We went back to Chesapeake Marine Museum to see what we missed yesterday. It was much quieter this morning. The young staff was very interested in hearing about our trip.
Friendly and enthusiastic staff - Chris, Julianna, Lydia and Josh
Besides exhibits on boats, boat building, crabbing and oystering, the museum has a building dedicated to water fowling that tells the history of hunting on the Eastern Shore.
A Punt Gun. This gun was loaded on shore and then rowed out to a blind. After firing, the shooter had to row back to shore to reload. Eventually outlawed, it was user by market hunters. This gun could kill over 50 waterfowl with a single shot. (Any shot that killed over 30 birds was considered successful.)
Both of the above guns were used to shoot waterfowl as they sat on the water. It wasn't until recent times that this was considered "un-sporting". Today, most hunters shoot birds "on the wing" as this is supposed to give the bird a better chance of escaping.
An exhibit of decoys. Carved decoys of today are almost never used as working decoys. Rather, they have become art and can command prices into the thousands of dollars
The rest of the ride went quickly today. The wind pushed us along through the farms and fields we've been riding by the last several days. A few interesting pictures:
