MIGRATION 



polls and other warblers. It seemed such a cruel 

 thing that even one of these lives which had been 

 hatched and fed with such care in Hudson Bay 

 or Labrador should be needlessly snuffed out be- 

 cause of the glare through a bit of glass. 



Tens of thousands of facts have been gathered 

 and collated concerning the migration of birds, but 

 as to origins and causes we can only surmise and 

 imagine. 



To clarify the subject of migration I need to 

 divorce it from the mere organism which manifests 

 it — to emphasize the obsession, the absolute obliga- 

 tion to go and go, apart from the specific swallow 

 or duck, lemming or butterfly which temporarily 

 houses this mysterious daemon. I shall try to do 

 this by continuing the simile of the swarm of golden 

 bees about the lighthouse, and let a golden glow 

 typify the migration instinct. 



Even human history sheds a little light on our 

 subject. Hannibal forged a tiny flicker of migratory 

 flame over the Alps, the glow of which slowly died 

 down in the plains of farther Italy. Attila and his 

 following hordes were agleam with it when wave 

 after wave of them broke against the Roman le- 

 gions, finally to be smothered by the Eternal City 

 itself. It is distressing to think what our blood and 

 mental equipment would be today had not our pi- 

 ratical ancestors — the winged hats — executed the 

 most lasting migrations known to humans. A very 

 cool, white flame burned in the Mayflower, and even 

 today, our aforementioned Goddess of Liberty 



113 



