 

 decoys, hundreds are killed. The most popular 

 method of shooting coots, for this is their Yankee 

 name, is from a line of boats. The mouth of a 

 harbor or some projecting point is the place 

 selected, and with the first streak of light comes 

 the shooting. A bunch of birds low down over 

 the water appear in sight, looking black and 

 large ; now you hear their soft whistling close to 

 the boats, they rise a little but still keep on, and 

 the first shot is straight overhead. The rear 

 birds swerve just enough to give your next-door 

 neighbor a chance ; more lucky than you, his first 

 bird falls with a heavy splash, but dives out of 

 harm's way and it is almost useless to chase him. 

 Soon they come thick and fast, your gun grows 

 hot, and for a time the booming of guns is echoed 

 and reechoed along the shores of the sound. 

 Occasionally a bird loses all idea of sensible direc- 

 tion and passes over the entire line, calling forth 

 both barrels from every boat, and then whistles 

 by safe over the last one : hard hit likely, but 

 well able to continue. They are strong and diffi- 

 cult to kill, seldom giving up unless mortally hurt, 

 and then often diving, not to reappear. The only 

 excuse for killing these birds is that somebody, 

 who knows less about coots than you do, will be 

 willing to eat them ; but this individual is never 



