GEESE 215 



on in a southerly direction, while the male, greatly 

 excited, and calling loudly from time to time, 

 walked at a distance ahead, and constantly turned 

 back to see and call to his mate, and at intervals 

 of a few minutes he would rise up and fly, scream- 

 ing, to a distance of some hundreds of yards ; then 

 finding that he had not been followed, he would 

 return and alight at a distance of forty or fifty 

 yards in advance of the other bird, and begin walk- 

 ing on as before. The female had one wing broken, 

 and, unable to fly, had set out on her long journey 

 to the Magellanic Islands on her feet ; and her 

 mate, though called to by that mysterious im- 

 perative voice in his breast, yet would not forsake 

 her ; but flying a little distance to show her the 

 way, and returning again and again, and calling 

 to her with his wildest and most piercing cries, 

 urged her still to spread her wings and fly with 

 him to their distant home. 



And in that sad, anxious way they would journey 

 on to the inevitable end, when a pair or family of 

 carrion eagles would spy them from a great dis- 

 tance — the two travellers left far behind by 

 their fellows, one flying, the other walking ; and 

 the first would be left to continue the journey 

 alone. 



