262 AMERICAN GAME BIRD SHOOTING. 
When he departs, the remainder take their places in the 
sink-boxes, and remain concealed until the ‘“‘swimmer” 
sends another gaggle towards them, or the callers lure a 
skein from the sky. As soon as these come within range 
they receive such a warm welcome that many fall to rise 
no more. After the rest have fled, the gunners exchange 
ideas, and discourse eloquently on a ‘‘ beautiful double 
shot,” the peculiar manner in which one missed a 
“splendid gander,” or the amount of shot it took to 
bring down a fast-flying goose. As soon as the cripples 
have been shot, and picked up by the “swimmer,” who 
remains outside in a boat, the party return to their cof- 
fins, and continue operations until late in the evening. 
This is exceedingly cold and silent work, for, though the 
icy air may shrivel them up, they cannot speak, or move 
hand or foot, through fear of being detected by the 
sharp-sighted birds; even a sneeze is considered detri- 
mental to success. Eternal silence in the box is the price 
of geese; hence, waiting for them is both painful and 
laborious. When the wild-fowlers return home from a 
good day’s work their sufferings are soon forgotten, and 
they remember nothing but the plethoric condition of 
their bags and the “beautiful shots” they made. 
Shooting geese on an inland lake is totally different from 
this method, and is, on the whole, the more interesting, as 
it enables a person to move about and to stamp on the 
ground when his feet are becoming benumbed with cold. 
I have heard tales enough, both grave and gay, about 
goose shooting to fill a volume, but I must be content 
with relating an adventure of my own which happened 
in Wisconsin. I was, at the time, stopping at a farm- 
house, which was situated in one of the most charming 
sections and best wild-fowl resorts of the State. While 
sitting near the fire one evening, the son of the farmer, 
a lad about fourteen years of age, entered, and told me 
that a pond, a short distance away, was thronged with 
