Simulating Disablement 115 
to recover their equilibrium. Again as I drew nearer, they would 
quickly develop some acute malady in one wing which caused them 
to flap along through the water and reeds until my nearer approach 
wrought a perfect cure and opening their grand wings, which 
spread for over 7 ft., they sailed off to a safe distance, ready to 
repeat the performance should I attempt to follow them. 
I now returned to my bull-stick and picking up the old align- 
ment worked along it until I came upon what was obviously an 
unfinished Crane’s nest of the year, a great platform of reeds and 
rushes, 5 ft. across, raised to the level of the water which was 
here about 18 in. deep. Several well-defined ‘‘ Cranes’ paths” led 
up to this nest. It did not require any profound bird-knowledge 
to realize that this could not be the nest of the birds which had 
shown so much anxiety at my presence, and I quickly concluded 
that they must have eggs or possibly young not far off. Conse- 
quently I made numerous casts on horseback in various directions 
all about the place but without success and eventually returned 
to my point of observation thoroughly discomfited and trying to 
persuade myself that the Cranes had hatched off in the nest I 
had found, which had since subsided and that their young were 
skulking in the reeds. 
After half an hour’s further watching the Cranes once again 
returned to the suspected locality, whilst two other pairs conducted 
independent manceuvres about half a mile on either side of them. 
The most patient study of their movements however elicited 
nothing, and I was compelled to ride homewards at sundown with 
the feeling that I had been completely baffled. 
The following day I once again returned to the attack and 
proceeded to the hill to the east of the marsh, since I was well 
assured of the accuracy of the alignment of the day before, and 
wanted to obtain as clearly defined a bearing from another point. 
Sure enough there were the Cranes feeding in an arroyo, or 
