WILDFOWLING AT SEA 87 



the dead are secured, followed by luffing up on a real wild- 

 goose chase after the cripples. In the general excitement 

 to secure them, however, we make much farther seaward 

 than " old Salubrious " likes, and we are obliged to take in a 

 couple of reefs before his cautious old soul is satisfied. But 

 his " larnin' and prorfecy 'o trorshin to win'ard in a 'ead 

 wind as bein' a trifle damp," is fully justified, and one and all 

 are greatly relieved to find themselves safely ensconced in a 

 small creek under shelter of the land. All the fowl have 

 long ago been driven away by the noise of firing, and nothing 

 beyond the plaintive shriek from a solitary " whaup " * 

 greets our re-appearance, so, letting go the anchor, we make 

 up for the night, clean our guns, lay the cloth, and complete 

 all arrangements in providing comfort for the inner as well 

 as the outer man. 



Then we have trips made by would-be sportsmen in 

 rowing boats and such like, but these are too common and 

 well-known to need touching upon. 



But to describe what is known to be a novelty to most 

 people, whether they be ooze -trotters, wild-fowlers, pro- 

 fessional gunners, amateurs, or casual readers, is a method 

 only in vogue on the east coast of England (where curres, 

 short-winged or hard fowl abound), which is brought into 

 practical use either at the mouth of a large estuary or in a 

 comparatively open roadstead with good rise and fall of 

 tide. It may aptly be designated "a wildfowl battue." 



For the purpose of describing it we will start on another 

 imaginary expedition. Hearing from the fishermen on the 

 coast that immense quantities of fowl are in the roads, we 

 form a party, and charter ten to fifteen shrimpers, yawls, 

 or, as before mentioned, boats of that kind which are used 

 and suited to the neighbourhood; apportioning a couple of 

 shooters to each boat, besides her usual crew, we sail, row, 

 or are towed to the intended scene of action, where we 

 anchor at equal distances apart, at intervals of about sixty 

 yards, with a very long line for cable, and to enable us to 



* Curlew 



