SPORTING SKETCHES. 269 



In hunting at St. Ours (then a favorite aud extensive ground), 

 I frequently bagged from twenty-five to thirty-five couple of cock 

 in a day. One day the old dog came to a point, and got up the 

 bird, which I stopped. After waiting some time, I proceeded 

 with the dog to seek the dead. After hunting for a long time for 

 the dead bird without success, old '"Carlo" got disheartened, 

 and to infuse new energy into him I retired some distance and 

 fired again, brought him to " down charge," and when ordered 

 to seek dead he went to his work with renewed energy, but to no 

 better purpose. Finally I left, but had not proceeded far when I 

 missed the dog, and, looking back, I saw him standing under a 

 tree with head up. Following the direction to which he was 

 pointing, I found the bird suspended by the head in a fork of a 

 branch of the tree. Finding the dead bird was more gratifying 

 to me than had I bagged three or four couple during the time 

 lost, which I could easily have done. 



Another interesting event worth relating: One day in July, 

 1849, I started with my friend for an afternoon's sport. We 

 drove to a place known as the " Mary-gold," a deep swamp, 

 about a quarter of an acre wide and a mile or so long, a well- 

 known summer ground, surrounded by high, well-wooded land. 

 I was walking on the high ground, within shooting distance of 

 my dog and the edge of the swamp, when old '* Carlo" came to 

 a dead point. I urged him to flush the bird ; after waiting some 

 time, up he got and flew low across the marsh. I fired, but owing 

 to the smoke from my gun I could not see whether I had shot 

 him. I turned to my friend, who was a little distance in my 

 rear, to enquire if I had stopped the bird. He replied : 



" You have shot them all." 



I answered : " What do you mean ? " 



He said : " What did you fire at, anyway ? " 



" I fired at a cock." 



His answer came : " You have shot a whole covey of ducks." 



This rather surprised me, not having seen the ducks, which 

 were sitting in a small pool of clear water in the swamp. Being 

 on high ground, I had to shoot at an angle, and the ducks coming 

 within range of my gun accounts for my having killed seven teal 

 ducks not seen by me. Our anxiety now was to get the birds, no 

 boat or canoe being within a mile of us. " Carlo," however, with 

 his other fine qualities, was a good retriever. In he went, but 



