. The American sportsman: containing hints to sportsmen, notes on shooting, and the habits of the game birds and wild fowl of America . THE «IHP \CE-B0\T; COtriN-fiOAl ;BArTERl ; SINK, OR BOX. UG-OUTS have been entirely supersededduring the three or four past seasons, onthe waters of the Chesapeake, by the in-troduction of the surface-boat, as repre-sented in the above eng-ravino;. This ingenious machine has many local appellations. Those in most general use will be seen at the heading of this article, and at the close of it the reader will find explicit directions, together with a skeleton mo
. The American sportsman: containing hints to sportsmen, notes on shooting, and the habits of the game birds and wild fowl of America . THE «IHP \CE-B0\T; COtriN-fiOAl ;BArTERl ; SINK, OR BOX. UG-OUTS have been entirely supersededduring the three or four past seasons, onthe waters of the Chesapeake, by the in-troduction of the surface-boat, as repre-sented in the above eng-ravino;. This ingenious machine has many local appellations. Those in most general use will be seen at the heading of this article, and at the close of it the reader will find explicit directions, together with a skeleton model of the same to be used as a guide in buildina; one for his own use. The boat is anchored out on the feeding-grounds, surrounded byinnumerable decoys, resembling as much as possible the canvas-backs, and so balanced in the water that the most observant eye 283. 284 lewiss AMERICAN SPORTSMAN. can hardly distinguish them from the living fowl, as they ridegently on the surface and appear to be employed in feeding, owingto the constant motion of their heads and body imparted to themby the quiet rippling of the water. The construction of this skiff is such that when anchored out,loaded with the shooter, his ammunition, and the necessary ballast,the water is on a level with the deck of the box; and when re-clining, the occupant and all his paraphernalia are entirely con-cealed from observation, insomuch that it is next to impossible todistinguish any portion of this curious ambush, even when withina few hundred feet of it. We have often been amazed when gazingon the water in the direction of the flats, to see a black figure riseup suddenly, as if from the deep, and blaze forth a destructivevolley into a flock of ducks about to alight, and then immediatelysink again from view. The shooter, having delivered his well-directed fire, quickly reloads hi
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