154 WILD SPORTS OF THE HIGHLANDS. (cHaAP. XIx 
drain; and once in this we were nearly sure of a shot. Luckily 
a farmer was ploughing in an adjoining field, and though at every 
turn he approached the ditch of the oatfield where the geese were, 
the birds, according to their usual custom, took no notice of him. 
We joined the ploughman, and keeping behind the horses, slipped 
unperceived by the geese into the ditch, which, by the by, -had 
in it about a foot of the coldest water that I ever felt. It was 
deep enough, however, to conceal us entirely, and following Simon 
I went about three hundred yards down the drain, till we came 
to another which ran at right angles to the first; we turned 
along this ditch, which, not being cut so deep as the other, obliged 
us to stoop in a manner that made my back ache most unmerci- 
fully. Simon appeared to understand exactly what he was at, 
and to havea perfect knowledge of the geography of all the drains 
in the country. Putting on a nondescript kind of cap, made of 
dirty canvass, exactly the colour of a ploughed field, he peered 
cautiously through a bunch of rushes which grew on the edge of 
the ditch ; then looking at me with a most satisfied grin, floundered 
on again till he came to another ditch that crossed us at right 
angles ; up this he went, and of course I had nothing to do but 
to follow, though as I occasionally sank above my knees into 
cold spring water, I began to wish all the wild geese were con- 
signed to his black majesty: we went about a hundred yards up 
this last drain, till we came to a part where a few rushes grew 
on the banks; looking through these we saw about fifty geese 
coming straight towards us. feeding ; we got our guns cautiously 
on the top of the bank and waited tiii the birds were within 
twenty-five yards of us, they then began to turn to cross the 
field back again. Some were within shot, however, and on our 
giving a low whistle they ran together, preparatory to rising; 
this was our moment: only one of my barrels went off, the other 
having got wet through, copper cap and every thing, during our 
progress in the ditch. We, however, bagged three birds, and 
another flew wounded away, and at last fell close to the sea- 
shore, where we afterwards found her. Having collected our 
game, I was not sorry to walk off home in double-quick time to 
put a little caloric into my limbs, as I felt perfectly benumbed 
after wading for such a distance in a cold March wind. 
On our way home we saw an immense flock of geese alight to 
