APRIL 7, 1906.] 
FOREST AND STREAM. 

away down stream. Loud were our lamenta- 
tions as we glided through the deserted water 
and looked ruefully around and back at the 
place where they had been; but startled by the 
cry of ‘Yon’ dey come” from one of our pilots, 
we looked around, to see the whole lot return- 
ing about twenty-five yards above the water. 
Now they were over us, and we “cut loose.” 
Down came two mallards in answer to my shots, 
one so closé to the boat that he was dispatched 
with the paddle, the other dead in the water 
some ten yards above. Cliff had two and a red- 
head, and Ed. another mallard. As we paddled 
down the stream, suddenly a succession of re- 
ports far astern told that we were not the only 
hunters on the river, and looking eagerly back 
we saw the flock coming toward us again, but 
away up out of range. 
To my surprise Cliff, as they passed, put up 
his gun and fired both barrels, with the astound- 
ing results of bringing down a fine mallard 
drake. But instead of glorying in his success, 
he looked sorrowfully after the disappearing 
flock, and berated himself for missing with his 
second barrel! How he had killed with his first 
was more than I[ could understand, for the dis- 
tance must have been upward of 80 yards; but 
he explained that he had used thread-wound 
cartridges which would kill even at ninety. Ed 
and I thereupon registered a vow never to go 
ducking without thread-wound cartridges again. 
Half a dozen mallards flew out as we passed 
a creek on the left and curved down stream. 
Ed’s first barrel brought one down, but his 
second had only the effect to make the rest 
turn and fly over my head. I scored a clean 
miss with the first barrel, and thought I had suc- 
ceeded no better with the second, when one of 
the ducks began to lag, and then, to my joy, 
dropped. A minute’s swift paddling and we 
found him, floating on his back, with his feet 
gently kicking the air. Soon after I had re- 
gained my place in the line three redheads came 
toward us, but before coming in range they 
swung off to my right, over a cornfield, and 
then turned again toward the river. As they 
came opposite, my well-choked left barrel laid 
one low, but what was my grief to find no place 
where I could land. What would I not have 
given for a good retriever, small enough to lift 
to the top of the steep clay bank which extended 
on either side as far as I could see. 
As we rounded the next bend a large flock 
appeared about 150 yards below. They rose, 
however, before we were in range, and flying 
about 100 yards, further down, turned into the 
mouth of a large creek on the left. As they had 
evidently alighted at some distance from the 
tiver Ed and I landed on either side of the 
creek, leaving Cliff stationed at the mouth. We 
came in sight of the ducks when we were about 
150 yards from the river. They were in a small 
pond, on both sides of which grew thick bushes, 
tall enough to hide us. After creeping back 
out of sight I ran to a point opposite the pond, 
and quietly made my way through the bushes 
till I could see the game. Then, lying flat and 
holding my gun ready, I awaited the signal for 
action. Soon Bob White sounded his call from 
the opposite bank. I answered the call, and 
covering a pair of mallards who had swam into 
line with me, pulled trigger, then springing up, 
with the second barrel stopped a black duck on 
his way to the French Broad. 
Though I had been too excited to hear Ed’s 
shots, they had certainly been fired, as two black 
ducks and a green-wing teal testified. And two 
reports from the river told us that Cliff was 
not asleep, so gathering up our spoils (with 
the aid of cartridges) we returned to him. He 
showed us a nice brace of teal and reported that 
the rest had flown up stream. We left them for 
the men behind us and kept on down. Now we 
found the ducks more scattered. Instead of be- 
ing in flocks they were spread in twos and 
threes over the whole course of the river. So 
numerous, were they, too, that till we reached 
the mouth of the Swannanoa, two miles above 
Asheville, our barrels were kept quite warm. 
At this point we landed about noon, with twenty- 
three, nineteen and twenty-six ducks respec- 
tively. SETTER. 

ol” 



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