172 WILD SPORTS IN THE SOUTH. 



interval of busy silence, there was nothing left on the board but a 

 portion of Bruin's carcass, the stew, and one half of the turkey-hen, 

 and these would have stood but little chance, had not there been 

 the remembrance of the ducks and snipe that were still smiling by 

 the fire. The stew had been pronounced good, but not as good as 

 it will be to-morrow morning, for a stew is like wine, and im- 

 proves by keeping, and a gentle cooking, oft repeated, makes it 

 more grateful still. 



" Now, Doctor, I think the time has come for the game, don't 

 you?" 



" I do. Let the game be served," said he, with a wave of his hand. 



" You will have to serve it yourself, then," replied Lou. " Rose 

 is eating among the men ; just hear them laugh ! " 



The musical notes of the other party sounded from the farther 

 side of the fire, where they were discoursing huge pieces of venison 

 and bear's meat with a series of cachinnations that resembled the 

 morning rejoicings of a gang of turkeys. 



" You, Rose ! the coffee ! " shouted Lou ; but the girl did not 

 hear, and Lou had to bring the coffee herself, with the Doctor and 

 Mike bearing the ducks and the snipe. The birds were laid out in 

 state on bark platters, and the coffee, after first removing the bag 

 of grounds, was carefully poured out in equal portions, in the five 

 tin cups that ornamented the table. 



There are various kinds of wild ducks, and various sensations 

 received from eating them. Sometimes they have been tough — 

 leathery tough, these were the old-wives ; it is generally only the 

 young wives that buy them; others there are that taste like 

 mackerel, these are the saw-bills and other fishy ducks ; others 

 that are dry, like corned beef, these are Pharaoh's lean kine ; others 

 again that are duck, but ruined in cooking, you would hardly 

 suspect them, under their stuffing of acrid sage and rancid onion, 

 to be duck, unless you saw their feet. The best manner of cooking 

 a duck is to broil it. Large ducks like canvas-backs and red-heads 

 are usually baked — picked dry, and not washed, a pinch of salt 

 placed inside to draw out the juices, then baked not more than 

 twenty minutes. Thus cooked, young fat wild duck of any of the 

 good varieties is peer to any game that ever feasted a hunter. 



