244 PRAIRIE AND FOREST. 



If your frame be cast in that iron mould which nature 

 has bestowed on some, and you are consequently capable 

 of bearing without inconvenience fatigue and exposure, and 

 are, at the same time, desirous of making as heavy a bag 

 as possible while shooting over your snipe-beat, pay partic- 

 ular attention to the water-courses and sloughs ; and when 

 you become satisfied that you have found a spot where the 

 ducks are in the habit of spending their evenings, which 

 may be ascertained by the down-trodden weeds and muddy 

 appearance of the water, mark the place ; for when it be- 

 comes too late to continue peppering the snipe, you can re- 

 turn and lie in ambush for the web-footed gentry. Duck, 

 from flying high when on the move, can be seen much later 

 than small game, more particularly if, watching for them, 

 you can frequently get them against some clear spot in the 

 sky. Frequently I have killed in thirty minutes half a doz- 

 en of that prince of birds and epicurean dainties, the mal- 

 lard, in this manner, when it was so dark that, after they 

 had dropped, but for the sagacity of my retriever I was 

 scarcely aware whether I had correctly aimed. If the even- 

 ing should be dark and gloomy, with indications of change 

 to cold weather, and a high wind blowing, it will be unnec- 

 essary to wait as late as sunset before visiting the feeding- 

 ground of the duck; for, under such circumstances, they 

 come in fearlessly early in the afternoon. However, you 

 can not practice this work successfully without some kind 

 of screen, which will require to be larger and thicker if 

 your clothes do not in color closely approximate the hue of 

 the ground. 



Brother sportsmen, let me once more advise you to visit 

 the Western snipe-grounds, and on your return I know I 

 shall receive your thanks for being the means of introduc- 

 ing you to sport that can not fail to rejoice the heart of 

 every true lover of the dog and gun. 



