, 1896-04-21
stand hers, relying On chance silots for
ssttdng . bag.

ssttins . bag.
WITH the birds punched and feedina
on the river an entirely different con.
dittoa ot aRairs has to be met No,
only ara they almost unapproachable
but try - you will 1t is next to impossl.
bic to ST them to come within gunshot,
Satling on them Is occasionally success
fui, ~ IL also. creeping on them with a
sink-box or sneak-boat, in the success
full management OF which one great
factor must be borne in mind-geese
can not take flight by rising against the
wind. Therefore. considerable can be
gained In distance by always approch-
ing them down wind. In this way they
must ny toward the sportsman for 10
or 10 yards before able to get out of
range. and the greater the speed one
makes in approaching them at this time
the better.
Decoys made of wood or cork and
used precisely as duck decoys are used
very extensively for shooting on the
water. but will hardly pay a sportsman
who gets but two or three days a wear,
They belong more properly to clubs or
to professional gunners. A fayorite
method In river shooting is to bait the
geese to a certain spot by scattering
corn over a given area, a%nchoring here
with a sink-box. either with or withou.
decoys. and shooting the birds as they
come In to feed. This is particularly
successful about dusk. 1t could be very
successfully worked at the mouths of
any Of the numerous marshes that
make in from-the river il that locality.
Wheat, corn, oats, in fact, grain of any
kind thus invested will yield ample re-
turn In the shape of birds and any
amount of sport.
Lastly, there is the method of fire.
lighting or lacking them. This is. of
course. practiced entirely after dark
and when the birds are gone to roost,
1t Is a method not generally approved
of by sportsmen. yet practiced to a
limited extent only, as it would be on
the Potomac. there could be little objec,
ton to It. 1t only becomes objection
able when followed continually by the
market gunners, whose business it lie
to get all they a by any means. AS it
Is an exceedingly deadly method, the
birds get no rest night or day, and an
entire flock may be annihilated in a
twinkling.
The method is as follows: A flock Is
watched until dark. and their position
noted. Where last seen they will in,
variably roost (unless subsequently
disturbed. Provided with a powerful
reflector lantern, having a dark slide,
two or more men to a boat, with the
lantern In the bow. slowly and cauti-
ously work their way toward the geese.
Not a sound must be made, either with
paddle or voices. for while geese sleep.
they do so with one eye open, and It re.
quires but a very slight noise to spoil
q nights work. Having approached
somewhere ear the flock the light 10
turned on and its ray directed In all
quarters. II the geese see It (as they
mqst) they At least are not alarmed by
1t. II not close enough, all is shrouded
In darkness again until another stretch
has been covered. and when the hight
is again turned. In this manner one
can get into the very center Of a flock
OF geese. They appear daxed by the
strong glare which ehectually conceals
the boat and Its occupants. The terri
BILE execution that a boat load of gum
can cause under such circumstan,
ces 10 easily imagined. and 1t requires
but q few nights of such work to eff
fectuaily break up a shooting ground
Geese will stand a good deal of bang
Ing by daylight. taking 1t as the natural
course OF events, but II they ian not
rest undlsturbed at night they very
take the hint and leave for safer
quarters. The method Ia very effective.
and one is sure of q bag, but II any OF
the other methods can be pursued they
are Observation-Disclosures
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