FROM THE GAME FIELDS. 



449 



new flora appeared, and a changing or- 

 chestra of birds flitted among the tree 

 tops. From beds of sweet ferns, shaded 

 by tall spruces, I passed stooping under the 

 sweeping branches of alders and willows, 

 and swinging around the white trunks of 

 green crowned cottonwoods. 



In a little open glade I lay on a log dam 

 that churned in the whilrpool of the creek 

 current, and saw mountain trout fanning 

 the limpid water. It was evening when I 

 left the beautiful wooded foothills to the 

 Westward, and crossing the mesa brilliant 

 with its covering of yellow cactus blossoms, 

 tried to make friends with the wild doves 

 that arose in whirring flocks from my feet. 



Although I carried in my hand nothing 

 more formidable than a bunch of Colum- 

 bine, I think the poor doves, having been 

 deceived so often, considered me their 

 enemy and so flew away to the pinyons. 



I wish more readers of Recreation could 

 enjoy our Alpine scenery with its cool sum- 

 mers as I have. It banishes lassitude and 

 acts on the body as a Ponce de Leon spring. 



I like Recreation because it breathes 

 love and kindness toward our fast decreas- 

 ing wild birds and game. 

 Geo. E. Newell, M. D., Buena Vista, Colo. 



ON THE SUSQUEHANNA FLATS. 



Probably no shooting in the country h 

 better known than the flats of the Susque- 

 hanna river ; and certainly no other game 

 holds as high a place in the affection of both 

 sportsman and epicure as the canvasback 

 duck. 



The flats extend from Havre de Grace 

 down the bay about 10 miles, and cover 

 nearly its whole width. On them grows 

 the wild celery which gives to the canvas- 

 back its unrivaled flavor. It grows below 

 the surface,, and the duck has to dive for 

 his dinner. 



Opening day on the flats is an occasion 

 of great interest to sportsmen. Many 

 yachts from distant cities come up the bay, 

 and anchor off Havre de Grace in time for 

 the first day's sport. Shooting is allowed 

 only on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, 

 and the first of these days in November 

 sees the commencement of the season. 

 Boats are not allowed to cross the imagi- 

 nary line which bounds the flats before 5 

 a. m. ; but all the night before they are 

 waiting, each trying to get a position of 

 advantage. At 5 the boats cross the line, 

 and there is a great rush to get the places 

 considered best. 



Duck shooting on the flats is pursued 

 chiefly in 2 ways ; by sink boxes and by 

 bushwhacking. The sink box is simply a 

 box just big enough to contain a man lying 

 down. It has flaps, extending from the side 

 at the top, which keep it from sinking en- 

 tirely. This unwieldly contrivance is car- 



ried to the desired position on a boat, and 

 is so adjusted as to be flush with the water, 

 when occupied by the shooter. Around it 

 are placed the decoys. The shooter gets 

 in, lying perforce on his back, and waits 

 for a flock of ducks. When they come, he 

 rises to a sitting position and pours his 

 broadside into the flying birds. The ex- 

 perienced hunter can get 2 guns into opera- 

 tion on the same bunch. This is the most 

 deadly method of shooting for the prac- 

 tised hand, though rather awkward for the 

 beginner. Of course the sink box must 

 have a row boat in attendance to pick up 

 the killed and crippled. With such an out- 

 fit more than 100 ducks are often bagged 

 on one tide. 



In bushwhacking, the gunner sets out his 

 decoys, some 50 or so, and rows off a con- 

 siderable distance. When he sees a bunch 

 of ducks alight he quickly and noiselessly 

 sculls his boat up to them. If fortunate, 

 he may get some good shooting, though 

 frequently the ducks rise out of range, es- 

 pecially if they have been much shot at. 

 Of late years launches have been used with 

 considerable effect in bushwhacking. A 

 launch, with noiseless engine, steals up to 

 the ducks before they are aware of it. 



There is an illegal method of shooting 

 called big gunning. This requires a small 

 skiff in whose bow is placed a swivel gun 

 of about No. 1 bore. During the day the 

 hunter locates a large bed of ducks. At 

 night he paddles his skiff up and discharges 

 his cannon broadside into the flock. The 

 result of such a shot is murderous ; scores 

 of ducks are often -picked up, besides the 

 many crippled which must necessarily be 

 lost. After getting his ducks the pot hunt- 

 er makes his escape as soon as possible. Of 

 course this is the rankest form of slaughter, 

 and no punishment is too severe for the 

 offenders. 



The shooting continues to late afternoon, 

 until the sportsman has had enough, or 

 oftentimes considerably more than enough. 

 There is one weather condition, however, 

 that can almost completely ruin the shoot- 

 ing, and that is fog. In foggy weather there 

 are few ducks on the wing and those that 

 are moving will not decoy. The opening 

 day in '02 was of such a nature and as a 

 consequence few ducks were brought in. 



Duck shooting everywhere possesses a 

 fascination for the hunter; on the flats it 

 becomes a truly royal sport. 



James A. Newell, Princeton, N. J. 



THE GEYSERS WILL KEEr. 

 Captain H. M. Chittenden, U. S. A., in 

 charge of improvement of Yellowstone Na- 

 tional Park, in a recent letter to the New 

 York Herald, says : 



There was recently published in a French sci- 

 entific paper, Ciel et Terre, of Paris, an article 



