52 LEWIS'S AMERICAN SPORTSMAN. 



How tame, how vastly different is all this to the sudden and 

 unlooked-for spring of the vigorous little partridge, as with a 

 startling noise he bounces up from under our very feet, and, long 

 before any save the initiated one can recover from his bewilder- 

 ment and bring his piece to bear upon the affrighted bird, has fairly 

 soared far beyond his reach yes, even beyond his sharpest vision. 

 And then, again, the deep, sonorous, and still more perplexing 

 whir of the ruffed grouse, as he goes booming off through the 

 entangled thickets bordering the mountain streams ; or the delve- 

 resounding start of the lonely woodcock, as he rushes through 

 the marshy brake, all in the full vigor and freshness of his native 

 freedom; or the still more confusing zigzag flight of the fickle 

 snipe, as he springs wildly from the oozy marsh. 



The whirring noise consequent upon the springing of a covey or 

 even of a single bird is not a little trying to the nerves of a 

 young shot ; and it requires some considerable time to accustom his 

 ears to this startling sound, which, however, will wear off by 

 degrees, no matter how nervous he may be at first. When the 

 dogs have come to a stand, advance noiselessly and with firmness 

 towards the spot indicated, holding the gun cocked, and with the 

 muzzle in such a position that its contents could not injure any 

 one of the company, even if it should by any mishap go off before 

 you have the proper range on the birds. Be careful, above all, 

 not to shoot the dogs; which accident, by-the-by, has happened 

 more than once to heedless beginners. When the birds are 

 flushed, raise the gun with perfect coolness and deliberation; 

 single out first one bird and then another, if you have a double- 

 barrelled gun, as every sportsman should have, and be sure not to 

 pull trigger upon either of them till they are well covered. That 

 is, when looking down the barrel-plate, the eye, the sight, the 

 point, and the bird, are all in the same line: this, then, is the 

 moment to fire ; do not hesitate an instant ; do not dwell upon the 

 object after it is once covered, or you will inevitably lose the point 

 of sight, and the load will pass under the bird. 



The eye in a correct light is seldom wrong in its calculations, 



