THE FIHTH OF FOKTH. 15 



finely adapted them. The difficulty, therefore, of 

 getting a shot consists in their jealousy of a close 

 approach, and the power they all possess, by swim- 

 ming very low, of slipping under water like magic. 

 The Great Northern is not only the most wary 

 of the diving tribe, but his progress under water 

 is as fast as that of some birds in the air, and the 

 length of his dive often extends to a quarter of a 

 mile. We therefore went to work very cautiously, 

 first tacking about to windward for some time, to 

 accustom the bird to the appearance of the boat, 

 and then gently wearing her, we approached im- 

 perceptibly nearer and nearer. The loon was 

 greedily feeding, and from the shortness of his 

 dives, and the rapidity with which they succeeded 

 each other, he had evidently an abundant feast. 

 Crouching in the bow, with my gun at my shoul- 

 der, I was several times within long range ; but 

 either this quick-eyed grebe dipped down just as 

 my finger touched the trigger, or his position was 

 unfavourable for shot to penetrate the oily feathers. 

 At last, however, I did get a fair chance at sixty 

 yards, and the No. 3 dropped round him in perfect 

 pattern. He was down in a twinkling, and did 



