1 68 



BIRDS OF AMERICA 



this bird, but. like the Canada Goose, the male 

 guards and defends the female, eggs, and young. 

 In autumn when the grip of the frost congealed 

 the surface of its native lakes and streams the 

 Trumpeter gathered in mighty flocks, circled high 

 in air and moved southward in great flights using 

 the V-shaped formation so characteristic of mi- 

 grating Canada Geese. This is written in the 

 past tense as there are no longer any great flights 

 of the species. Then, as now, the Mississippi 

 valley was a highway of bird migration and 

 there, at times, in autumn, when the icy north 

 wind blew, the sunset sky was overcast by clouds 

 of waterfowl moving in dim strata near and far, 

 in varying lines, crossing, converging, ascending, 

 descending, but all trending southward toward 

 waters as yet untouched by the frost. The rush- 

 ing of their wings and their musical cries filled 

 the air with a chorus of unrelated sounds, blend- 

 ing in rough harmonies. Above them all, in the 

 full light of the setting sun great flocks of Cranes 

 passed along the sky, and higher still in the glow- 

 ing firmament rode the long " baseless triangles " 

 of the Swans, sweeping across the upper air in 

 exalted and unswerving flight, spanning a con- 

 tinent with the speed of the wind, their forms 

 glistening like silver in the sunset glow. They 

 presented the most impressive spectacle in bird 

 life ever seen in North America. When at last 

 they found their haven of rest they circled with 

 many hoarse trumpetings in wide spirals from 

 that giddy height reconnoitering the country as 

 they swung lower and lower until, their ap- 



prehensions at rest, they sailed slowly down 

 to drink, bathe, feed, and rest on quiet, peace- 

 ful waters. 



Swans feed almost entirely by reaching down 

 in shallow water and pulling up the vegetation 

 from the bottom with the bill. Animal food such 

 as shellfish is taken to some extent, mainly in the 

 spring. 



The reason for the rapid decrease of the 

 Trumpeter is not far to seek. It is the largest 

 and most conspicuous of waterfowl. Wherever, 

 in settled regions, Swans were seen to alight, 

 every kind of a firearm that could do duty was 

 requisitioned and all men turned out to hunt the 

 great white birds. They were not mucli safer 

 in the almost uninhabited North, as the demands 

 of civilization pursued them there. The records 

 of the traffic in Swans' down tell the story of 

 decrease in the territory of the Hudson Bay Com- 

 pany. Just previous to the middle of the nine- 

 teenth century about five hundred Swans' skins 

 were traded annually at Isle a la Crosse and 

 about three hundred were taken yearly at Fort 

 Anderson. These were mainly skins of the 

 Trumpeter Swan. The number sold annually 

 by the Comj)any slowly decreased from 1 312 in 

 1854 to 122 in 1877. In 1853 Athabasca turned 

 out 251, in 1889 only 33. In 1889 and 1890 

 Isle a la Crosse sent out but two skins for each 

 outfit. (Preble. North American Fauna.) So 

 the demands of fashion and the blood lust will 

 follow the Trumpeter to the end. 



Edw.xrd Howe Forbusii. 



