92 BIRDS AND POETS 
they have paired, I think these swallows sometimes 
pass the night in the woods, but not if an old, dis- 
used chimney is handy. 
One evening in early May, my attention was 
arrested by a band of them containing several hun- 
dreds, perhaps a thousand, circling about near a 
large, tall, disused chimney in a secluded place in 
the country. They were very lively, and chipper- 
ing, and diving in a most extraordinary manner. 
They formed a broad continuous circle many rods in 
diameter. Gradually the circle contracted and neared 
the chimney. Presently some of the birds as they 
came round began to dive toward it, and the chip- 
pering was more animated than ever. Then a few 
ventured in; in a moment more, the air at the 
mouth of the chimney was black with the stream of 
descending swallows. When the passage began to 
get crowded, the circle lifted and the rest of the 
birds continued their flight, giving those inside time 
to dispose of themselves. Then the influx began 
again, and was kept up till the crowd became too 
great, when it cleared as before. Thus by install- 
ments, or in layers, the swallows were packed into 
the chimney until the last one was stowed away. 
Passing by the place a few days afterward, I saw a 
board reaching from the roof of the building to the 
top of the chimney, and imagined some curious per- 
son or some predaceous boy had been up to take a 
peep inside, and see how so many swallows could 
dispose of themselves in such a space. It would 
have been an interesting spectacle to see them 
emerge from the chimney in the morning. 
