212 lewis' AMERICAN SPORTSMAN. 



to carry him througli the reeds, wherever the Rails are most 

 likely to be feeding. 



Great dexterity and muscular power are required in a Pusher; 

 for without the former the Shooter may be splashed from head 

 to foot, and perhaps rudely knocked overboard, by the awk- 

 ward handling of the heavy pole, by which the boat is made 

 to shoot through the reeds; and without the latter requisite, the 

 skiff, instead of proceeding in a regular, steady course, will 

 start and quiver with an uneasy motion, that renders the footing 

 so unstable, that he may be thrown down, perhaps overboard — 

 at all events, be often prevented from shooting when a Eail 

 presents itself. 



Another important requisite in a "pusher" is, that he be a 

 good " marker,^ otherwise one-third of all the Birds shot will 

 be lost, as the eternal sameness of the green reeds precludes 

 the possibility of an inexperienced hand finding them, when, 

 as is often the case, there are four or five rails down at one 

 time. Who among our Philadelphia Shooters has not heard 

 of Old Pike, Fowler, and Bill Rump, of Rail-shooting notoriety, 

 all of whom have served an honorable apprenticeship to the 

 arduous task of " pushing," and are not yet to be beat in these 

 parts ? How eagerly are these three veteran " pushers" sought 

 after, and how frequently, almost universally, do their boats 

 bring in the largest number of Birds, without regard to the 

 skill of the Sportsman himself; as an indiflerent shot, with 

 these men, will have double the number of shots that a better 

 marksman with another " pusher" will get on the same tide, 

 and consequently may miss a third of his Birds, and still be 

 even with the party. The first time we went out Rail-shooting, 

 we employed "Bill Rump," and to our great satisfaction and 

 surprise, on counting our Birds, found that w^e had beaten 

 several old veterans at the sport, although — we are loath to 

 confess it — w^e missed enough of fair shots to quite discourage, 

 if not, at times, to totally disgust our zealous " pusher." 



However, speaking of " beating others at this kind of sport," 

 reminds us of the great opportunities that those who participate 

 in this amusement have of chiselling each other regarding the 

 number of Rails actually killed on one tide. To show the 

 fallacy of betting on the results of such shooting, without the 

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