■WILD-FOWL SHOOTING 41 



WILD-FOWL SHOOTING. 



In my protracted rambles about the world, I 

 know no portion w^iere this sport can be moro 

 thoroughly enjoyed than in America. I have always 

 been passionately fond of wild-fowl shooting, and the 

 bags that I have made in the United States and 

 Canada have far exceeded those obtained elsewhere. 

 As wild fowl are nearly all migratory by inclination, 

 or are compelled to be so from the changes of the 

 seasons, it is of great importance that you should 

 visit the various haunts at the proper periods of the 

 year. However, the rule is, for successfully carrying 

 on war against the web-footed families, go north 

 in summer and south in winter. In June, July, 

 and August, the wild-rice fields of the numerous 

 labyrinth of lakes of Minnesota and the north- 

 west territory, perfectly swarm with wild fowl, while 

 in December and January they will be found equally 

 numerous on the large bayous and lagoons that 

 surround the mouth of the Mississippi. Of course, 



