CHAPTER VII. 



RAIL SHOOTING. 



Success in this delightful sport depends as much 

 upon the proper accessories, together with experi- 

 ence in minor matters, as in the great art of pro- 

 perly handling the gun. The best shot, badly 

 eijuipped, will be surpassed by an inferior marks- 

 man accustomed to the business, and thoroughly 

 fitted out for it. The shooting is done among high 

 reeds, and from small, light, and unstable skiffs, 

 which ai'e poled over muddy shallows with an un- 

 steady motion that puts an end to skill which is not 

 founded on long practice. The sport lasts only during 

 the few hours of high water, when the entire day's 

 bag must be made, and requires, after the bird has 

 been killed, a sharp eye to retrieve him amid the 

 weeds and floating grass. 



The number bagged, however, is sometimes pro- 

 digious ; and although we rarely now hear of hun- 

 dreds killed " in a tide," as was formerly not unusual, 

 the shots are still frequently rapid, and the result 

 satisfactory. The bird rises heavily, its long legs 

 hanging down behind ; flying slowly, it jiresents an 

 easy mark to any one upon terra flrma, and if not shot 

 at, will alight after proceeding thirty or forty yards. 



It comes on from the north during the early part 



