8 CANVASS-BACK DUÇK.
proprise of success,.old duckers recommend that the nearest duck should
be in perfect relief above the sight, whatever the size of the column,
to avoid the common result of over-shooting. The correctness of this
principle I saw illustrated in an instance in which X had toled to within
a space of from forty to seventy yards off the shore, a bed of certainly
hundreds of ducks. Twenty yards beyond the. outside birds of the
dense mass, were five Black-heads, one of which was alone killed out
of the whole number, by a deliberate aim into the middle of the large
flock from a rest, by a heavy well-proved duck-gun.
• " Before I leave the subject of sitting-shooting, I will mention an occurrence
that took place in Bush River, a few years since. A man
Whose house was situated near the bank, on rising early one morning,
observed that the river had frozen, except an open space of ten or twelve
feet in diameter, about eighty yards from the shore, nearly opposite
his hijuse. The spot was full of ducks, and with a heavy gun he fired
into it. Many were killed, and those that flew soon returned, and
were again and again shot at, till, fgarful that he W£is injuring those
already his own, he ceased the massacre,; and brought on shore ninetytwo
ducks, most of which were Canvass-backs.
" To prevent the dogs, whilst toling, ftpm running in, they are not
allowed to go into the water to bring out. the ducks, but another breed
of large dogs of the Newfoundland and water-spaniel mixture are employed.
These 'animals, whilst toling is in progression,, or at a point,
take apparently as. much interest .in success, .as, the sportsman himself.
During a flight, their ejpes are incessantly o,cc.upied, in watching the direction
from whence the birds rc.ome; and; I hav§ frequently seen them
indicate by their manner, the approach, of a floc.k so distant that the
human eye would have overlooked it. As the ducks come on, the dog
lies down, but still closely observing, theqi, .and the moment the discharge
occurs, jumps up to see the effect. If a duck falls dead, they
plunge to bring i t ; but many of¡t}ifn)i wait to,,gee,ho» he falls, and
whither he swims, and they seem to be as aware as the, gunner» of the
improbability of capture, and will not make the attempt, knowing from
experience that a bird merely winged Will ggncra% save himself by
swimming and diving. These dogs usually bring one duck at a time
out of the water; but a, real Newfoundland, who was, ,with me an4 my
company this autumn, was seen on. several occasions to swim twenty
yards further, and take a second in the mouth to carry on shore. The
CANVASS-BACK DUCK. 9
indefâtigability and ambition of these animals are remarkable, and a
gentleman informed me he had known his dog bring, in the space of
onè hour, twenty Canyass-backs and three Swans from the water, when
the weather was so ' severe that the animal was covered with icicles,
and to prevent his freezing he took his great-coat to envelope him.
Some dogs will dive a considerable distance after a duck, but a crippled
Canvass-back or Black-head, will swim so far under the water, that they
can rarely be caught by the dog ç and it often has been observed, that
the moment one of these ducks, if merely winged, reaches the surface,
he passes under, and however calm, cannot be seen again. To give
an idea of the extreme rapidity with which a duck can dive, I will relate
an occurrence which was noticed by myself, and a similar one was
observed by another of the party the same day. A male South-southerly
was shot at in the water by a percussion-gun, and after escaping the
shot by diving, commenced his flight. When about forty yards from
the boat, he had acquired an elevation of a foot or more from the surface1.
; A second percussion-gun was discharged, and he dived from the
wing at the flash, and though the spot .'of entrance was covered by the
shot, soon rose unharmed and flew.
" Canvass-backs, when wounded <>n the Streams near the bay, instantly
•direct their course for it, and there nestle among the grass on the shores
till cured, or destroyed by eagles, hawks, gulls, foxes, or other vermin,
that are constantly on the search. If a dead Canvàss-back bë not soon
secured, it becomes à prey to the gulls, which rarely touch any other
-kind. I have seen sevëie ''contests take place'between: crippled Canvass
backs and Gulls ; and although a pounce or two generally prevents
further resistance, scttftetime'^' they are driven off. If the bird is remarkably
savoury, the gull makes such a noise, that others are soon
collected, when pçtësesàibn is determined by courage or strength.
" Another mode o'f taking Ducks consists in placing gilling-nets under
Water on the 'fëëSmg-grounds, and when they dive for food, their head
and wings become' entangled in the meshes, and they are drowned.
This plan, though successful at first, soon drives the bird from these
places ; and in some 'çàlses, a few applications have entirely prevented
their return for some weeks. Paddling upon them in the night or day
produces the saine effect, and although practised to some extent on
Bush River is highly1 disapproved of by persons shooting from points.
For the last three years a man has been occupied on this stream with