226 RAMBLES AFTEE SPORT. 



nothing, and all his armament was two dogs. One, the 

 '' toler/^ looked like, and I believe was, a French poodle ; 

 the other was some sort of a Newfoundland breed, as 1 

 believe any large, black, curly dog is called. 



As it was too late to get to the small bay where we 

 expected to get a shot at the ducks, we devoted the day 

 to quail shooting. I got into a hill of wild oats, and 

 found the birds positively too thick ; they got up in 

 squads. There were a good many rabbits about, and I 

 shot more than a dozen of them. As I was rambling 

 about among the bushes I suddenly came upon an old 

 sow, who, after a grunt or two, made for the open at a 

 very slow pace, occasionally stopping, stern foremost, 

 and glancing back sideways. I thought it rather good 

 fun and had quite a game with her for ten minutes. 

 When I got back, however, I was astonished to hear my 

 comrade declare that I had had a lucky escape of either 

 being maimed, or of having to pay the full value of the 

 pork. ^' Fd sooner face a grizzly any day than one of 

 them half-wild sows — ask Fran^ois/^ who corroborated 

 it. However, where ignorance, &c. 



We were all up early next, morning, and drove down 

 to within a mile of the beach, where we left our waggon, 

 and walked down in the grey of the morning. On 

 getting down Francois built up a sort of breastwork of 

 reeds and rushes about ten yards from high tide, and 

 after it was completed we all retired under some sand- 

 hills to await the morning flight. There were some 

 extensive lagoons at our back which must have been 

 alive with fowl, as they kept flying incessantly out to 

 sea. When the morn had well broke Francois proposed 

 that we should descend to our battery, and we accord- 

 ingly did. The day was calm and lowering and the tide 



