THE WOODCOCK 265 



his shooting-trap, drawn by two horses, and when well 

 out on our journey met with a slight accident which 

 could only be repaired by a blacksmith. We found 

 one near at hand at a cross-road's village, and I asked 

 him if there were any ducks in the neighborhood. He 

 said they were abundant on a small lake a mile away, 

 and we went to the lake to put in the time while the 

 repairs were being made on the wagon. At the lake 

 we found a leaky boat which would not carry two per- 

 sons, and I agreed to my friend's proposition that I 

 take a trip about the shore while he put out to the 

 open water to stir up the ducks which were floating in 

 rafts at the middle of the lake. It was some years 

 ago, when it was the fashion to shoot large shot at 

 ducks, and we carried Nos. 2 and 3. 



I had gone but a few steps when I flushed a hand- 

 some cock, and soon discovered there were more wood- 

 cock on the ground than I had ever seen before. The 

 walking was abominable. The mud in many places 

 was very deep, and I had to make my way carefully, 

 stepping from one hard tuft of grass to another. The 

 heavy duck-loads often upset my balance and I had 

 several falls. The shot was, of course, too large for 

 the game; my shooting was especially bad and the 

 bag light. My friend, after several long shots at the 

 ducks, pulled over near the shore and asked me what I 

 was firing at so rapidly. I informed him that the 

 woodcock were holding a mass-convention. While 

 we were talking several birds arose near at hand and 

 flew off. He declined to come ashore, observing my 

 plight and the bad nature of the ground. It was about 

 time, too, for us to get on. We returned to the wagon 



