248 AMERICAN GAME BIRD SHOOTING. 
sail-boat, a steam-cutter, a sneak-box, or a sneak-boat. 
The sneak-boat used in Western streams and lakes is a 
narrow, canoe-shaped craft, which has a length of from 
ten to fourteen feet, and is so light in draught that it 
would almost float in a basin of water. The wild-fowler 
lies on his back in this, and by sculling over his left 
shoulder with his right hand, and with a short oar which 
is run through a hole in the stern, he is able to bear 
down on the feeding gaggles, as the boat seems to them 
to be nothing more dangerous than a floating log. They 
soon learn their mistake, however, for the man reserves 
his fire until he is in their midst, and then opens upon 
them with two heavily-loaded guns, which may bring 
from ten to thirty out of every gaggle or skein, and as 
these are worth from six to twelve dollars per dozen, 
wholesale, it is easy to see that the business of killing 
them is a paying one. Some persons who try to steal 
upon the birds in a boat in open water, cover the bow 
and sides of their craft with reeds or bushes to give them 
as innocent an appearance as possible, and are thus en- 
abled to scull upon a gaggle before their character is de- 
tected. They are more successful at night and in the 
evening or morning, than at any other time, as the 
birds are then easily approached; and by moving from 
gloom to light, the roosts can be seen long before the 
inmates have any idea of the danger that threatens them. 
Shooting them over live decoys from a sneak-box or a 
blind is considered legitimate sport, as it gives them a 
chance for their lives. The sneak-box is simply a rude 
wooden coffin or float, about six feet in length, in which 
the wild-fowler lies while awaiting the arrival of the 
birds. It is buried in the ground until it is even with 
the surface, generally near some spot which the geese fre- 
quent or pass over in their morning and evening flights, 
and where they are sure to see and hear the tame decoys 
employed to lure them to death, These decoys are con- 
