244 PRAIRIE AND FOREST. 
If your frame be cast in that iron mould which nature 
has bestowed on some, and you are consequently capable 
of bearing without inconvenience fatigue and exposure, and 
are, at the same time, desirous of making as heavy a bag 
as possible while shooting over your snipe-beat, pay partic- 
ular attention to the water-courses and sloughs; and when 
you become satisfied that you have found a spot where the 
ducks are in the habit of spending their evenings, which 
may be ascertained by the down-trodden weeds and muddy 
appearance of the water, mark the place; for when it be- 
comes too late to continue peppering the snipe, you can re- 
turn and lie in ambush for the web-footed gentry. Duck, 
from flying high when on the move, can be seen much later 
than small game, more particularly if, watching for them, 
you can frequently get them against some clear spot in the 
sky. Frequently I have killed in thirty minutes half a doz 
en of that prince of birds and epicurean dainties, the mal- 
lard, in this manner, when it was so dark that, after they 
had dropped, but for the sagacity of my retriever I was 
scarcely aware whether I had correctly aimed. If the even- 
ing should be dark and gloomy, with indications of change 
to cold weather, and a high wind blowing, it will be unnec- 
essary to wait as late as sunset before visiting the feeding- 
ground of the duck; for, under such circumstances, they 
come in fearlessly early in the afternoon. However, you 
can not practice this work successfully without some kind 
of screen, which will require to be larger and thicker if 
your clothes do not in color closely approximate the hue of 
the ground. 
Brother sportsmen, let me once more advise you to visit 
the Western snipe-grounds, and on your return I know I 
shall receive your thanks for being the means of introduc. 
ing you to sport that can not fail to rejoice the heart of 
every true lover of the dog and gun. 
