92 



NORTH AMERICAN FAUNA 67 



Figure 34. — After the hunting season : railbird boats tied up at dock in Decem- 

 ber. Low tide on old wildrice marsh on the Patuxent River in Maryland. 



little book There Are No Dull Dark Days. He begins his essay with a 

 poem about the Marsh Hen : 



Give me a gun and some old Marsh 

 Where the pusher's voice calls mark right ! 

 As the king rail springs from the ditch beyond 

 Then as suddenly drops out of sight. 



"Dah he! Mark left!" What a thrill as the excited "pusher" calls the first 

 bird on a beautiful September mom. This is the moment for which the gunner- 

 man has waited many a month. 



We are on the Patuxent. Everything has clicked; the wind is southeast and 

 gentle, the day warm but not hot. . . . high tide at 7 :30 a.m. As far as the eye 

 can see on both sides of the river, artistic stalks of wild "oats" stand. Over on 

 the higher marshes, a solid mass of brilliant yellow blossoms, called lutterweed 

 by the natives, greets the eye. 



Rails, being in good requisition for the table, have been extensively hunted, 

 particularly on the marshes of the Delaware and Chesapeake bays. Most sought 

 after of the rails is the little sora or Carolina rail. The Virginia and king rail 

 often add variety to the bag, however. 



It is next to impossible to make these birds take wing when they are able to 

 run. Because of this, rail are hunted only when the tide is so high that the flooded 

 marshes afford no shelter and make it impossible for them to run. While the 

 pusher poles a small skiff over the flooded marsh, the hunter stands in the bow, 

 gun in hand. Every now and then a bird will jump, sometimes almost from under 

 the boat, flying away with apparent feebleness, just over the tops of the foliage. 

 As it flies, its legs dangle awkwardly. This ruse, however, is merely to prepare 

 it for the sudden drop which often leaves the surprised hunter drawing a bead 



