54 The Water-fowl Family 



craft is now gently paddled by one hand within 

 range. A little breeze facilitates greatly the shoot- 

 ing, as it conceals more efficiently the boat, and 

 forces the birds to rise toward the gun. The 

 gunner is tended by a large boat, which lies off 

 to the lee, ready to render quick assistance in 

 case of emergency, and to help in picking up 

 dead birds. 



This shooting is local, and used principally by 

 market gunners ; but in a few instances where 

 sportsmen have attempted it, they have been sur- 

 prisingly successful. In the bay on Lake Erie, 

 where skagging first came under the writer's 

 observation, there were two market gunners who 

 were specially skilful, and the account given below 

 is almost word for word the one given him by a 

 gunner who has the reputation of being the best 

 shot on the north shore. The total day's bag of 

 one hundred and twenty-four canvas-back duck 

 was made beyond the slightest doubt. " It was 

 late last October. I had been out in a skag for a 

 week or more, with poor luck. Birds were plenty, 

 but there had been no wind, and the flocks were 

 not broken up. Finally, a two days' easterly blow 

 set in, and we tried them from the west end of 

 the bay, about a mile offshore. Birds had been 

 leading to the west the day before. It was about 

 sunrise when all the stool were set. I took the 

 skag and anchored off to the windward of the 



