Fishing and shooting sketches . ugh for me, providingI have lost no opportunities and haveshot well. Besides, I have never in-dulged in any shooting so conduciveto the stimulation and strengthening141 Summer Shooting of the incomparable virtue of pa-tience. I have sat in a blind for fivehours, by the watch—and awake near-ly all the time at that—without see-ing or hearing a bird worth is, however, neither the killingof birds nor the cultivation of patiencethat has exacted my absolute submis-sion to the fascination of shore-birdshooting on Cape Cod. It is hardto explain this fascinat
Fishing and shooting sketches . ugh for me, providingI have lost no opportunities and haveshot well. Besides, I have never in-dulged in any shooting so conduciveto the stimulation and strengthening141 Summer Shooting of the incomparable virtue of pa-tience. I have sat in a blind for fivehours, by the watch—and awake near-ly all the time at that—without see-ing or hearing a bird worth is, however, neither the killingof birds nor the cultivation of patiencethat has exacted my absolute submis-sion to the fascination of shore-birdshooting on Cape Cod. It is hardto explain this fascination, but my no-tion is that it grows out of a conceitedattempt to calculate the direction ofthe wind and other weather condi-tions over-night, the elaborate prepa-rations for a daylight start, the uncer-tainties of the pursuit under any con-ditions, the hope, amounting almostto expectation, that notwithstandingthis the wisdom and calculation ex-142 ,-?/ K ?(.^f* r/^/^. », V ^?^ ^JP* L^ fv ^^^.^ t\ — \ . -^--V-. Summer Shooting pended in determining upon the tripwill be vindicated, the delightfulearly morning drive to the grounds,the anticipation of a flight of birdsevery moment while there, and thefinal sustaining expectation of theirarrival in any event just before singular thing in my case is thatif all goes wrong at last, and evenif under the influence of fatigue anddisappointment I resolve during thedrive home in chill and darkness thatthe trip will not be repeated for manya long day, it is quite certain thatwithin forty-eight hours I shall beagain observing the weather andguessing what the direction of thewind will be the next morning, in con-templation of another start. But some will say, how are the145 Summer Shooting incidents of hope and expectation, orof preparation and calculation, whichare common to all sporting excursions,made to account for this especial in-fatuation with shore-bird shooting?I shall answer this question as well asI can by sug
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