258 AMERICAN GAME BIRD SHOOTING. 
trained to act as decoys. Several of these ‘“‘rigs” are 
found along the Atlantic Coast, from Long Island to 
Florida, but they are more numerous at Shinnecock 
Bay, near New York, than in any other part of the 
country, that being the great resort for the wild-fowlers of 
the Metropolis during the shooting season. 
The decoys are generally wing-tipped birds which have 
been cured; but they are frequently the offspring of 
captives, which have bred in confinement. These are fed 
regularly twice a day during the shooting season; but 
during the summer they have a good deal of freedom in 
selecting their own food, for as soon as one of their 
wings is clipped they are allowed to roam wherever they 
wish. They become so accustomed to their home after 
awhile that they return to it every night to be fed, no 
matter how far out on the bay they may have gone. A 
good ‘‘rig” usually consists of from fifteen to forty 
birds of both sexes. When these are to be used they 
are placed in coops and taken to the shooting grounds 
in a boat. These grounds usually consist of bars or 
spits of land which run into the sea, and on which are 
placed coffin-like boxes of various lengths, and deep 
enough to allow a man to lie down in them. They are 
often trimmed with sedges, so as to give them as natural 
an appearance as possible, for if the wily geese had the 
most remote suspicion of their character, they would 
give them a wide berth. The decoys are staked out 
on this bar at irregular intervals, being fastened two the 
posts by means of a hopple, or leather strap which goes 
round the leg. The best caller, or honker, which is 
generally an old and ‘‘educated” gander, is placed 
some distance away from the main flock, so that he 
may give expression to his feelings of loneliness. A 
good honker of either sex is considered invaluable, for 
on it depends, to a large extent, the success of the day; 
hence, those who possess such a prize would not sell it 
