than they begin calling aloud, until the flock approaches so near, that the gunners are enabled to make great havoc among them with their musket shot."

The Swan.

Wood or Summer Duck.

The Swan (Cygnus ferus) is found in various parts of North America. Here this noble bird is seen floating near the shores, in flocks of some 2 or 300, white as the driven snow, and, from time to time, emitting fine, sonorous, and occasionally melodious songs, so loud that they may be heard on a still evening, two or three miles. There are two kinds so called from their respective notes; the one the trumpeter, and the other the hooper; the former is the largest. These birds are sagacious and wary, and depend more on sight, than on the sense of smell.

The Wood or Summer Duck (Anas sponsa) is the most beautiful bird of its kind in the world. It was named sponsa, or the bride, by Linnæus, from the crest which adorns its head, resembling the wedding head-dress of the Swedish peasants. Its plumage is most brilliantly variegated. It passes the summer in the woods, but its favorite spots are the borders of ponds and lakes. It nestles in hollow trees, and when taken may be easily tamed.

The Canvas-back Duck (Fuligula valisneria) is peculiar to America, and is more celebrated than any other, for the excellent flavor of its flesh. They breed, as is supposed, on the borders of the northern lakes, or of Hudson's Bay; they frequent the waters of the Chesapeake, and are abundant on the Mississippi. It is well ascertained that they feed on the bulbous root of a grass, which grows on the flats in the fresh water of these rivers, and has very much the color and flavor of garden celery; it is to this focd that has been attributed, and we believe correctly, the peculiarly delicious taste of their flesh. They feed in from 6 to 10 feet water; they are expert divers, and with great strength and agility, seize the grass near the bottom, bringing it up root and branch to the surface, where they bite off the root, leaving the long herbaceous part to float on the water.

The Eider Duck (F. mollissima) is found on the coast in the northern parts of North America, as well as in Europe. From this bird is procured the soft down called eider down, which is so well known as an article of commerce. In the breeding season, the birds pluck it from their breasts to line their nests, and make a soft bed for the young ones; this the natives remove with the eggs, and the female plucks new down and lays afresh. If she has not enough left, the male covers the eggs with his down. One female bird generally gives half a pound of down.

The Pelican (Pelecanus onocrotalus) is very abundant on the shores of the Southern States. They are all torpid and inactive to the last degree, so that nothing can exceed their indolence but their gluttony. It is only from the stimulations of hunger that they are ex

Eider Duck.

cited to labor; for otherwise they would. continue always in fixed repose. When they have raised themselves about thirty or forty feet above the surface of the water, they turn their head, with one eye downwards, and continue to fly in that posture. As soon as they perceive a fish sufficiently near the surface, they dart down upon it with the swiftness of an arrow, seize it with unerring certainty, and store it up in their pouch. They then rise again, though not without great labor, and continue hovering and fishing, with their head on one side, as before.

Sometimes they are said to assemble in large numbers, to act in concert, and manœuvre with great skill, for the purpose of securing an abundant prey. This they accomplish by forming a circular line, gradually narrowing the included space, till the fishes are driven within a small compass. They then all plunge into the water at once, on a given signal, fill their pouches with the spoil, and then return to the land, to enjoy themselves at leisure.

Their life is spent between sleeping and eating. The female makes no preparation for her nest, nor seems to choose any place in preference to lay in, but drops her eggs. on the bare ground, to the number of five or six, and there continues to hatch them. Her little progeny, however, seem to call forth some maternal affections; for the young have been taken and tied by the leg to a post, and the parent bird has been observed for several days to come and feed them, remaining with them the greatest part of the day, and spending the night on the branch of a tree that hung over them. By these means they became so familiar that they suffered themselves to be handled; and they very readily accepted whatever fish was given to them. These they always put first into their pouch, and then swallowed them at leisure. It was once believed that the pelican fed her young with her own blood; a fable for which we are indebted to some of the early fathers of the church, and which has been perpetuated by poets and heralds. The fact is, that the parent bird feeds the young by pressing its full pouch against its breast, and thus expelling a portion of the contents. The appearance of the bird when in this attitude, with the bloody spot on the end of its bill closely pressed against the delicate plumage of its breast, may, it has been well observed, readily account for the prevalence of such an idea in the minds of superficial observers.

Pelican.

The Black-bellied Darter, or Snake Bird (Plotus melanogaster), is common from the Carolinas to Guiana. The head, neck, and breast are light brown; the belly and tail, deep black. It sits on the shrubs that hang over the water, and often terrifies the passengers by darting out its long and slender neck, which bears a strong resemblance to that of a serpent.

The Alligator (Crocodilus lucius) is common in the larger rivers of the south and southwest, and abounds particularly in Louisiana. Mr. Audubon furnishes us with the following account, which refers to that State :

All our lagoons, bayous, creeks, ponds, lakes, and rivers, are well stocked with them; they are found wherever there is a sufficient quantity of water to hide them, or to furnish them with food; and they continue thus, in great numbers, as high as the mouth of the Arkansas River, extending

east to North Carolina, and as far west as I have penetrated. On the Red River, before it was navigated by steam vessels, they were so extremely abundant, that, to see hundreds at a sight along the shores, or on the immense rafts of floating or stranded timber, was quite a common occurrence; the smaller on the backs of the larger, groaning and uttering their bellowing noise, like thousands of irritated bulls about to meet in fight, but all so careless of man, that, unless shot at, or positively disturbed, they remained motionless, suffering boats or canoes to pass within a few yards of them, without noticing them in the least. The shores are yet trampled by them in such a manner, that their large tracks are seen as plentiful as those of sheep in a fold.

66

When alligators are fishing, the flapping of their tails about the water may be heard at half a

Alligator.

mile; but, to describe this in a more graphic way, suffer me to take you along with me in one of my hunting excursions, accompanied by friends and Negroes. In the immediate neighborhood of Bayou-Sarah, on the Mississippi, are extensive shallow lakes and morasses; they are yearly overflowed by the dreadful floods of that river, and supplied with myriads of fishes of many kinds, amongst which trouts are most abundant, white perch, cat-fish, and alligator gars, or devil-fish. Thither, in the early part of autumn, when the heat of a southern sun has exhaled much of the water, the squatter, the planter, the hunter, all go in search of sport. The lakes are then

about two feet deep, having a fine sandy bottom; frequently much grass grows in them, bearing crops of seed, for which multitudes of water-fowl resort to those places. The edges of these lakes are deep swamps, muddy for some distance, overgrown with large heavy timber, principally cypress, hung by Spanish beard, and tangled with different vines, creeping plants, and cane, so as to render them almost dark during the day, and very difficult for the hunter's progress. Here and there in the lakes are small islands, with clusters of the same trees, on which flocks of snake birds, wood ducks, and different species of herons, build their nests. Fishing lines, guns, and rifles, some salt, and some water, are all the hunters take. Two Negroes precede them, the woods are crossed, - the 'scampering deer is seen, the raccoon and the opossum cross before you, the black, the gray, and the fox squirrel, are heard barking. As you proceed farther on, the hunk hunk of the lesser ibis is heard from different parts, as they rise from the puddles that supply them with crayfish. At last the opening of the lake is seen; it has now become necessary to drag one's self along through the deep mud, making the best of the way, with the head bent, through the small brushy growth, caring about nought but the lock of your gur The long narrow Indian canoe, kept to hunt those lakes, and taken into them during the fresh, is soon launched, and the party seated in the bottom, is paddled or poled in search of water-game. There, at a sight, hundreds of alligators are seen dispersed over all the lake, their head, and all the upper part of the body, floating like a log, and, in many instances so resembling one, that it requires to be accustomed to see them to know the distinction. Millions of the large wood ibis are seen wading through the water, mudding it up, and striking deadly blows with their bills on the fish within. Here are a herd of blue herons, the sand-hill crane rises with hoarse note, the snake birds are perched here and there on the dead timber of the trees; the cormorants are fishing; buzzards and carrion crows exhibit a mourning train, patiently waiting for the water to dry and leave food for them, and far in the horizon the eagle overtakes a devoted wood-duck, singled from the clouded flocks that have been bred there. It is then that you see and hear the alligator at his work. Each lake has a spot deeper than the rest, rendered so by these animals who work at it; it is always situated at the lower end of the lake, near the connecting bayous. Thus, as drainers pass through all those lakes, and discharge sometimes many miles below where the water had made its entrance above, they insure to themselves water as long as any remains. This is called by the hunters the Alligator's Hole. You see them there lying close together.

"The drivers of cattle from the Opelousas, and those of mules from Mexico, on reaching a lagoon or creek, send several of their party into the water, armed merely each with a club, for the purpose

of driving away the alligators from the cattle; and you may then see men, mules, and those monsters, all swimming together, the men striking the alligators, that would otherwise attack the cattle, of which they are very fond, and the latter hurrying towards the opposite shores, to escape their powerful enemies. They will swim swiftly after a dog, or a deer, or a horse, before attempting the destruction of a man, of whom I have always remarked they were afraid, if the man feared not them." The Rattlesnake is found in all parts of our country, but in the Southern States it grows to a larger size, and is more active and venomous. There appear to be several varieties, some of which are as large as a man's leg, and six or seven feet in length. In its native haunts it moves along most majestically; neither seeking to offend the larger animals nor fearing their insults. If unprovoked it never meddles with any thing but its natural prey; but when accidentally trodden upon, or pursued to be destroyed, it then makes a dreadful and desperate defence. It erects itself upon its tail, throws back its head, and inflicts the wound in a moment; it then parts and inflicts a second wound; after which, we are told by some, that it remains torpid and inactive, without even attempting to escape.

The very instant the wound is inflicted, though small in itself, it appears more painful than the sting of a bee. This pain, which is so suddenly felt, far from abating, grows every moment more excruciating and dangerous; the limb swells, the venom reaches the head, which is soon of a monstrous size; the eyes are red and fiery; the heart beats quick, with frequent interruptions; the pain becomes insupportable, and some expire under it in five or six hours; but others, who are of stronger constitutions, survive the agony for a few hours longer, only to sink under a general mortification which ensues and corrupts the whole body.

The usual motion of the Rattlesnake is with its head to the ground. When, however, it is alarmed, it coils its body into a circle, with its head erect, and its eyes flaming in a terrific manner. But it cannot pursue rapidly, and has no power of springing on its enemy.

Of the Moccasin Snake there are three or four varieties, bearing a general resemblance in size and color to the rattlesnake. Some of them inhabit the uplands, and others live around the water and in marshy places. They are indolent animals, neither flying nor pursuing man. In point of venom, this snake is classed with the rattlesnake. The Negroes of the rice plantations are obliged to take precautions against it, but it is said never to bite at night, and the sportsmen, who go in pursuit of ducks and other birds, walk through the marshes at that time without fear. The Copper Head Snake of the Southern States, and the Elaps fulvius, are almost the only venomous snakes of North America, beside those above-named.

12. Indians. The natives of America consist of two distinct races. To the first belong the Esquimaux, who inhabit Greenland, Labrador, the shores of Hudson's Bay, and the Arctic Ocean.

Although known under different names, and spread over a wide extent of country, they all speak the same language, and, like the Malays of the eastern continent, they live only along the sea coast. They are of a smaller stature than the other American aborigines, and are more lively and loquacious; their hair is straight and black, but their skin is white. They are ignorant, superstitious, and extremely filthy; living in a region where the soil is frozen during nine months in a year, they cannot rely upon the vegetabl

Indian Encampment.

productions of the earth for subsistence, and as they have no domestic animals but dogs, hunting and fishing are almost their sole resource.

It is in the management of their canoes, and the stratagems by which they take the seal, the walrus, or the whale, that they display their highest exertions of intellect. Their dress is of skin; and their houses are tents of skins, or huts of snow and ice.

The second race is dispersed over the rest of the American continent, and is composed of numerous tribes, speaking different languages, yet evidently sprung from the same original stock. They are larger, more warlike, and more taciturn than the Esquimaux, from whom they also differ in the color of their skin, which is of a coppery tinge. The greater part of these nations were found by the Europeans, and still continue, in a state of barbarism. Armed with bows and arrows, war clubs, lances, and tomahawks; even in the preparation of these simple weapons they made no use of metal or of metallic instruments; without domestic animals or settled habitations, rarely cultivating the ground, and then only in a rude manner, they wandered from place to place, subsisting by the chase or by fishing, and living in temporary tents or lodges of mats or skins, or in huts composed of the branches of trees, owning no property and following no regular occupation. The men, who despised labor, passed the time not consumed in hunting or in war, in stupid inaction, while the labor was all done by the women. They lived collected in small bands or tribes, several of whom were often united under a common chief or leader, rather for the purpose of defence or making war against their neighbors, than for the objects of civil government. Many of these tribes have become extinct since the whites have occupied the great forest, through which they hunted; others have in some degree modified their primitive habits, and even adopted the arts of civilized life, while others, occupying the greater part of the immense regions west of the Mississippi, and those north of the Canadas, retain the customs of their ancestors. An examination of their languages has shown them to consist of several great families or nations, each comprising numerous kindred tribes.

(1.) The Algonquin or Chippeway nation is spread over all the northern part of the continent east of the Rocky Mountains. Among the various tribes of this family are the Knistenaux or Crees, in the region of Slave Lake, the Saskashawan, and Hudson's Bay; the Micmacs, in the British Provinces; the Chippeways, around Lake Superior; the Ottawas, in Michigan Territory, to which tribe the celebrated Pontiac belonged; the Potawatomies, of the same region; the Sacs and Foxes, or Saukis and Ottogamis, who have lately been obliged to confine themselves to the west of the Mississippi; and the Shawnees, Kickapoos, Menomonies, Miamis, and Delawares, of the same region. The Mohegans and Abenaquis, who formerly inhabited the Middle and Eastern States, belonged also to this family.

(2.) The Wyandot or Huron family included the confederacy called the Iroquois or Six Nations, comprising the Mohawks, Senecas, Onondagos, Oneidas, Cayugas, and Tuscaroras, and the Wyandots. The Six Nations resided on the St. Lawrence, and some of them still remain in New York and Canada. The last remnants of the Mohegans have been incorporated with them.

(3.) The Southern or Floridian family comprised the Cherokees, Creeks, Chickasaws, Choctaws, Seminoles, and Natchez. The last mentioned, now extinct, resided on the Mississippi, and had attained a much higher degree of civilization than their neighbors. The others, with the exception of some Seminoles, have been removed from their former habitations in Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, and Florida, to the Indian Territory.

(4.) The Sioux or Dahcotahs are a numerous family, inhabiting the region to the west of the Mississippi, on the Missouri, Platte, and Arkansas. One tribe of this family, the Winnebagoes, formerly resided near Lake Michigan, but they have lately been obliged to retire to the