Lake Umbagog.
Megalloway River
1896
September 15
(No 4)
  On our way back down river I landed at the
rather large pond opposite the mouth of Bear Brook.
I do not remember to have seen any Ducks in this
pond for a number of years - perhaps not since I
shot the pair of Mallards there in 188 - but this
afternoon I found a flock of five Wood Ducks and
three birds which I think were Hooded Mergansers
but which rose and went out without giving me
an opportunity to identify them. The Wood Ducks
proved more accommodating although at first they
were unaccountably shy [delete]and[/delete] or rather restless, rising and
flying several times but always realighting in the
pond. After a good deal of trouble and several
fruitless attempts I finally got within thirty yards
of them and killed four with the first barrel
wounding the fifth badly as it rose. Of the
four seemed three [delete]you[/delete] young drakes changing to
full plumage, the fourth a young female.
[margin]Wood Ducks
in Horse-shoe
Bend Pond.
I bag
four of them[/margin]
  I did not get another shot until we reached
Richardson's Carry and stopped for a few minutes
to watch for Ducks. The twilight was fast deepening
into night and the hoarse cries of Snipe came from
every direction while we occasionally heard the rustling
of wings as one of these birds alighted near us. One
of them also drummed thrice in quick succession.
[margin]Evening on
Outlet Marshes[/margin]
[margin]Snipe
drumming[/margin]
  Just as we were about to start on a bird, which
both Will & I took for a Hooded Merganser, came
flying past us at a wonderful rate of speed, so fast,
indeed, that as Will afterwards said, he did not
"believe that shot could catch it" and to tell truth
[margin]Pied billed
Grebe flies
over marsh.[/margin]