66 THE LOOK. 



to within twenty-five yards of them I poised my gun through a 

 cut in the foliage, took aim at the centre of the flock and 

 fired. With a mighty roaring of wings the whole flock, except 

 two fine specimens which I had stopped, rose up and with out- 

 stretched necks flew rapidly away. And now came the tug of 

 war to get my two dead birds. They lay in the centre of a 

 small pond, and that same pond did not look very inviting to a 

 fellow, as far as taking a bath was concerned, and I did not 

 know how many moccasins there might be hidden away in its 

 slimy depths. But, moccasins or not, I must have those ducks, 

 and after considerable debating in my own mind as to whether 

 I should venture in or not I removed my shoes, stockings and 

 pants and boldly stepped in with my heart in my mouth.— 

 Fortune seemed to favor me, and 1 completed my perilous task 

 successfully and without accident. As I laid the two ducks 

 down upon the bank I could not but admire their beautiful 

 plumage. The Florida duck is a variety of the common black 

 duck (Anas obscura.) The back and upper parts are of a 

 beautiful brown, with black dashes. The spectrum of this 

 species is of a beautiful blue-green color, its bill is orange-yel- 

 low, and its feet are deep orange in color. 



I picked up my birds and resumed my tramp — this time to- 

 ward the boat, as it was getting late. Presently, just as I was 

 day-dreaming and walking carelessly along, a flock of plover 

 rose up from under my very feet and sailed away out of gun- 

 shot. I quickly gathered my scattered senses together and 

 looked around me. Just ahead of me I saw a flock of sander- 

 lings (Calidris arenaria,) and laying low I succeeded in tumb- 

 ling over a pair of very fine specimens, making five for the 

 day so far. 



