FROM THE GAME FIELDS. 



281 





the Sacramento river usually overflows a 

 territory 50 miles long by 6 or 8 wide. We 

 reached our camp, a deserted house in the 

 low land, at 10 p. m. 



After putting up our horse, we went out 

 to see if the water was low enough to per^ 

 mit us to get through the tules on foot. We 

 found it would be impossible to do any 

 shooting except from boats. Accordingly 

 we searched the loft of the old house in the 

 hope that somebody had been considerate 

 enough to hide a boat there. We found 2, 

 or, rather, we found one boat and some- 

 thing that had been a boat. Both were of 

 the usual Californian pattern, 14 to 16 feet 

 long, 18 inches wide on the bottom, and de- 

 signed to carry but one person. They are 

 built narrow, so they may be pushed into 

 the tules without spreading the reeds 

 enough to betray the position of the shoot- 

 er to the sharp sighted water fowl. 



We requisitioned the boats for our own 

 service. It was agreed S. should use the 

 good one. I worked until 1 p. m. driving 

 rags and rope into the gaping scams of the 

 wreck that fell to my share. I also appro- 

 priated a pot of white lead and bedaubed 

 the cracks of my ancient craft. Having 

 made it, as I supposed, water tight, I turned 

 in on a bed of hay and slept until 4 o'clock. 

 Then we arose, ate breakfast, and carried 

 our boats 300 yards or so to the water's 

 edge. 



We heard a few familiar sounds, but ^ot 

 the deafening roar of thousands of birds 

 that we were used to hearing at that place 

 and season. Putting the boats in we started, 

 S. ahead. Despite the overhauling I had 

 given my boat, she leaked badly, and every 

 little while I was forced to bail her. S. 

 made fine headway in his craft, and was 

 soon lost to view in the distance. 



It was nearly 10 a. m. when I reached 

 the place where I intended to shoot. Ar- 

 riving and turning a point in the tules I saw 

 thousands of ducks of all kinds. They 

 would rise in clouds and settle again near 

 by ; but as they were feeding on bugs at the 

 edge of the rising water there was no par- 

 ticular flight that could be located. 

 - I saw my chance of getting any birds 

 was decidedly poor. Had I had a decent 

 boat, I should have paddled about in the 

 hope of jumping on an occasional duck 

 within range. 



Noticing a likely bunch of tules 20 yards 

 from a point of the main body, I deter- 

 mined to push into it, rest awhile and then 

 return to camp. Hardly had I finished 

 breaking the reed tops to hide myself and 

 boat, when a strong North wind sprang up. 

 As it increased in force the ducks began to 

 move. In 15 minutes they had opened a 

 steady flight, in bun,:hes of 2 to 50 birds, 

 directly over my hiding place. 

 At first I shot at everything that passed, 



regardless of species. But as I could see 

 nothing but ducks, ducks and still more 

 ducks, I grew choice and determined to kill 

 only mallards, with perhaps a few sprig 

 between times. I never ceased shooting 

 from 11 o'clock until 12.30, save when I 

 was dipping my gun into the water to cool 

 it. It was the chance of a lifetime, and I re- 

 gret to say I took full advantage of my luck. 

 When I had expended the 100 shells I 

 had with me, the flight was, if anything, 

 denser than before. I picked up 63 ducks, 

 and of them 40 were mallard drakes. An 

 old white goose that got in line with a 

 passing duck was killed by accident and did 

 not count. When I started back I found 

 the load was too much for the old boat. It 

 leaked faster than I could bail. There was 

 nothing for it but to step into 3 feet of wa- 

 ter and tow the boat in the teeth of a howl- 

 ing wind. After a mile of this traveling I 

 was totally exhausted and could not tow a 

 foot farther. I wedged the wreck in the 

 reeds and started across country for camp. 

 I was too tired to carry even my gun, and 

 left it in the sinking boat. Trudging wear- 

 ily along, I finally reached the house, more 

 dead than alive. S. was there, cleaning his 

 game, of which he had fully as much as I. 

 After resting we drove back for my gun 

 and birds ; leaving the old boat to the mer- 

 cies of the wind and waves.' 



IN THE BLUE MOUNTAINS. 



W. A. SHELTON. 



We left home M'ay 12 and hunted next 

 day till noon, finding plenty of bear signs 

 but no bear, and in the afternoon moved 

 camp. Next day we killed one bear. After 

 traveling 17 miles in snow 6 inches to 

 6 feet deep we struck the trail of an 

 old one and her cub. The sign was 24 

 hours old. I directed my companion to 

 follow one ridge while I took another. 

 Each took a dog along. Half an hour 

 afterward I heard the cub "hallooing," and 

 knew the mother had winded me and was 

 putting her baby up a tree. 



I turned Fan loose, and she quickly 

 treed the cub and followed the old one, 

 which ran straight away, as she bears will, 

 to draw the pursuit after herself. Fan 

 didn't get back to camp till midnight, and 

 then she was completely exhausted. As 

 my companion had never killed a bear I 

 turned the cub over to him for execution 

 and waited an hour for him J;o come. He 

 selected a fine opening, took a dead rest, 

 and missed. I then shot it; we skinned it 

 and went to camp. Moved camp to a 

 tributary of Salmon creek, in the worst 

 snow storm I saw that winter. 



On the 17th I came on the tracks of an 

 old bear and 2 cubs. I took my measures 

 leisurely, selected a good rest, fired, and 

 missed. Then I turned the dog loose .put- 



