A COUNTRY DIARY.

Press, Volume LIV, Issue 16209, 11 May 1918, Page 7

A COUNTRY DIARY.

DUCK SHOOTING - BEGINS,

(SPECIALLY WRITTEN FOR "THE PRESS.")

(Bv CANTKRBTTRY.) May Ist.—With all arrangements made for an early start, there seemed reasonable hope of a duck or two upon "tho first"; and "It's half-a-crown that yon are not at my placo by four o'clock," said James, as ho departed; so I just sat up all night, and won this most acceptable sum of money very easily. Half-crowns aro specially valuable in theso days, but it was not so much for that as for tho usual now and beautiful "first" ideas, which this time included a motor .drive. by- moonlight, an arrival before dawn, d«cks whining everywhere in their morning flight, and all tho rest of a hopefully pain tod prospect. * The sitting up all night part seemed a mighty long process, certainly; and in consequence, by next evening. I could go to sloep whenever I touched solids, but trf courso this came afterwards, and we aro told there is no use in worrying ahead. If you get busy with a lew mending jobs-of sorts, and keep at them with such constancy that lets the fire out, you begin to feol chilly and quite wakeful about 2 a-iri.; so then there was the firo to be lit again, and the kettle boiled—spilled once in the effort and talked to Accordingly—and Rupert extracted from his 6lothful little bed to 'our very early breakfast, and two miles to bo walked in tho darkness, and lastly a voVy apologetic James to be roused with fitting violence. If it had not been that he owned tho motor —well, he blamed his alarm-clock, which "never didn't bofore," but whether he had eot it or-not, as we felt free to think, it must bo said for him that he can get aiurry on against anybody. Soon after five of the watoh wo were | got ting "speed" in plenty, and with a motor in good humour too milea go quickly, but even as wo renchod our shooting ground Bomo duoks passed closely, and then there was extra hurry, across a clover field to a Wasto of gorse and shingle, near tho junction of a river with a sluggish willowy creek. There, in the dimness of a waning moon, and groyest dawn, wo gained some general notion of t our surround- 1 ings, thick willows guarding a rearward bank, a sullen shoot of Water spread before ns, and as wo harshly sought cover in somo scattered patohos of yard-high mint, a shot fat Up ,fll« creek gave warning that the first Was. beginning. The gunshot might have been a signal, for it wan followod'ty others in all directions, Olid though most of the birds wero yet invisible the silent air seemed filled 'With the sound of wings. About 'tt hundred ducks -went over in ono- groat com" pany, and afterwards tho smaller parties came I darting here or there. Two ducks pitched suddenly in tho i>ool just by my hiding placa, but someone a field away appeared to be firing a cannon with blaok powder, and at tho roar of its discharge thoy tOBO again, fbut did not go far, aiid "Don, tha retriever, gathered our first braces As tho light' grew stronger tho sounds of shots were multiplied, until one .might havo supposed that rail South Canterbury had gone out shoot-' ing upon "Tho First," jind during the next nqur the ducks, were passing) and repassing constantly in greater or rower numbers,' gradually mounting higher in - the 1 air, as -the waiting gunners narrod them from , one aftor another of their best-known haunts. Occasionally a flight approached, us, generally travelling at .their fastest pace, in; the ? : dißtanco at one moment, flashing over ' in the next, and if half our tiart- ■ ridges' held crooked powder, one ooulti >• not call it' easy shootings ana'tiio duclcs we killed had overy chahoe; X count our best performance was Against • nine birds which came dashing down* .. river like slcooting specks, when as >\ they passed at their topmost speed ( .-; each of our threo guns firod ono cart* .. ridge, and there wore threo dead ducks ' in the air at the same instant, while the rest were clear away. In the course of an 'hour or 10 the sounds of firing had slaokcmod to oooa(tional shots, and most of thfl soflrod ducks had winged their way to quieter , - gaces, far off in tho distant valleys or the river gorges among tho hills. i Later a few returned from tim'6 to time, perhaps two or half a , dozen together, thinking, their, home, water* ' must surely hare found pcnce at last, but each-tune their greeting proved r . unfriendly, and with fewer numbers * ■ they fied again, to unknown parts. In the long intervals we could notice the' / habits of our neighbours, and espeelally wo marked the proceedings of .;• one pot-hunting gunner, who, according to James was no more than "a ■ murdering, unsporting hound." In ■ the whole of his shooting, Ido nob ' think he ever fired at a bird wWch was on the wing, but waited until they £ had settled in the pool besido fylm, and then waited again until he could " get two or three of them in. line. In this way he slaughtered nearly forty ; very comfortably, and then tho indignntion of "Woi James" broke 1 bounds. ■ I grieve to say there was a slight ■;> argument; and if James.looks able to - use his hands," wo could not denv that - v the other man proved "able of hla ' leggis." •