FOWLING ON THE SUSQUEHANNA 



By ALLEN WILEY 



HERE is still a "happy 

 hunting ground" at 

 least for the duck 

 hunter who seeks this 

 fowl along the At- 

 lantic coast. Sports- 

 men call it the Sus- 

 quehanna Flats, but 

 it includes the upper part of Chesa- 

 peake Bay, as well as several miles of 

 the lower Susquehanna River, where 

 the wild celery, growing in such an 

 abundance, forms a tempting dish for 

 nearly every variety of the American 

 duck, from the teal to the royal canvas- 

 back. 



With the beginning of the November 

 days, many a man in khaki boards the 

 trains bound for the little town of Havre 

 de Grace — the Mecca of the duck 

 hunter. In addition to the hundreds of 

 gunners who come by train, are many 

 jolly parties who reach the Flats in 

 steam and sailing yachts, so that the 

 opening of the shooting season may 

 find blinds and sink boats scattered over 

 an area of fully twenty-five square 

 miles. When the birds begin to fly in 

 the early morn, the crack-crack of the 

 shotguns brings to mind the skirmish 

 firing of a regiment, so numerous are 

 the marksmen. Blazing away at the 

 game are the old-time muzzle-loader of 



the native market-gunner and the $200 

 breech-loader of the millionaire. For the 

 time all are on a common level in the 

 enjoyment of the sport. From dawn to 

 dusk the firing continues with but little 

 interruption. Then the boatmen go 

 after the sink and blind hunters to take 

 them to the clubs and hotels, while the 

 yacht-hunters return to their craft for 

 a steaming hot supper and an after- 

 dinner pipe while swapping stories of 

 the luck of the day. 



Besides the sneak boat, or "sink" boat 

 as it is dubbed on the Susquehanna, 

 there is some "point" shooting and 

 every bit of vantage ground on Spesu- 

 tia island, or the mainland, is fixed up 

 with its blind of brush. Spesutia island 

 may be called the heart of this happy 

 hunting ground, and if the wind is in 

 the right direction, the fellow who is 

 fortunate enough to get a lodging place 

 here will be within range of more birds 

 than those further out on the grounds. 

 The best bags are usually brought in 

 from Spesutia. 



You can run across the sink boat in 

 ducking time wherever there is a hole 

 in the marsh big enough to admit it 

 and ofTer concealment, but sink boat 

 shooting with decoys in open water is 

 one of the favorite methods. The Sus- 

 quehanna craft is little more than a 



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