SORA. 
193 
The usual method of shooting Rail on the Delaware, accord- 
ing to Wilson, is as follows. The sportsman proceeds to the 
scene of action in a batteau with an experienced boatman, who 
propels the boat with a pole. About two hours before high 
water they enter the reeds, the sportsman taking his place in 
the bow ready for action, while the boatman on the stern seat 
pushes the craft steadily through the reeds. The Rails gene- 
rally spring singly as the boat advances, and at a short distance 
ahead are instantly shot down, while the boatman, keeping his 
eye on the spot where the bird fell, directs the vessel forward, 
and picks up the game as the gunner is loading. In this man- 
ner the boat continues through and over the wild-rice marsh, 
the birds flushing and falling, the gunner loading and firing, 
while the helmsman is pushing and picking up the game, — 
which sport continues till an hour or two after high water, 
when its shallowness and the strength and weight of the float- 
ing reeds, as also the unwillingness 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 per- 
petual 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 the serving of a single tide. 
We now know that the Sora breeds abundantly in Wisconsin 
and the northern portions of Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio, as well as 
in the more Eastern States. It is probable that the southern limit 
of its breeding area is in the vicinity of latitude 42°, while its 
northern range does not extend beyond the bad parallel. The birds 
winter in the West Indies and northern South America. 
VOL. 11 . — 13 
