CANADA GOOSE-SHOOTING. 295 



tling wind, the flurrying snow, the obscure fields, seen 

 indistinctly in the faint light of approaching day, 

 .all seemed cold and cheerless. Suddenly George called, 

 u Mark, south ! " A heavy shaped line was pointed 

 toward us. A guttural honk came from the leader, 

 he received an answer from George which was so true, 

 that although I expected it, it fairly startled me. On 

 they came, now straight ahead, then the strong wind 

 would veer them. With renewed and extra strength 

 they came against it, arising to a greater height in cross- 

 ing the fence. Too far for me, but George quickly 

 arose, two loud reports rang out in the blustering air, 

 and two geese fell dead. A pretty double shot. At 

 the report of the gun the flock tried to escape. The 

 strong wind caught them, arid like a flash they were 

 carried a hundred yards, when they again advanced, far 

 to our right, honking excitedly. 



It was now daylight, and the flight was at its thickest. 

 We lay hidden in behind the fence, improving every 

 opportunity. Our decoys were near us in the pasture, 

 but did us but little good, the geese flying around them, 

 then alighting in the centre of the field, seeming to be 

 afraid of the fence, we saw the trouble, but it was too 

 late to remedy it, for geese were in sight nearly all 

 the time. Our shots were long and high, but we were 

 as successful as could be expected, situated as we were. 

 A large flock coming right over. We knocked down 

 three ; then from another we would get one, sometimes 

 two and from one flock I succeeded in getting three, 

 two with my first, one with my second barrel. At this 

 time the sun had risen, the geese had all left the river. 

 We knew the shooting had stopped, and picking up the 

 dead, found we had ten. Afterwards picking up an- 

 other, we saw fall far from us, fully half a mile. 



