43 THE IJsrLAND PASSAGE. 



on their boats, and who went ashore for the 

 purpose. 



"Would you like to kill an English snipe?" 

 called out Seth Green to me next morning from the 

 shore, whither he had already gone with our boat- 

 man, Charley. I had been busy, or perhaps, if the 

 truth must be confessed, sleepy, and had Just come 

 on deck. 



" Of course," was my instantaneous reply, the idea 

 of any one not wanting to kill an English snipe being 

 too ridiculous to entertain for a moment. 



" Then get your gun, and Charley will come for 

 you in the boat." 



In fiye minutes the doctor and I were both ashore, 

 and in less than as many more we had put up and 

 bagged our first bird. It seemed that Charley, who, 

 as I have already stated, was an old gunner, had 

 heard the bird as he flew over, and had seen him 

 alight. He did not know that there were more than 

 one, but we found quite a flight of them. The spot 

 was not large, but it was evidently a favorite one. 

 We had no dogs and went floundering about through 

 the mud, but at every few steps a bird was flushed, 

 and his appearance commemorated by the report of 

 a gun or the cheery cry of, "mark !"' It Avas a deli- 

 cious episode in our trip, for no sport is more appre- 

 ciated by the true sportsman than the killing of our 

 gamest of all game birds, the stylish English snipe. 

 In two hours we had bagged thirty-one. In fact 

 we had killed them all, for if we did not get them at 

 the first I'ise, it was easy to follow them up, as they 



