WILD-FOWL SHOOTING IN THE FENS. 295 



those who object to punting-, or prefer the sport on terra firma, and 

 who reside near the locality of fens, or a moor skirting the sea, or any 

 large river ; there is generally, during 1 winter, some good and certain 

 sport to be had by walking beside the largest of the dykes and delfs 

 which always abound in such localities ; the sportsman, however, must 

 be an early riser, and on his ground before daylight, as the birds ge- 

 nerally begin to move off to the open waters at morning-twilight, 

 returning again to their feeding-haunts at eventide. Where there 

 is good feed and a quiet retreat, wild-fowl will sometimes re- 

 main during the greater part of the day, or until disturbed ; and, 

 having once discovered such a spot, they are almost certain to 

 return to it again. 



Many and many are the pairs of duck, mallard, and teal that I 

 have brought down with the shoulder-gun before daylight, when 

 there was only just sufficient light to see an object clearly enough to 

 shoot it ; and without knowing, until my dog brought it to my feet, 

 what species of fowl it was. 



A dog is almost indispensable for this sport, not so much to find 

 the birds, but to fetch them when shot ; because they as frequently 

 fall on the opposite side of a wide ditch as on that from which the 

 sportsman fires. If he has no dog, he loses half his time in going 

 a round-about to pick up his birds j which, after all, he may en- 

 tirely lose, if only winged or wounded. A young dog, with a 

 good mouth, is apt to be outwitted by the cunning of an old duck 

 that is not very badly w r ounded ; as shown in the engraving 

 of f< Sambo's First Lesson in the Fens :" but, after Sambo had once 

 griped at the feathers of a wild-duck and found they were 

 not firm fixtures, I neve.r afterwards knew him allow a captive to 

 escape. 



The secret of success in this branch of our pastime is to rise early, 

 and be at the most likely dykes just at dawn of day. The sportsman 

 should move on briskly from one dyke to another ; and if there be 

 any wild- fowl among the sedges or reeds, and the dyke not very 

 extensive, they will rise without the assistance of a dog, or any extra 

 alarm from the sportsman ; whose object should be to pass on quickly, 

 that he may get as near to his birds as possible, and be the more 

 certain of killing. 



An old mallard requires a hard hit from the shot of a small 

 shoulder-gun ; and to carry a very large gun on such excursions, 

 would seriously interfere with the pleasure attending the sport, and 



