14 PRAIRIE AND FOREST. 



and more rapidly bring the head to the stock; to discard a 

 waistcoat, for the thickness of clothing militated against 

 bringing up his gun. However, he was always wounding 

 birds at least he said so ; for constantly, if near, he would 

 call out, " Don't you see the feathers fly ?" which, perhaps 

 owing to my less keen vision, I never did, save it were the 

 feathers flying off with the bird. Another peculiarity this 

 gentleman possessed was, that although he might have dis- 

 charged the entire contents of his shot-pouch without bag- 

 ging a single head when separated from me, as soon as we 

 both shot over the same point, one or other of the birds 

 knocked down was due to his skill ; doubtless companion- 

 ship re-assured him, or induced him to take more pains. I 

 would advise such, therefore, always to shoot in company, 

 only I would rather be excused becoming the company. 

 Of course occasionally he would knock over a bird, but 

 when this took place it either was lost or took no end of 

 trouble to secure. I remember one instance in a marsh 

 where we were snipe-shooting, a number of mallards flush- 

 ed within easy range : following the report of his gun, one 

 of the greenheads left its companions, sailed round several 

 times, each circle becoming lower and less contracted, till 

 it dropped. Half an hour was fruitlessly wasted looking for 

 it; my friend would not give up the search, so I went for- 

 ward alone ; some time afterward he joined me, but his per- 

 severance had not been rewarded. All that day he lament- 

 ed over this lost bird, for, like many of our fishing friends, 

 he doubtlessly thought it (because it was not bagged) far 

 larger and far finer than any obtained. The reason for the 

 ^so frequent loss of the few birds he hit was this : the vic- 

 tims seldom received more than a stray grain outside the 

 disk described by the shot, and therefore were not serious- 

 ly wounded. That there are many like my friend I know, 

 and I fear it will be a hopeless task to endeavor to make 



