CANVAS-BACK DUCK. 263 



prepared for their rising, and they eome up suf- 



» 



ficie.ntly nigh, you may kill them by striking 

 them across the head or neck with the edge of 

 the paddle. 



Frequently birds start off with the flock as 

 though unhurt, and, after flying a few hundred 

 yards, fall unnoticed dead or mortally wounded. 

 It is advisable, therefore, to watch for some dis- 

 tance any you may think are struck, to see whether 

 they may be recovered or not. They are ex- 

 ceedingly tenacious of life, and require hard hit- 

 ting to secure them. No. 3 or 4 Chicagos are 

 about the proper-sized shot to use for them. 



.Dogs are never used for retrieving canvas- 

 backs in the West ; the shooting is always done 

 frorn a boat, when it would be inconvenient and 

 unpleasant to have the dog continually getting in 

 and out while wet and dripping with water ; and 

 as for their catching a crippled canvas-back, it 

 is out of the question. 



Canvas-backs are never known to breed abng 

 the Mississippi Eiver or its tributaries, but be- 

 take themselves to some unknown regions of the 

 far north where the white man never molests 

 them. About the first of November, with their 

 young, which are now almost fully grown, they 



