SPORT ANCIENT AND MODERN 



the estuary, but meeting with two small 

 flocks of geese in flight, we concluded that 

 these birds had all left their feeding grounds. 

 We therefore separated, proceeding in oppo- 

 site directions. We had not parted more than 

 fifteen minutes when I observed a dark line in 

 the distance between the approaching daylight 

 and myself. I immediately settled into posi- 

 tion and soon discovered that the dark object 

 was a flock of barnacle geese. I shaped my 

 course to a scaur which was strewn with large 

 stones two or three feet high, knowing that if 

 once I could gain the shadow of these 

 stones the rest would be comparatively easy. 

 Working nicely within range of about 150 

 geese, I soon placed a pound of number 

 one shot in their midst, and had the satis- 

 faction of bagging thirty-eight birds, besides 

 two cripples which I secured the following 

 morning. My friend, the late Rev. H. A. 

 Macpherson, informed me of a tantalizing 

 experience that befell a local wildfowler 

 named Smith in January, 1895, when the 

 Wampool and Waver were full of floating 

 ice. He donned a white shirt and white cap, 

 covered his punt with snow, and paddled 

 down the Wampool an hour before the tide 

 had ceased to ebb. At first the ruse seemed 

 likely to succeed, for he fell in with a flock of 

 barnacle geese, but just as he had worked 

 within about 80 yards of the birds his punt 

 went aground upon a great block of ice. He 

 tried to push forward and he attempted 

 to retreat, but he found his punt was fast. 

 Even then he might have killed a few birds, 

 but he wanted to rake the whole flock. He 

 therefore made up his mind to wait for the 

 tide to flow. When the tide turned it moved 

 his punt, but only turned her round, so that 

 the gun pointed up stream, while the birds 

 were now behind him ; before he could right 

 her position the entire gaggle of geese rose off 

 the sands and flew away. The unsuccessful 

 fowler expressed an opinion that had his 

 efforts prospered he would have made ' sic a 

 mollment of them ! ' Thomas Peal killed six- 

 teen barnacle geese with his shoulder-gun 

 upon Newton Marsh, 7 February, 1894, in 

 two shots. A westerly gale was blowing at 

 the time with heavy rain. The wildfowler 

 wormed his way on foot up the creeks until 

 he got close to the birds, killing nine birds 

 at one shot and seven at another. He 

 returned home at the end of the day with 

 nineteen dead geese and one winged bird. It 

 rarely happens that such a large bag of these 

 geese is made during the day, but the late 

 Alfred Smith, an enthusiastic sportsman and 

 good naturalist, made some very good bags 

 on Rockliffe Marsh. He and three brother 



gunners together shot seventeen barnacle 

 geese on that marsh one evening in Novem- 

 ber, 1883. He often related how on a 

 certain memorable occasion he crawled a long 

 distance along the side of the Eden, in pur- 

 suit of a flock of these geese. Unfortunately, 

 just as he got within range of the birds, he 

 stepped into a dangerous quicksand, from 

 which he extricated himself with the greatest 

 difficulty. In the struggle to release himself 

 his gun became choked with wet sand, and 

 he had the mortification of observing the 

 birds at close quarters without being able to 

 bag one of their number. 



Mallard. The bird which affords the best 

 sport to the wildfowler in Cumberland is the 

 mallard or common wild duck, and I rejoice 

 to say that this bird appears to be upon the 

 increase. On referring to my notes I find 

 that the number of wild duck which fell to 

 my gun in the winter of 19001 exceeded 

 the bags of previous seasons by the substantial 

 majority of sixty-five. For many years these 

 birds were less plentiful upon the Solway 

 Firth than wigeon. The time at which 

 mallards arrive varies with the particular 

 season. In some years my best bags have 

 been secured between the middle and end of 

 November. In 1900, on the other hand, 

 mallard were more numerous during the 

 month of February than they had ever been 

 before, at least in my own experience. The 

 immense extent of sand which is exposed at 

 low water makes it difficult for the wild- 

 fowler to get a shot at any large flocks which 

 may be present. Again, at high water there 

 are so many small bunches of wild ducks 

 scattered about that it is very difficult to reach 

 the big flocks without alarming these out- 

 posts, which if disturbed communicate their 

 alarm to the main bodies. I have met with 

 so many reverses in shooting mallard that I 

 now make it my rule to shoot the first small 

 bunch that comes within range, as half a 

 dozen mallards in the punt are worth a dozen 

 on the water. The most difficult bird to 

 retrieve when pinioned is a female wild duck. 

 If the water happens to be rough the chances 

 are that, when once she has gone under, you 

 will never see her again, for when she rises to 

 the surface to breathe her body will be still 

 submerged and only her bill will appear. The 

 mallards which frequent the shores of the 

 Solway Firth in hard weather may often be 

 seen at the entrance to small runners of 

 water, in which they obtain small shell-fish. 

 The dietary of those that I have opened has 

 generally proved to consist of small and 

 decayed potatoes, grain, beans, worms, and 

 minute species of shellfish. 



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