RATL-SHOOTING. 191 



of Septemlier, and disappears so instantaneously 

 with the first heavy frost, that our superstitious 

 baymen imagine it retires into the mud. It can, 

 however, fly strongly, as I have occasionally had 

 unpleasant evidence under peculiar circumstances, 

 and in wild, windy weather. During low water, 

 when it can run upon the muddy bottom among the 

 thick stalks, which it does rapidly, it can hardly be 

 flushed by any but the strongest and toughest dog, 

 and is not frequently pursued ; although many per- 

 sons enjoy the hard walking and exposure of this 

 plan, preferring to tramp over the quaking surface 

 of our broad salt meadows, and flushing the rail 

 from amid some tuft of reeds, kill him with the aid 

 of their loved fellow-playmate, a high-strung setter 

 or untiring water spaniel. 



As the tide rises, however, and covers the bottom 

 with a few inches of water, the raU, caught feeding 

 among its favorite wild oats, or on the grains of the 

 high reeds, and alarmed at the advancing boat, is 

 forced to take wing and present an easy mark to its 

 destroyer. But if missed, although marked down 

 to an inch, it rarely rises a second time, having pro- 

 bably escaped by swimming — a thorough knowledge 

 of which is among its numerous accomplishments. 

 The rail has a long, thin, and soft body, which it 

 appears to have the faculty of compressing; as it can 

 glide amid the thick stems of reeds and gra^ with 

 wonderful rapidity ; and if wounded, it will dive 

 and swim under water, leaving its bill only project- 

 ing, so as to bid defiance to pursuit. 



