OF SHOOTING AND FISHING 71 
The sun was now up and as the day soon became 
exceedingly warm the mud bath gave me no incon- 
venience. Pintails now came in with some regu- 
larity and I soon had a dozen birds. Then a flock 
of mallards arrived from an unexpected quarter. 
They were all around me before my gun was ready. 
However, I managed to knock down three and 
shortly after bagged one of a pair coming straight 
towards me, having to dodge the falling bird, which 
struck the boat with great force. Large flocks of 
teal passed again and again, out of shot, and great 
numbers of ‘‘honkers’’—as Canada geese are called 
—moved to the north. Several flocks of spoon- 
bills coming close, increased my bag to over a score, 
and then a steady flight of baldpate took place up 
the overflow from the bay. Sometimes I could 
hear a mighty roar to the west, caused by thou- 
sands and thousands of ducks rising off the lake 
which lay in that direction. 
At noon I lunched, as there was a lull in the 
flight, and then picking up my birds piled them in 
the boat—forty odd. While thousands of ducks 
were in sight, only a few more had been added to 
the bag by 2: 00 Pp. M., when I started back. Cross- 
ing the shallows at the mouth of the overflow, many 
ducks passed close, but I was so engaged pulling 
the boat over the mud that they went their way un- 
harmed and it was not until the weed-grown banks 
were reached that I landed and waited for a shot. 
Everything going up was within reach, as they 
rarely flew over the mud, but kept close to the wa- 
ter. For thirty minutes the shooting was good, 
