CAROLINA RAIL. 
115 
river at this season, you hear them squeaking’ in every 
direction like young puppies ; if a stone be thrown 
among the reeds, there is a general outcry, and a reiterated 
huky kick, kuky something like that of a guinea fowl. 
Any sudden noise, or the discharge of a gun, produces 
the same effect. In the mean time none are to be seen, 
unless it be at or near high water ; for, when the tide 
is low, they universally secrete themselves among the 
interstices of the reeds, and you may walk past, and 
even over them, where there are hundreds, without 
seeing a single individual. On their first arrival, they 
are generally lean, and unfit for the table ; but, as the 
reeds ripen, they rapidly fatten, and, from the 20th of 
September to the middle of October, are excellent, and 
eagerly sought after. The usual method of shooting 
them, in this quarter of the country, is as follows: — 
The sportsman furnishes himself with a light batteau, 
and a stout 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 stem seat, 
pushing her steadily through the reeds. The rail 
generally 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 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 shallow- 
ness of the water, and the strength and weight of the 
