JACK-SHOOTING IN A FOGGY NIGHT. 171 



sert one or more candles, and fasten it to a stick 

 some three feet in length. The stick is then stuck 

 into the bow of the boat, and the "jack" is ready. 

 The hunter, rifle in hand, seats himself close be- 

 hind and under the jack, and the paddler at the 

 other end of the boat or canoe. Thus equipped 

 they start out. The guide paddles quietly along, 

 until a deer is heard feeding, as is their custom 

 at night, upon the edge of the bank, or walking 

 in the water nipping off the lily-pads, which they 

 love exceedingly. The jack is then lighted and 

 the boat run swiftly down toward the deer. If 

 he is young, or has never seen a jack before, he 

 will let the boat (which he does not see, so intently 

 is he gazing at the light) come very near him, 

 and he is easily shot. If he is old and shy, it is a 

 far more difficult task to get near him. The de- 

 fects of this jack'are evident. It is worthless on any 

 but a perfectly still night, for the least current of 

 air will blow the light out. It necessitates also 

 the scratching of a match previous to " lighting 

 up," and the noise incident to such an opera- 

 tion in the open air at night, when every object 

 about you is damp and wet, and in the presence 

 of game, does not tend to steady the nerves of 

 an amateur. It is also stationary, and if you 

 run past the deer, as you are liable to do, it is 

 difficult to turn the light on him. If, further- 

 more, the deer is in motion in any but a straight 



