328 AMERICAN GAME BIRD SHOOTING 



necessary in such shooting. The sportsman walks 

 along till the birds are walked up. So rapidly will 

 he sometimes flush them that at every step it is fire 

 and load, and fire and load again. At such times the 

 gun becomes too hot to hold, and the shooter must 

 perforce stop till it is cool enough to handle. 



Enormous bags of snipe have been made, particu- 

 larly in Louisiana and Texas, where the greater part 

 of the flight of North America congregates for a few 

 weeks in the period of snipe migration. One of the 

 greatest, and I believe that it is referred to now as 

 the greatest bag, was made many years ago by Mr. 

 Pringle, a wealthy sugar planter, of Louisiana, who 

 had great fame as a sportsman of rare skill. He bagged 

 400 and some odd snipe in one day. This is a large 

 bag, indeed. It is but one of thousands of large bags 

 in that section, so common as to excite no special 

 comment. 



I have told of these matters to shooters in the North 

 whose success was measured by a dozen snipe, more 

 or less, as the result of a day's shooting. Such large 

 bags being outside of their personal experience, they 

 have been pleased to consider it an idle tale. They 

 seemed to think that their narrow experience in shoot- 

 ing a few birds over a few acres of ground each year 

 was the measure of the world over. 



In regard to the big bag made by Mr. Pringle, it 

 may be added, by way of explanation, that he had ne- 

 groes to assist him, some to carry the spare guns, oth- 

 ers to carry the ammunition and to retrieve the dead 



