RAIL. 239 



experienced boatman, with a pole of twelve or fifteen feet 

 long, thickened at the lower end to prevent it from sinking 

 too deep into the mud. About two hours or so before high 

 water, they enter the reeds, and each takes his post, the 

 sportsman standing in the bow ready for action, the boatman, 

 on the stern seat, pushing her steadily through the reeds. 

 The rail generally spring singly, as the boat advances, and 

 at a short distance ahead, and are instantly shot down, while 

 the boatman, keeping his eye on the spot where the bird fell, 

 directs the boat forward, and picks it up as the gunner is 

 loading. It is also the boatman's business to keep a sharp 

 look-out, and give the word " Mark ! " when a rail springs 

 on either side without being observed by the sportsman, and 

 to note the exact spot where it falls until he has picked it 

 up ; for this once lost sight of, owing to the sameness in the 

 appearance of the reeds, is seldom found again. In this 

 manner the boat moves steadily through and over the reeds, 

 the birds flushing and falling, the gunner loading and firing, 

 while the boatman is pushing and picking up. The sport 

 continues till an hour or two after high water, when the 

 shallowness of the water, and the strength and weight of the 

 floating reeds, as also the backwardness of the game to spring 

 as the tide decreases, oblige them to return. Several boats 

 are sometimes within a short distance of each other, and a 

 perpetual cracking of musketry prevails along the whole reedy 

 shores of the river. In these excursions it is not uncommon 

 for an active and expert marksman to kill 'ten or twelve dozen 

 in a tide. They are usually shot singly, though I have 

 known five killed at one discharge of a double-barrelled piece. 

 These instances, however, are rare. 



The flight of these birds among the reeds is usually low, 

 and, shelter being abundant, is rarely extended to more than 

 fifty or one hundred yards. When winged, and uninjured in 

 their legs, they swim and dive with great rapidity, and are 

 seldom seen to rise again. I have several times, on such 

 occasions, discovered them clinging with their feet to the 



