Lake Umbagog, Maine
1895
Sept.12
(no 2)
side caught my eyes. I studied it carefully through
the glass but it did not move nor could I make it
out to be a bird. Nevertheless I decided to stalk it
which I did when I found that it was a Solitary
Blue-winged Teal dozing in the sun. When it raised
its head I fired & killed it.
[margin]A Solitary
Teal asleep
on the mud.[/margin]
  The shot drove out the Black Ducks of course and
[crossed]finding[/crossed] being nothing else in the pond that I
wanted except three exquisite pond lily blossoms
I put up the sail and sp[?]d back to the Outlet.
On the way I saw a flock of about twenty Swallows
skimming over the marshes. The majority were Eave Swallows
but there was at least one White-belly among them.
The Plover were calling high in air and after circling
many times gave me a long shot which I missed.
I had got well out on the Lake on my way to camp
when a flock of six Teal the survivors, no doubt, of
the bunch of eight that I shot into this morning
came flying in from the open water and alighted
near a grassy island behind me. Taking down the sail
I paddled back. They came out from behind the grass
stretched up their necks to look at me and then
swam back out of sight. I urged the canoe forward
with all my strength & reaching the grass rose on my
knees and peeped through it. The Teal were swimming
directly away from me with their necks raised so I
fired at once killing two with my first barrel and
a third as the remaining four took wing. This little
bit of Teal shooting to-day revived old associations &
gave me a genuine thrill of the sportsman's pleasure such
as I rarely feel now. There was one old male among my victims
and I made him up into a beautiful skin.
[margin]Black Ducks[margin]
[margin]Eave
Swallows[/margin]
[margin]Another shot
at the flock 
of Teal.[/margin]