BIRDS OF KANSAS. 81 



them within gunshot of the hut or bush which is usually fixed 

 at a proper distance, and where the gunner lies concealed, ready 

 to take advantage of their distress. A Mr. Hill, who lives near 

 James River, at a place called Herring Creek, informs me that 

 one severe winter he and another person broke a hole in the ice 

 about twenty by forty feet, immediately over a shoal of grass, 

 and took their stand on the shore in a hut of brush, each having 

 three guns well loaded with large shot. The Ducks, which 

 were flying up and down the river in great extremity, soon 

 crowded to this place, so that the whole open space was not 

 only covered with them, but vast numbers stood on the ice 

 around it. They had three rounds, firing both at once, and 

 picked up eighty-eight Canvas-backs, and might have collected 

 more had they been able to get to the extremity of the ice after 

 the wounded ones. In the severe winter of 1779-80, the grass 

 on the roots of which these birds feed was almost wholly de- 

 stroyed in James River. In the month of January, the wind 

 continued to blow from west-northwest for twenty-one days, 

 which caused such low tides in the river that the grass froze to 

 the ice everywhere, and, a thaw coming on suddenly, the whole 

 was raised by the roots and carried off by the freshet. The next 

 winter a few of these Ducks were seen, but they soon went 

 away again; and, for many years after, they continued to be 

 scarce, and even to the present day, in the opinion of my in- 

 formant, have never been so plenty as before. 



"The Canvas-back, in the rich, juicy tenderness of its flesh 

 and its delicacy of flavor, stands unrivaled by the whole of its 

 tribe in this or perhaps any other quarter of the world. Those 

 killed in the waters of the Chesapeake are generally esteemed 

 superior to all others, doubtless from the great abundance of 

 their favorite food which these rivers produce. At our public 

 dinners, hotels and particular entertainments, the Canvas-backs 

 are universal favorites. They not only grace but dignify the 

 table, and their very name conveys to the imagination of the 

 eager epicure the most comfortable and exhilarating ideas. 

 Hence, on such occasions, it has not been uncommon to pay 

 from one to three dollars a pair for these Ducks; and, indeed, 



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