f 



258 lewis' AMERICAN SPORTSMAN. 



THEIR SHYNESS. 



The Canvass-Back is an extremely shy and wary Duck, and 

 very difficult to approach, except by means of some cunningly 

 devised stratagem, as there are always sentinels on the look-out 

 for intruders, whether the mass of Ducks be sleeping at night 

 or feeding during the daytime. AVhen on the water, they may 

 be distinguished at a great distance from other Ducks by their 

 constant habit of diving, and when on the wing they fly in a 

 wedge-like form, with considerable velocity, and generally at a 

 great height. When wounded, they dive very deep and swim 

 immense distances under water, thus bafiling every effort of the 

 most skilful Dogs to overtake them ; and the sagacious animals 

 that are trained to this kind of Sport are perfectly aware of this 

 circumstance, as they seldom or ever show any disposition to 

 pursue wounded Canvass-Backs — for they know full well, from 

 hard-taught experience, the utter impossibility of their being 

 able to catch them, no matter how fast they may swim or how 

 deep they may dive in the pursuit. 



MODES OF TAKING CANVASS-BACKS. 



In detailing the various schemes and describing the innumer- 

 able contrivances that the ingenuity of man has prompted him 

 to adopt for the purpose of circumventing and destroying this 

 much-prized Duck, we will, ere finishing the subject, have pretty 

 much exhausted the whole material appertaining to Wild Fowl 

 Shooting ; as it is to the taking of this particular variety that 

 the energies of the whole shooting craft are devoted in those 

 portions of the country where they, in common with numberless 

 other Ducks, congregate. 



