CANADA GOOSE-SHOOTING. 287 



cave off and fall into the river with a loud splash. 

 And still better than this, they like to sit on some out- 

 stretched sand-bar, whose long arm extends far into 

 the channel, away from land, from willows and all 

 places that could afford concealment to the hunter. On 

 these bars, covering acres of surface, where the flowing 

 water and sand have frozen together, the ice tena- 

 ciously holds, and floating cakes urged and forced 

 along by the clashing mass are hurled up, piling ten to 

 thirty feet high on the out-jetting point. This is the 

 spot they like best in all the river, for they feel com- 

 paratively safe here. 



The hunter in the scull-boat, attracted to this place 

 of resort by frequent honks, starts for them, first 

 " trimming " his boat. The boat is low, and her decks 

 extend but a slight distance above the water, decked 

 over at bow and sides. There is abundant room to make 

 an excellent blind. This is done by sprinkling mud 

 and sand over bow and sides for a foundation, then 

 arranging the cakes of ice on bow and sides with great- 

 est care, so that when coming down the river, the boat 

 will seem like a small ice-cake, drifting with the current. 

 The ice must be placed on the bow high enough to 

 hide the sculler and companion from the birds. On the 

 side, thin sheets of ice, resting on the outer combing, 

 a combing half an inch high at the outside, then leaning 

 against the five-inch gunwale more ice, until the 

 whole resembles an ice floe, about 12 feet long, four feet 

 wide and from ten inches to two feet high. When the 

 boat is finished it must be trimmed with the greatest 

 nicety, so that when the two hunters are in position, it 

 will be perfectly balanced, with the boat's nose or bow 

 well loaded down, as it then sculls and handles easier. 



