260 PRAIRIE AND FOREST. 



I should most decidedly say that the wild-fowl shooting is 

 good enough to justify a visit. But let him not be induced 

 to keep in the vicinity of settlements; rather let him and his 

 attendants commence housekeeping on the margin of one of 

 the northern Minnesota lakes, if in summer (remember one 

 that produces an abundance of wild rice) ; but if the reverse 

 season should be selected, the southern lagoons of the Mis- 

 sissippi will afford him abundant sport, and any of the hos- 

 pitable planters will deem it a favor if he will do them the 

 honor of making their home his. 



When living on the upper portion of Lake Couchachin, 

 Simcoe district, from the beauty of an afternoon and the 

 coolness of the weather, I was induced to shoulder my gun, 

 and start cross country to Lake St. John, with the hope of 

 killing some ducks to add to the fare of our already sumpt- 

 uous table. I had never visited this place before, and as I 



left the clearing, the last words of H were, " Take care 



you do not get lost." With an amount of confidence, " usu- 

 ally denoting ignorance," I responded that I was too old to 

 be guilty of such a green proceeding. With little trouble 

 I found my destination. Game was abundant and tame, 

 they being overcome with that langour which makes them 

 perfectly indifferent, and which is so frequently the pre- 

 cursor of bad and stormy weather. In a little time my 

 bag was heavy, too much so to be agreeable, and, consider- 

 ing that I had committed havoc enough, I determined to 

 retrace my steps. Another and yet -another duck would 

 come in my way, and present such fascinating shots that 

 I could not resist, so that by the time I had returned to 

 the place where I first struck the water I was completely 

 loaded. 



Have any of my readers ever walked two or three miles, 

 with from eight to a dozen mallard ducks in the skirt of his 

 shooting-coat ? If so, they undoubtedly have vivid recol- 



