Phenix gazette. [volume] (Alexandria [D.C.]) 1825-1833, 1826-12-29
Tothe Editor of the Eikfon Press.
DUCK SHOOTING

S1a-It may not be uninteresIing to some
of your distant readers, 10 be informed OF. the
manner Of shooting Wild Ducks on the Sus-
uuehanna; and though many o! them may be
incredulous, no citizen Of Cecil county will
doub: the sequel.
The phrase Iohing Ducks is peculiar to :his
part Of the world, and is not understood any
where elsy; and is pr%actised in the following
manner: When a gunner discovers a flock Of
ducks floating at too great a distance to be shot
from the shore, he crawls near 10 the water, &
~Conceals himself behind a blind, which he pre-
viously cree ted for the purpose, oflogs covered
with river grass. He has with him a dog train
ed TO run alter chi ps or small stones; the color
Of the dog should be red or white, though al
mos every colour has been found to answer al
times. Concealed from the ducks, the gunner
throws a stone near the edge Of the water, and
the dog instantly springs from the blind and
runs after it. AT he sight fthe dog playing
on the shore, the ducks stretch out their long
necks and gaze with apparent amazemen, and
curiosity, like a gang of negroes at Punch in
the puppet show. The gunner continues 10
throw stones right and left, and the dog 10 run
after them, the dog should be kept running as
fast as possible, and not allowed TO stop if it
can be avoided, for an instant, his large bushy
all W w oi'o'oI u bs'NtC'' -
ducks in the mean while are delighted with the
singular spectacle, and swim towards the dog
as fast as their feet can paddle them, so great
is their Impotence TO get a nearer view of him,
that those which are furthes: off will fly and
light between him and those that were nearest.
All the time the ducks keep their eyes fixed
upon the dog, and seem to be governed by a
spell which they have not power nor incllna-
ton 10 break, like birds charmed by a black
snake. AS soon as the gunner perceives that
the ducks take notice Of his dog, his hope is
raised frequently 20 be disappointed, for if the
ducks see the gunner, or if his dog run behind
any thing on the shore that ~conceals him from
their sight, or if from fatigue or laziness he de-
cline running, or if he bark or lie down to
gnaw the stone that was thrown for him, which
frequently happens, instantly the spell is brok-
Ell, and the DICKS take 10 their wings. II, how
ever, no accident happens, and every thing
works right, Gas the duckers say often a flock
ofducks that cover halfacre Of water, is told as
it were, by magic, from60o Yards or upwards to
within twenty feet oGthe gunner. The numbers
that are killed in this way, ore inrrphible: for
th.re are generally 2orS gunners that shoot from
the same blind. will not attempt 10 account
for toleing ducks;by what instinct or impulse
thew are ruled in coming to the dog, whether
it be curiosity or magic, | know not; but | know
that the fact exists as have stated, and can be
attested by hundreds of gunners on the Sus-
ouehanna; and defy DR.. Mitchell, Or any o.
Their sage, 10 give a satisfactory explanation of
il. / have seen the same flock Of ducks toled
10 shore three times in one day by the same
dog, and shot at each time. 1t is not to be
supposed that the dog is conscious Of the effect
he produces on the ducks, or knows that they
to the shore TO see him, he is engaged
playing with the stones that are thrown ior
him, and thinks of nothing else. There is diff
fculty in training a toler; most dogs are too
lazy, and refuse to run as soon as their feet get
cut by the stones and shells on the shore, and
few of them will play after they have frequent
ly seen the ducks shot, but stop to look at them
when they approach the shore, and sometimes
plunge into the water after them before they
are near enough to be killed. A gunner should
be provided with several dogs to bring the
ducks he shoots out OF the water, and never
suffer his toler TO do it, lest he contract the ha-
bit Of neglecting his play to swim after the
ducks before they are shot. lhe Newtound-
land breed make the best water dogs, and will
plunge into the most rapid stream or break
through the ice in the coolest weather to bring
out ducks. Ducks are not 10 be toled at all
nor the sam flock very often, and there
SGNCIdt lnb Niok WIN A-oiiJ
in the season, that is, the latter part Of Octo- |
Der, or first of November, the canvass back and
red-head, the most delicious of all feathered
creation, tole in abundance, but after being shot
at several times they become wild, and will
fly at the sight of a dog. Some Of the Sus-
quehanna eunners can ascertain 2ine times out
of ten, without making the experiment, by
watching tlr motions of a flock Of ducks.
whether they are in the notion of ,oleing, or
will fly from the dog. This is the last ert
that a gunner acquires, and Is not to be learn
ed except from experience. No state in the
abounds with water fowl of every de-
scription equally with the land Of Mary. They
are to be found in the bay below Havre-de-
Grace. numerous enough to darken the air, and
the thunder of their wings can be heard when
they rise from the water, al the distance Of ten
miles The art Of toleing, like many other Gu
rious arts, was discovered by accident; and ira
lition says that a gunner concealed behind a