270 BIRDS OF FIELD, FOREST AND PARK 



But with the coming of the high-power, breech- 

 loading guns, even the wonderful quickness of 

 this noble bird cannot save him from the ruth- 

 less hunter. And, in consequence, he is becom- 

 ing comparatively rare although formerly his 

 piercing voice raised the echoes on nearly every 

 woodland lake of the north country. 



There is much about the Great Northern 

 Diver that smacks of the wilderness. His shy 

 nesting habits, his splendid powers of swimming 

 and flight, and, above all, his weird, unearthly 

 cry, make him the most interesting inhabitant 

 of woodland waters. His cry sometimes so 

 closely resembles the shrieking of a person in 

 sore distress as to easily deceive one. I well 

 remember when a boy one spring day I had 

 strayed along the bank of the Androscoggin 

 without the knowledge of my parents, when a 

 Loon paddling about in the river raised his 

 awful cry, and at once the folks came rushing 

 out to rescue me from drow^ning. 



If when camped on some w^oodland lake there 

 comes to your ears this wild, lonesome, quaver- 

 ing cry its effect is hair-raising. Some years ago 

 we were occupying the little log cabin here on 

 Horseshoe Lake. In the middle of a September 

 night we were awakened by a fearful tempest 

 of lightning, rain and wind that laid low many 

 an old monarch of the forest. In the midst of 

 this warring of the elements, right off the camp 

 two Loons raised their weirdest, most aw^ul 

 cries. Never in my many years of experience 

 in the woods have I heard sounds more alarm- 

 ing, more awesome and fear-inspiring, although 



