. The American sportsman: containing hints to sportsmen, notes on shooting, and the habits of the game birds, and wild fowl of America . ucks that are flyingup and down the river, and are of course tempted to dart downupon the deceptive Decoys, believing them to be others of theirown species that are feeding in perfect security, notwithstandingthe proximity of the greenish mass that conceals the Shooterand his boat. As soon as the Canvass-Backs have come suffi-ciently near, the Shooter raises himself up suddenly and blazesaway with his ponderous weapon, dealing death and destructionthroughout
. The American sportsman: containing hints to sportsmen, notes on shooting, and the habits of the game birds, and wild fowl of America . ucks that are flyingup and down the river, and are of course tempted to dart downupon the deceptive Decoys, believing them to be others of theirown species that are feeding in perfect security, notwithstandingthe proximity of the greenish mass that conceals the Shooterand his boat. As soon as the Canvass-Backs have come suffi-ciently near, the Shooter raises himself up suddenly and blazesaway with his ponderous weapon, dealing death and destructionthroughout the affrighted ranks of his innocent victims. When the weather is favorable and the Ducks are flying, thisplan succeeds very well, and offers some considerable attractionsin the way of sport to those accustomed to Wild Fowl Shoot-ing; but if the weather be cold and boisterous, none shouldattempt it but those inured to the roughest usage and are per-fectly regardless of the elements. * So termed from being constructed by excavating the trunk of a large treesufficiently deep to allow the person of the Shooter to lie concealed in THE SURFACE BOAT. COFFIN BOAT. BATTERY. SINK, OR BOX. The use of the old-fashioued Duo-outs has been entirelvsuperseded during the three or four past seasons, on the watersof the Chesapeake, by the introduction of the Surface-boat, asrepresented in the above engraving. This ingenious machine has many local appellations, those inmost general use will be seen at the heading of this article, andat the close of it the reader will find explicit directions, togetherwith a skeleton model of the same to be used as a guide inbuilding one for his own use. The boat is anchored out on the feeding-arrounds, surroundedby innumerable Decoys, resembling as much as possible theCanvass-Backs, and so balanced in the water that the most ob-servant eye can hardly distinguish them from the living Fowl,as they ride gently on the surface and appear to be employedin feeding,
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Keywords: ., bookauthorle, bookcentury1800, bookdecade1850, booksubjecthunting
